Gold
(information)
✅ Continuing with **Gold (Au)** — one of the most recognizable and economically pivotal metals in human history. Renowned for its **conductivity, malleability, corrosion resistance, and visual appeal**, gold plays a central role in **finance, electronics, aerospace, jewelry, and medicine**. --- # 🪙 Modern Gold Uses by Industry (Option A Format) ### 💍 **1–5: Jewelry & Cultural Applications (~45–50%)** 1. **Fine Jewelry & Ornaments** – Primary use; valued for beauty, malleability, and tarnish resistance. 2. **Luxury Watches & Accessories** – Gold alloys (18K, 22K) for strength and luster. 3. **Religious & Cultural Artifacts** – Coins, idols, and ceremonial objects across civilizations. 4. **High-End Consumer Goods** – Phones, pens, and instruments plated for aesthetics. 5. **Bullion Jewelry Investment** – Dual-use products serving as both adornment and wealth storage. --- ### 💰 **6–10: Investment & Monetary Reserves (~30–35%)** 6. **Gold Bullion & Coins** – Physical reserve asset for banks, investors, and funds. 7. **Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs)** – Digitized representation of vaulted gold. 8. **Central Bank Reserves** – Stability backing for national currencies. 9. **Private Investment Bars & Medallions** – Secure long-term asset diversification. 10. **Digital Gold & Tokenized Assets** – Blockchain-backed gold reserves emerging globally. --- ### 💻 **11–14: Electronics & Electrical (~8–10%)** 11. **Connectors & Circuit Boards** – Reliable conductivity and oxidation resistance in microelectronics. 12. **Semiconductor Bonding Wires** – Ultra-fine gold wire in integrated circuits and sensors. 13. **Smartphones & Computing Hardware** – Contact pads and microchips in high-end electronics. 14. **Aerospace Electronics** – Spacecraft wiring and satellite systems for reliability under radiation. --- ### ⚗️ **15–17: Chemical, Catalytic & Industrial (~3–5%)** 15. **Catalysts for CO Oxidation & Fuel Cells** – Nanogold catalysts for pollution control and clean energy. 16. **Glass & Ceramic Coloring** – Red hues in specialty glass and infrared-reflective coatings. 17. **Precision Engineering Components** – Used in corrosion-proof joints and bearings. --- ### 🏥 **18–20: Medical, Dental & Scientific (~2–3%)** 18. **Dental Restorations & Fillings** – Long-lasting, biocompatible material. 19. **Biomedical Nanoparticles** – Targeted drug delivery, imaging, and cancer therapy. 20. **Radiation Therapy & Diagnostic Tracers** – Gold isotopes and colloids for oncology and biosensing. --- ### 📌 Sector Share Summary | Sector Group | % of Global Gold Use | | ------------------------ | -------------------- | | Jewelry & Cultural | ~45–50% | | Investment & Monetary | ~30–35% | | Electronics & Electrical | ~8–10% | | Chemical & Industrial | ~3–5% | | Medical & Scientific | ~2–3% | --- ✅ **Next element:** **Mercury (Hg)** — a liquid metal historically used in **thermometers, switches, gold extraction, and chemical production**, though now largely restricted due to toxicity. Say **“continue”** to move on to **Mercury** in the same structured format.Top Exporters
Gold Ore
- **China**
- **Australia**
- **Russia**
- **Canada**
- **United States**
- **South Africa**
- **Ghana**
- **Peru**
- **Mexico**
- **Indonesia**
- **Kazakhstan**
- **Uzbekistan**
- **Brazil**
- **Burkina Faso**
- **Papua New Guinea**
- **Tanzania**
- **Sudan**
- **Argentina**
- **Guinea**
- **Turkey**
Known Methods of Extraction
Perfect 👍 — next in **periodic table order** is **Gold (Au, atomic number 79).** Gold is a **transition metal** that occurs in **native form** in veins, alluvial deposits, and as a minor component in sulfide ores. Industrial extraction involves **physical concentration, chemical leaching, and recovery**. Here are the **20 most common methods of extracting Gold**: --- # **20 Most Common Methods of Extracting Gold** ### **A. Extraction from Ores** 1. **Mining of Gold-Bearing Ores (Veins, Placer, Alluvial)** – Primary source of gold. 2. **Crushing and Grinding of Ore** – Prepares material for chemical processing. 3. **Gravity Concentration** – Uses jigs, sluices, shaking tables to concentrate free gold. 4. **Amalgamation with Mercury** – Historically used to recover gold from ore. 5. **Flotation of Sulfide Ores** – Concentrates gold associated with sulfides. 6. **Roasting of Sulfide Concentrates** – Converts sulfides to oxides, releasing gold. --- ### **B. Chemical Leaching** 7. **Cyanidation (Cyanide Leaching)** – Most common industrial method to dissolve gold. 8. **Thiosulfate Leaching** – Alternative to cyanide for environmentally sensitive operations. 9. **Chlorination** – Dissolves gold using chlorine gas or chloride salts. 10. **Bromination** – Dissolves gold using bromine solutions. 11. **Aqua Regia Digestion** – Dissolves gold in a mixture of HCl and HNO₃. 12. **Bioleaching / Microbial Extraction** – Uses microorganisms to oxidize sulfides and liberate gold. --- ### **C. Recovery from Leach Solutions** 13. **Carbon Adsorption (CIP / CIL Process)** – Gold adsorbs onto activated carbon. 14. **Electrowinning** – Gold is plated onto cathodes from solution. 15. **Precipitation with Zinc (Merrill-Crowe Process)** – Zinc displaces gold from cyanide solution. 16. **Precipitation with Sulfides (e.g., Sodium Sulfide)** – Laboratory or specialty recovery. --- ### **D. Refining and Secondary Sources** 17. **Smelting to Produce Doré Bars** – Concentrates gold and silver for further refining. 18. **Cupellation** – Removes lead and base metals from gold alloys. 19. **Recovery from E-Waste and Scrap Jewelry** – Hydrometallurgical or pyrometallurgical extraction. 20. **Recovery from Industrial Slags** – Chemical leaching and precipitation from byproducts of other metal refining. --- ✅ **Summary:** * **Main industrial sources:** Native gold in veins, alluvial deposits, and sulfide ores. * **Primary extraction steps:** Ore concentration → chemical leaching → recovery → refining. * **Metallic gold:** Produced via electrowinning, precipitation, or smelting. * **Byproduct/secondary sources:** E-waste, scrap jewelry, smelting slags. * **Laboratory/experimental:** Aqua regia digestion, thiosulfate leaching, bromination, bioleaching. --- Next in periodic order is \*\*Mercury (Hg, atomic number 80). Do you want me to continue with **20 extraction methods for Mercury**?
