The contribution of mining to Greece’s economic growth and cultural development has a history as old as the civilization itself. Since 1,000 B.C., Greeks have been using their mineral resources to build cities, establish trade networks and expand empires. Revenues from the high-grade silver mines of Laurion, south of Athens in Attica, financed the emergence of Athens as a cultural, economic and military capital in the 5th century B.C. Poetry, philosophy, architecture and quality of life all flourished as Athens expanded as a trading and naval power. Further north, the gold deposits of central Macedonia and Thrace funded Alexander the Great’s conquest east and the creation of an empire that, at its peak between 334-323 B.C., stretched across three continents.