GOLD RELATED INFORMATION.

Gold Related Information


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Physical Properties of Gold

Lustre: Metallic
Diaphaneity (Transparency): Opaque
Colour: Rich yellow, paling to whitish-yellow
Streak: Shining yellow
Hardness (Mohs): 2½ - 3
Hardness (Vickers): VHN10=30 - 34 kg/mm2
Hardness Data: Measured
Tenacity: Malleable
Cleavage: None Observed
Fracture: Hackly
Density (measured): 15 - 19.3 g/cm3
Density (calculated): 19.309 g/cm3
Comment: Calculated density at 0° C.



Other Information

Fluorescence in UV light: none
Thermal Behaviour: Melting Point: 1062.4° ± 0.8°
Other Information: Completely soluble with Copper. Insoluble in acids except aqua regia, with incomplete separation if more than 20% of silver is present. Reported as spongy alteration pseudomorphs after Calaverite (Cripple Creek).
Health Warning: No information on health risks for this material has been entered into the database. You should always treat mineral specimens with care.
Industrial Uses: Electrical conductor, transparent reflective coating, jewelry, dentistry, coinage, decorative coatings Common Impurities: Ag,Cu,Pd

 

How do gold deposits form?

Gold has been prized throughout the history of mankind due to its appearance, ease of working and resistance to corrosion. Although jewellery remains the major use for gold, its unique chemical and physical properties mean that it has found many diverse applications in today's world: Gold nugget

* computer circuitry
* cosmic ray protection for spacecraft and satellites
* telephones, telescopes and photocopiers
* thermometers
* nightsights and security cameras
* lasers
* dentistry, eye surgery, treatment for arthritis
* aircraft engines and windows
* heat reflecting face visors
* Cancer treatments


So where does gold come from?

Deposits of gold can form in many geological environments: in deep magma chambers, in ancient volcanoes or hotsprings, or in conglomerates and sandstones that might form as a result of the weathering and erosion of these gold-bearing rocks.

However, one of the most common places that gold deposits form is in ancient fault zones, many of which were active during the earliest period of Earth's history, the Archaean (more than 2.5 billion years ago). Earthquakes produced by movements on these giant faults would have been accompanied by the release of hydrothermal solutions from deep in the Earth's crust. These solutions moved up along the faults and, often as a result of effervescence of carbon dioxide gas (rather like opening a bottle of fizzy drink), precipitated gold in economic concentrations in veins of quartz.

There are many types of gold deposits including epithermal vein deposits, intrusion-related breccia pipes, mesothermal turbidite- and greenstone-hosted deposits, contact deposits (skarns), replacement deposits, disseminated ores, placers, and Archean banded-iron formation deposits.



Gold Weights & Measures

  • % Gold

    European System:
    Gold present

    Karat System:
    Gold present

    100.0

    1,000 parts fine

    24 karats

    91.7

    917 parts fine

    22 karats

    75.0

    750 parts fine

    18 karats

    58.5

    585 parts fine

    14 karats

    50.0

    500 parts fine

    12 karats

    41.6

    416 parts fine

    10 karats


Note that the karat used above designates a degree of gold purity, and is not to be confused with the carat, equaling a fifth of a gram, which is used to state the weight of a gem stone.

The Weight of gold or gold articles is usually expressed in troy ounces. The Table below provides a convenient way of translation between troy ounces and other units of weight.



Fineness of Gold in Fraser River and some Tributary streams.


Fraser River Average

867.5

20.820 K

Coquihalla River

875.0

21.0 K

Thompson River

827.0

19.848 K

Bridge River

846.0

20.28 K

Watson Bar Creek

892.0

21.408 K

Poison Mnt. Creek

840.0

20.160 K

Quesnel River

830.0

19.92 K

Cariboo River

851.0

20.424 K

Cottonwood River

901.0

21.62 K

Willow River

893.0

21.43 K

Goat River

970.0

23.28 K

 

 



Other Names for Gold

Synonyms: Native Gold, Qori, Sol

Other Languages:
Afrikaans: Goud
Albanian: Ari
Amharic: ወርቅ
Arabic: ذهب
Armenian: Ոսկի
Asturian: Oru
Aymara: Quri
Azeri: Qızıl
Basque: Urre
Belarusian: Золата
Bengali: সোনা
Bosnian: Zlato
Bulgarian: Злато
Catalan: Or
Cherokee: ᎠᏕᎸ ᏓᎶᏂᎨ
Chuvash: Ылтăн
Corsican: Oru
Croatian: Zlato
Czech: Zlato
Danish: Guld
Dutch: Goud
Erzya: Сырне
Esperanto: Oro
Estonian: Kuld
Finnish: Kulta
French: Or
Or natif
Friulian: Aur
Galician: Ouro
Gan: 金
Georgian: ოქრო
German:Gediegen Gold
Greek: Χρυσός
Guarani: Kuarepotiju
Gujarati: સોનું
Haitian: Lò
Hakka: Kîm
Hebrew: זהב
Hindi: सोना
Hungarian: Arany
Icelandic: Gull
Ido: Oro
Indonesian: Emas
Irish Gaelic: Ór
Italian: Oro
Oro nativo
Japanese:金
自然金
Javanese: Emas
Kapampangan: Gintu
Kazakh: Алтын
Kongo: Wolo
Korean: 금
Kurdish: Zêr
Latin: Aurum
Latvian: Zelts
Limburgian: Goud
Lingala: Wólo
Lithuanian: Auksas
Lojban: solji
Low Saxon: Gold
Luxembourgish: Gold
Macedonian: Злато
Malay: Emas
Manx: Airh
Marathi: सोने
Min Nan: Au
Mongolian : Алт
Nahuatl:Cōztic teōcuitlatl
Norman: Or
Norwegian: Gull
Norwegian: Gull
Novial: Ore
Occitan: Aur
Persian: طلا
Polish: Złoto
Portuguese: Ouro
Quechua: Quri
Ripuarian: Jold
Romanian: Aur
Russian: Золото
Sanskrit: सुवर्णम्
Scottish Gaelic: Òr
Serbian: Злато
Serbo-Croatian: Zlato
Sicilian: Oru
Simplified Chinese: 金
Slovak: Zlato
Slovenian: Zlato
Spanish: Oro
Oro nativo
Swahili: Dhahabu
Swedish: Guld
Gediget Guld
Tagalog: Ginto
Tajik: Зар
Tamil: தங்கம்
Thai: ทองคำ
Traditional Chinese: 金
Turkish: Altın
Ukrainian: Золото
Urdu: سونا
Uzbek: Oltin
Venetian: Oro
Vietnamese: Vàng
Welsh: Aur
Yiddish: גאלד
Zazaki: Zern
Zhuang: Gim
Zulu: Igolide



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