It was mainly found in the sub-Saharan region in Africa, more specifically in western and central Sudan. The gold came along the Nile River from the south. Other than Sudan, Ghana and Nigeria were active trading areas. Today, Witwatersrand in South Africa is famous because is the source of 40% of gold ever mined. The trade was controlled by merchants, who in turn, were controlled by Mansa Musa, king of the Mali Empire. Later Sonni Ali Ber, a West African king, controlled the trade when it was at its height. He also began the expansion of the kingdom of Songhay in 1464. Various leaders controlled the trade at different times.
Africa depended on the trade of gold to survive. Because of trade, many things like culture and religion drastically changed. One example is the introduction of Islam to Africa through trade. West African gold was carried to Carthage and Rome to trade for salt. In some cases, salt was more valuable. Salt was what the Africans needed, not gold. The Europeans desired the gold because they could make coins out of them. Because gold was so prized, nomads who lived in southern Morocco and the Atlas mountains bargained with the African people with salt and copper. After getting the gold, they used it to buy whatever they wanted from the Europeans. This signifies gold was very valuable trade items because Europeans were willing to exchange the most valuable item at that time, salt, for it.
