How Gold Is Used in Industrial and Manufacturing Processes
What is the most unusual thing about gold? If you think about that question for a minute, chances are your answer to it will be, “Gold is beautiful.”
Of course, that answer is right. Gold really is beautiful, which explains why it has been the most sought-after metal on earth for thousands of years. The ancient Egyptians and Assyrians loved it, as did the Vikings, the Incas, the king and queens of Europe, and everyone else through the ages. Chances are your grandparents and parents had gold wedding rings and if you are married, chances are you and your spouse have them too. And if pure 24K gold weren’t beautiful enough on its own, it can be made into rose gold, white gold, and even green and pink gold by adding other metals.
But gold is more than beautiful. Its malleability, ability to conduct electricity, and ability to be alloyed with a variety of other metals make it useful in manufacturing, in more applications than you might expect. Because thin layers of gold reflect radiation, this ancient metal is now being used on space vehicles. It is an amazing metal, as new as it is old.
Common Products Made of Gold
Jewelry
Currency
Bullion and investment coins
Electronics, including computers and cellphones
Aerospace components
Dental appliances (the use of gold to make them is declining)
Products Containing Gold that Are Used in Health Care
Medicines containing gold have been used to fight arthritis, ulcers, and even some cancers
Implantable devices and surgical tools because gold, like platinum, does not react chemically with human tissues
Chemical Solutions that Contain Gold
You might expect that gold, like platinum and silver, would be found in a lot of chemical solutions that are used in industry. But in fact, gold has found its way into a smaller number of them than have platinum or silver. Platinum, which supports chemical reactions, is used as a catalyst in many industrial applications. Silver is used in photographic processing and other processes.
Gold is less widely used as a catalyst. If you do find a solution that contains gold that is used in industry, chances are it is used in gold-plating processes. And even in plating operations, you might not find too many liquids that contain gold. That is because in plating, an electrolytic solution is used; gold only passes through it from a gold electrode to the item being plated and gold is not retained in the solution itself.
A Different Landscape for Gold Scrap Prospecting
You can recover gold, silver, and platinum from scrap and solutions that were used in a variety of industrial processes. But as we have learned in today’s post, those three metals are used in very different ways in industry.
When you recover gold-bearing chemicals or scrap, be sure to give us a call to find out how we can test them for you and extract the gold they contain. It could be one of the most exciting calls you will ever make. Our precious metal refining consultants are at 899-426-2344, available to talk with you.