Some mining is done by scraping away the soil (dirt) from the top of the ground. This is called "surface mining". Some mining is done by going deep underground into a "mine shaft". This is called "underground mining". Some mining, such as gold mining, is done in other ways. Gold can be mined by searching in the bed of a river or other stream of water to remove the flakes of gold. This is called "panning" or "placer mining".