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Gold is a rare element in the Earth’s crust. Due to its inertness, it occurs practically only as pure metal in rocks. The amount of gold extracted so far is estimated at 150,000 tons worldwide.
The world’s richest deposits are in South Africa, the Urals and Australia; boulders of gold or nuggets up to several kilograms occur in Canada and Siberia. Gold-bearing veins are found in the Czech Republic, for example in Central Bohemia, in the Jeseníky Mountains and in the Kašperské Mountains.
Top gold producing countries (according to The Atlantic, 2008):
1. South Africa 11% of world production
2. USA 10.5%
3. Australia 10.1%
4. China 9.7%
5. Peru 8.2%
6. Russia 6.2%
7. Canada 4.2%
Gold can be found both enclosed in rocks and ore veins, and as free river gold released by external influences, in alluvial streams and rivers.
In nature, gold occurs predominantly in its pure form, but can also be found to a lesser extent in compounds. A large amount of gold comes from the quartz rocks in which it is dispersed, and from anodic sludge in copper refining. Gold also often accompanies silver and sometimes iron in their ores, but it is only contained in trace amounts. It is also contained in seawater, but unfortunately it is not yet known how to properly extract it from this certainly significant source.
The total amount of gold extracted by humans is estimated at 75,000 to 117,000 tons.
About 2% of this amount was obtained by 1492; from that date to 1800 it was 8%, 25% from 1801 to 1900, and 65% was extracted in the 20th century. At the beginning of the 20th century, gold was mined at primary sites with a gold concentration of 15 grams per 1 ton.
Current techniques make it possible to mine from primary sites where only 1.2–1.5 grams are found in a ton of rock. At present, the jewellery industry processes over 200 tons of gold each year.
In most cases it was water that exposed gold to people. At the bottom of watercourses were deposited particles of metal – gold flakes washed out by groundwater from a golden vein hidden in the ground. Lightweight minerals drifted into the valley and heavy ones, including gold, sank to the bottom near the original source. People travelled upstream with their gold pan and looked to see whether a tiny piece of gold remained on its bottom. They studied whether the number of gold flakes grew as they progressed upstream and recorded the spot where the gold ceased to appear. So they found the place where the gold entered the creek, and in the surrounding land they used probes to search for golden veins in the ground.
These days, geologists survey either large areas or carefully selected locations. The first method is applied in developing countries, in areas that have not been explored so far, since it is known from experience that there is usually one or more mineral deposits in a large area. The country will then issue a geological survey concession valid for a set period of time. Individual lots of leased area are parcelled out to smaller mining companies and individual “prospectors”. They secure their finds as soon as possible by a claim and sell them to mining companies. The value of the claim is estimated by the concentration of gold flakes in the crushed rock.
5. 5. 2020
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30. 8. 2016
There is an only diamond mine in American state Arkansas which is open to the public.