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MINE, ALL MINE! Roughout History, Gold Has Been Prized Around the World and Eagerly Sought

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MINE, ALL MINE! Roughout History, Gold Has Been Prized Around the World and Eagerly Sought OUTLOOK GOLD OUTLOOK GOLD MINE, ALL MINE! roughout history, gold has been prized around the world and eagerly sought. But where does it come from, and where does it all go? By Neil Savage. Total value of all mined gold WHEE DOES GOLD COME FOM? in trillions of US Dollars World gold production 2010 China is the world’s top miner of gold and the second largest producer of gold jewellery. The USA has 15,000 tonnes of unmined gold in known locations, plus an estimated 18,000 tonnes yet to be discovered. >300 TOP 0 PODUCES 200-300 China 100-200 Australia COURTESY OF TEXAS INSTRUMENTS/CATALYSIS: CARDIFF UNIVERSITY/STENT: ©COURTESY: BOSTON SCIENTIFIC/VERIGENE NANOPARTICLE: VERIGENE. SCIENTIFIC/VERIGENE NANOPARTICLE: BOSTON ©COURTESY: CARDIFF UNIVERSITY/STENT: OF TEXAS INSTRUMENTS/CATALYSIS: COURTESY 50-100 MINING VS USA Russia 25-50 ECYCLING South Africa 10-25 2007–20 Peru Indonesia 5-10 (%) Canada Uzbekistan 1-5 Sales from VERIGENE. SCIENTIFIC/VERIGENE NANOPARTICLE: BOSTON ©COURTESY: CARDIFF UNIVERSITY/STENT: OF TEXAS INSTRUMENTS/CATALYSIS: MICROCHIP: COURTESY OXFORD/KILBY BALLIOL COLLEGE, Ghana <1 government reserves 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 Tonnes 1.6% Recycling 37% Mining 61.4% Tonnes IMAGES:ETRUSCAN DENTURES: WELLCOME TRUST/SCIENCE & SOCIETY PICTURE LIBRARY/BRUGNATELLI: WELLCOME LIBRARY, LONDON/GOLD RUSH: STOCK MONTAGE/GETTY IMAGES/MACARTHUR CYANIDE PROCESS: PROCESS: CYANIDE IMAGES/MACARTHUR MONTAGE/GETTY RUSH: STOCK LONDON/GOLD LIBRARY, WELLCOME LIBRARY/BRUGNATELLI: PICTURE & SOCIETY TRUST/SCIENCE WELLCOME DENTURES: IMAGES:ETRUSCAN GOLDEN MILESTONES Key moments in the use of the precious metal in science and technology ca. 700 803 848 856 887 The Etruscans use Luigi California’s Gold Rush starts the Michael Faraday Invention gold bands in Brugnatelli extraction of more than 90% of experiments with of the dentures. of Italy the gold ever mined. suspensions of McArthur– electroplates gold in solution. Forrest two silver process medals using cyanide with gold. to extract gold from low-grade ore. IMAGES:ETRUSCAN DENTURES: WELLCOME TRUST/SCIENCE & SOCIETY PICTURE LIBRARY/BRUGNATELLI: WELLCOME LIBRARY, LONDON/GOLD RUSH: STOCK MONTAGE/GETTY IMAGES/MACARTHUR CYANIDE PROCESS: BALLIOL COLLEGE, OXFORD/KILBY MICROCHIP: OXFORD/KILBY BALLIOL COLLEGE, PROCESS: CYANIDE IMAGES/MACARTHUR MONTAGE/GETTY RUSH: STOCK LONDON/GOLD LIBRARY, WELLCOME LIBRARY/BRUGNATELLI: PICTURE & SOCIETY TRUST/SCIENCE WELLCOME DENTURES: IMAGES:ETRUSCAN S2 | NATURE | VOL 495 | 14 MARCH 2013 CORRECTED: 18.03.2013 S2 | NATURE | VOL 495 | 14 MARCH 2013 | CORRECTED ONLINE 18 MARCH 2013 GOLDGOLD OUTLOOKOUTLOOK GOLD IN PESPECTIVE THE PHYSICS OF GOLD Gold production pales in Electrons orbit the nucleus at half the speed of