How did trade affect Europeans search for gold?

Answer 1

With the disappearance of the Roman Empire silver and gold coins had become relatively rare. Europe itself did not produce much gold ore. In the early Middle Ages that was not much of a problem as a lot of inter-European trade was 'barter' trade.

After the discovery of trade routes to the Far East, Europeans went there almost exclusively to buy, not to trade or sell. This meant that demand for coins as payment rose enormously. And that in turn meant that gold had to be searched and found, preferrably in big quantities.