<P> The Mahd adh - Dhahab (Arabic: مَـهـد الـذّهـب ‎ ‎, "Cradle of (the) Gold"), is the leading gold mining area in the Arabian Peninsula . It is located in the Province of Al - Madinah, in the Hejazi region of Saudi Arabia . </P> <P> Gold was first mined in Arabia c. 3,000 BC . A second period of activity was during the Islamic Abbasid period between 750 and 1258 AD . The latest activities by Saudi Arabian Mining Syndicate began in 1936 using both open - pit and underground mines at Mahd adh - Dhahab . The Saudi Arabian Directorate General of Mineral Resources carried out further gold exploration in the 1970s, following the 1971 suspension of the US $- gold exchange rate and the consequent rise in value of the metal . Gold mining is done today by the Saudi Arabian Mining Company . </P>

Where is the cradle of gold mine located