light, comparison to that of other relativistically shrinking the highest-energy (6s) orbital in technologically important a way that accounts for gold’s chemical stability and hue minerals (2011 data in tonnes) Nucleus contains 79 MINING ASSOCIATION. NATIONAL protons and 118 neutrons Silicon 5d orbital is relativistically 8M enlarged Aluminium 6s orbital is relativistically shrunk so this high-energy 44.M electron is, on average, closer to the nucleus than are the 5d electrons, making it Silver 23,800 less available to bind to other atoms Copper Gold 2,700 Relativistic eects shrink the energy gap between 5d and 6s electrons Gallium 26 so the atom absorbs blue light; what we see is a combination of the 6.M other colours in the spectrum, which add up to a golden hue WOLDWIDE DEMAND FO GOLD IN 20 PECIOUS COMMODITY Gold is mostly required for jewellery, technology and money The price of gold, long set by governments, remained steady from the early eighteenth century well into the twentieth century Jewellery: 1,967 (48%) 1,750 1,500 TOTAL DEMAND 2000s 4,20* Reduced production, a MINING ASSOCIATION. NATIONAL COMMODITY: GOLD COUNCIL/PRECIOUS GOLD: WORLD DEMAND FOR 2012/WORLDWIDE SUMMARY COMMODITIES (tonnes) 1,250 weak dollar and rising US debt helped drive up the price of gold 1,000 USGS MINERAL THOMSON REUTERS GFMS/GOLD IN PERSPECTIVE: SURVEY/$89T NUMBER, & MINING VS. RECYCLING: 10 PRODUCERS: US GEOLOGICAL MAP & TOP Technology: 453 (11%) Money: 1,700 (41%) 1971 The USA ended 750 the convertibility Dentistry: 43 of dollars into Gold medals and gold Other commemorative (not adjusted for ination) 500 industrial TECHNOLOGY coins: 88 MONEY uses: 90 453 ,700 250 Gold bars: price of gold in US$ per ounce London market Gold held to 1,182 Not including back private 0 *purchases by Electronics: investments: Ocial central banks 320 185 coins: 245 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 9 957 985–987 996 2000 202 Ernest Jack Kilby Masatake Haruta and Chad Mirkin Boston Scientic The FDA approves Rutherford uses gold Graham Hutchings and Paul starts selling a Verigene, a gold shoots wire demonstrate the use Alivisatos gold-plated stent for nanoparticle alpha- connectors of gold as a catalyst. use DNA to heart surgery. diagnostic device particles in the rst build gold to identify through gold integrated nanoparticles. infectious bacteria. foil to reveal circuits. the existence of the atomic nucleus. MAP & TOP 10 PRODUCERS: US GEOLOGICAL SURVEY/$89T NUMBER, & MINING VS. RECYCLING: THOMSON REUTERS GFMS/GOLD IN PERSPECTIVE: USGS MINERAL COMMODITIES SUMMARY 2012/WORLDWIDE DEMAND FOR GOLD: WORLD GOLD COUNCIL/PRECIOUS COMMODITY: COMMODITY: GOLD COUNCIL/PRECIOUS GOLD: WORLD DEMAND FOR 2012/WORLDWIDE SUMMARY USGS MINERAL COMMODITIES THOMSON REUTERS GFMS/GOLD IN PERSPECTIVE: SURVEY/$89T NUMBER, & MINING VS. RECYCLING: 10 PRODUCERS: US GEOLOGICAL MAP & TOP CORRECTED ONLINE 18 MARCH 2013 | 1414 MARCHMARCH 20132013 || VOLVOL 495495 || NATURENATURE || S3S3.
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