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local Monday 3 February 2025
The Aruban Gold Rush:
Get to know the history of the gold industry on Aruba

(Oranjestad)—This year we
celebrate a few milestone
anniversaries on Aruba,
one of them being the
200th anniversary of when
gold was first discovered on
the island. We have talked
about the Bushiribana Gold were found were transport-
Mill Ruin before and its brief ed via track engine, locally gold to be discovered. Plus,
history during the gold in- called the “trekinchi”. De- hiring independent miners
dustry on Aruba, but get spite being more equipped would boost the island’s
to know a little more about for the job, the Aruba Gold employment rate.
the history of the “Aruban Concession Ltd. could not
Gold Rush.” word got out, a gold fever would start chipping the produce any real profit, When it was proven that
spread among the locals clay away on a large can- and so the concession was gold was in fact still pres-
The first hint of gold on Aru- who started searching for vas to catch the gold par- terminated just eight years ent, the executive board
ba actually dates back to more gold. ticles that were left behind later, in 1908. on the island promised to
1725, when rumors about after the wind blew away fund the project only if the
gold being found in dug up When the colonial gover- the dust from the clay. A local firm, the “Aruba gold dug up proved to be
treasure chests of the Span- nor in Curacao, Governor Goud Maatschappij” valuable. However, noth-
ish colonial era prompted Cantz’laar, heard about In the harvest period of (Aruba Gold Company) ing else was reported after
the first official exploration the news, he sent his adju- 1824-1825, there was a to- took over the concession, this, so it could be conclud-
for gold on the island, com- tant, Capitan van Raders, tal of 71,000 kilos collected along with all the materi- ed that there was no real
missioned by the Dutch to start harvesting gold. through commissioned har- als and equipment. In the profitable market on the
West India Company. Un- This was in July 1824. In au- vesting. Locals themselves beginning, the company island anymore.
der the leadership of Mr. gust of that same year, the reportedly found about 25 saw good profit, and for a
Paulus Printz, a three-year governor followed suit to pounds worth of gold in the while, the island’s econo- The ruins of the Bushiribana
search was conducted on the island, accompanied nearby rivers. The following my depended primarily on and Balashi Gold Mills are
Aruba, to no avail. Though by high-ranking military of- years after that first big har- the mining and harvest- still standing, and open for
they found some specks of ficials. When citizens start- vest, commission work fell ing of gold. But just like its the public to visit. These
gold, it was not enough to ed swarming the area in off, and in 1828, the direc- predecessors, the streak structures offer a glance
motivate a further search, search for gold, The Neth- tor of the goldmines, Johan of luck for the Aruba Gold into the past, to a time
and the assignment was erlands sent more troops to Gravenhorst, decided to Company came to an end where Aruba experienced
discontinued by Printz him- safe guard the gold. halt harvesting. when WWI broke out. one of its first wave of in-
self. dustrialization. Today, these
Prominent places where Almost 40 years later, the The main reason why pro- structures are persevered
It wasn’t until 100 years lat- gold was found was in London-based Aruba Is- duction stopped this time
er, in 1824, when a young Daimari, Wacobana, land Gold Mining Compa- was reportedly because of
farmer boy named Willem Arikok, Rooi Fluit, Hadicou- ny Ltd. was granted con- a lack in dynamite for ex-
Rasmijn found a lump of radi and later West punt, cession. The firm built their tracting the ores from the
gold while out herding his where gold ore was found. gold mines on Bushiribana, mines, as well as a lack in
father’s sheep in the area Because of a lack in ad- and in the port of Oranjes- raw materials like German
of Rooi Fluit on the north vanced technology and tad a long road that con- cyanide for the refining
coast. His father took it materials to harvest the nected the gold mill to the process. By the time the
to a local merchant who gold, the process took a port. The ores themselves war ended, the equipment

then sold the lump for $70. more primitive approach: came from Sero Plat en that was left at Balashi
Unbeknownst to the boy Clay rocks containing trac- Sero Cristal. were too old to use again.
and his father, they quite es of gold were left to dry After the war, gold produc-
literally struck gold, and as in the sun. Then, workers By this point, workers were tion on the Aruba was left
still using primitive methods to a standstill.
to harvest the ores. For ex-
ample, when someone had According to an issue in
to go into the mines, there Aruba Esso News paper in
were no stairs or lifts; the 1953, Henny Eman wanted
person had to be brought to start up digging again,
down in a big bucket, with this time using independent
two or more workers hold- miners. He argued that
ing the bucket by a thick there was proof of more
rope above ground.
as historical monuments.
Aruba Island Gold Mining
Company Ltd. reportedly Source:
operated until 1899, and 1. “De Kolibrie op de Rots
right after the Aruba Gold (en meer over the geschie-
Concession Ltd. was es- denis van Aruba)” by Evert
tablished, coincidentally Bongers.
also based in London. This 2. Aruba Esso News, 1953 is-
time, the gold mill in Balashi sue.
was built, and more mines
were dug up all around the
island. The gold ores that