Basic Gold Facts for Prospectors
What Is Gold?
- Gold is an element
- Symbol Au (Latin: aurum)
- Atomic number 79
- Mohs hardness 2.5
- Density 19.3
- Crystal structure- isometric
- Gold is the most malleable and ductile of all metals; a single troy ounce can be hammered into a sheet of 9 square meters, or into 96.9 square feet.
- One Troy ounce can be drawn into 80Km or 50Mi. of wire.
- Estimates of all gold ever mined range from 120,000 to 158,000 tonnes, or a cube 20m square.
- Gold is an element
Native gold is an element and a mineral. It is highly prized by people because of its attractive color, resistance to tarnish and its many special properties - some of which are unique to gold. Its rarity, usefulness and desirability make it command a high price.
Trace amounts of gold are found almost everywhere but large deposits are found in only a few locations. Although there are about twenty different gold minerals all of them are quite rare. Therefore, most gold found in nature is in the form of the native metal.
Gold occurs in hydrothermal veins deposited by ascending solutions; as dissiminated particles through some sulfide deposits and in placer deposits.
Trace amounts of gold are found almost everywhere but large deposits are found in only a few locations. Although there are about twenty different gold minerals all of them are quite rare. Therefore, most gold found in nature is in the form of the native metal.
Gold occurs in hydrothermal veins deposited by ascending solutions; as dissiminated particles through some sulfide deposits and in placer deposits.
Uses For Gold...
Most of the gold that is newly consumed or recycled each year is used in the production of jewelry. About 10% is used in coinage or in the financial stores of governments. The remaining 12% is consumed in a wide range of other uses which include electronics, medicine, dentistry, computers, awards, pigments, guilding, and optics.