All Gold Everything
GUWOP
Physical and Chemical components
Au( Gold
Physical: Yellow (Bright); Hard yet moldable metal; considered a soft metal because its moldable
Chemical: Can be molded even when cut into smaller amounts; Bitter taste
Mineral Location
South Africa
Gold mining in South Africa typically involves methods such as panning, sluicing, dredging, hard rock mining, and by-product mining. For most effective gold mining in South Africa, the method used is hard rock mining, since reserves are typically fully encased in rock deep underground. The invention of industrial air cooling and air quality control systems saw gold mines reach unprecedented depths.
Raw Material (Ore)
Once the ore is mined it can be treated as a whole ore using a dump leaching or heap leaching processes. This is typical of low-grade, oxide deposits. Normally, the ore is crushed and agglomerated prior to heap leaching. High grade ores and ores resistant to cyanide leaching at coarse particle sizes, require further processing in order to recover the gold values. The processing techniques can include grinding, concentration, roasting, and pressure oxidation prior to cyanidation.
How Gold is Sold
Gold measurements can be a bit confusing. The weight of gold is measured in troy ounces , but its purity, or "fineness" has been measured in a few different ways: "parts fine," "% gold", and karats. According to at least one source, the terms karat and carat derive from Arabic and Greek words meaning "the fruit of the carob tree." Apparently, the seeds of the fruit, remarkable for their consistency, were used to balance the scales used by merchants at ancient bazaars. Karats now refer to the ratio of gold found in a sample. There are 24 karats, so pure gold is 24 karats. The percentage of gold in a piece is therefore the number of karats/24.
Present and Past Use
Present: It is used for forms of currency; Jewelry accesories;
Past:It was used as currency: ON buildings for the wealthy: represented wealth through accesories.
Environmental Issues
Gold mining is one of the most environmentally destructive forms of mining. It creates massive amounts of toxic waste and causes more global mercury pollution than any other source. Gold mining also ravages landscapes, pollutes rivers with sulfuric acid, and contributes to the destruction of the Amazon. The environmental damage left by gold mining can last generations.