In March 1824, gold was discovered in Rooi Fluit on the north coast by a 12-year-old boy. In 1872, Aruba Island Gold Mining Company Ltd (UK) built a large smelting works here. Work was done with a heavy hammer and crowbar to release the rocks carried by hand. Rocks were ground into dust, leaving clumps of gold behind to be melted. Gold mining ceased with World War I. Though the mill was in use for only a decade, impressive ruins remain.