The Sado complex of heritage mines, primarily gold mines ...
The history of gold and silver mining on Sado can be traced back to ancient times; placer mining at the Nishimikawa alluvial gold deposits is considered to be the oldest production method. Fullscale development began in the mid 16th century when the Tsurushi and Niibo mines were opened up using surface mining; with the discovery of the Aikawa gold and silver .