Gold Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Gold - Essay Example Gold’s actual discovery remains only known to the ancients (Mineral Zone, 1). Gold is the seventy ninth element on the periodic table and it has symbol AU which is derived from the Latin word â€Å"Aurum† which means shining dawn. â€Å"It occurs mostly in the native state, remaining chemically uncombined except with selenium, tellurium and possibly bismuth. The elements only naturally occurring isotope is gold-197† (Gold.yabz, 1). Deposit of gold with high amounts of gold: hydrothermal veins, where it is associated with pyrite (fools gold) and quartz; and consolidated and unconsolidated placer deposits that are derived from the weathering of gold-bearing rocks. Gold is considerably associated with differential amounts of silver; with electrum being the most common and naturally occurring gold-silver alloy, with trace amounts of copper and other metals. Geographically electrum is found in Western Anatolia, present day Turkey (Gold.yabz, 1). Occurrence of gold-bearing rocks rich in it, is unusual, which is to say gold ores are not so (common. In seawater gold occurs to the extent of 5 to 250 parts by weight to 100 million parts of water. Presently gold quantity of gold in seawater is estimated to be 9 billion metric tons. Its deposits are widespread in low concentrations all over the continents. Gold deposits are found in two types; lode deposits which is mined through conventional mining methods and placer deposits found along stream beds caused by the erosion of the lode deposits. Its abundance is estimated to vary in concentrations in igneous rocks on the continent varying between .001 to 0.004 ppm. Since discovery, 165,000 tons of it has been mined. Gold is commonly used in ornaments and jewellery (USGS, 1). This is because the metal is highly malleable as it can form very thin sheet of about 0.000005 inches in size, so it served the purpose. Additionally as it is a noble metal, it