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Numerous objects of gold displaying an impressive variety of types and manufacturing techniques are known from the Late Bronze Age (LBA) contexts of Mycenaean Greece, but very little is known about the origin and processing of gold during the second millennium B.C: . Ancient literature and recent research indicate that northern Greece is probably the richest gold-bearing region in Greece, and yet, very little evidence exists regarding the exploitation of its deposits and the production as well as use of gold in the area during prehistory. The unusual find of a group of small stone crucibles at the prehistoric settlement of Thessaloniki Toumba, one with visible traces of gold melting, proves local production and offers a rare opportunity to examine the process of on-site gold working. Furthermore, the comparison of the chemical composition of prehistoric artefacts from two settlements with those of gold deposits in their immediate areas supports the local extraction of gold and opens up the prospect for some of the Mycenaean gold to have originated in northern Greece. The scarcity of gold items in northern Greek LBA contexts may not represent the actual amount of gold produced and consumed, but could be a result of the local social attitudes towards the circulation and deposition of artefacts from precious metals.

Numerous remains of ancient mining and smelting activities in the leadzinc deposit of western Thasos island, which have been visited in September 1979, are described. Mining-archaeological, mineralogical , chemical and lead-isotopical studies on samples from the Marlou region show that lead ores have been mined and that silver extraction was possible. Radiocarbon dates from charcoal found in two ancient galleries prove Roman mining. Ceramic fragments from Skoridia slag heap, which have been dated by TL, also show Roman activity and provide some evidence of earlier workings at this site. The chemical and lead-isotopic composition of these ores and slags is compared with that of archaic Thasian silver coins and of lead clamps from antique Thasos city.