Joyful Maiden: Gold--the precious element

Finally! The last Gem/Mineral for the Gems and Minerals booklet! I'll post a PDF in booklet form (all together WITH pictures) when I have it finished.

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Gold is a chemical element with the symbol “Au” (its Latin name is “aurum”, which means, “gold”, or “shining dawn”. The most precious metal in the world—it doesn't rust, gold can be dissolved only by several acids (aqua regia, alkaline solutions of cyanide, and mercury). Nitric acid (which dissolves silver and base metals) makes no difference to gold.

Gold is found all around the world. As of 2009, 165000 (metric) tonnes of gold has been mined in the world's history (at least, as far as experts can figure). Some of the many places it has been found include USA, Russia, New Zealand, Japan, Australia, South Africa (LOTS of gold is mined here), China, Peru, Chile, Argentina, and many other places. In 1970, South Africa produced 79% of the world's supply of gold (about 1,480 tonnes). In 2008, they produced 2,260 tonnes. In 2007, China (with 276 tonnes of gold) bested South Africa in gold production. South Africa had been the highest producer in the world since 1905.

Gold is used in many places of the world for many, many things. Most money made today is based upon the amount of gold a certain country has to back their dollar (or whatever kind of currency they have). Gold is used quite a bit in jewelry. Since it is so precious, people like to invest in it for security's sake. Gold can be used a lot in industrial ways. It can be cut into a thread, and used in clothing, it can be used on very expensive CD's as the reflective layer, it can be used in heat dissipation in automobiles...if I mentioned everything gold could do, it would be an endless list.

THE HISTORY OF GOLD:
Gold has been used in many ways ever since man first set eyes on it. Egyptian hieroglyphics from just after the flood describe gold, “which king Tushratta of the Mitanni claimed was 'more plentiful than dirt' in Egypt” (quote from wikipedia.org). Egypt and Nubia were some of the major gold-producing areas in the ancient world. One of the oldest maps in the world, the “Turin Papayrus Map” shows a gold-mining area in Nubia. There were also large mines across the Red Sea in (what is now) Saudi Arabia. The legend of the “golden fleece” in Greek mythology may refer to the use of sheep's fleeces to trap gold dust in placer deposits in the ancient world.

Other famous places in the ancient world include the kingdom of Ghana. “The rulers of Ghana were well aware of the need to uphold the value of their chief source of wealth. To do this, they took a portion of the gold supply out of circulation by issuing an order that only the King of Ghana could possess gold in nugget form. Everyone else simply had to get along with gold dust. 'Without this precaution,' commented El-Bekri [an ancient historian] approvingly, 'gold would become so plentiful (in Ghana) that it would practically lose its value.'” (quote from A Glorious Age in Africa)

One famous person in the ancient world was Mansa Musa, the king in the kingdom of Mali. He was a very strong Muslim, and took a hajj in 1324 to the holy city of Mecca. This hajj impressed people in his day—and still impresses people today. This was no ordinary hajj, even when he first started planning to take this trip it was full of splendor. Because he was ruler of the richest empire in West Africa (and possibly in the whole world at the time), Mansa Musa could afford to take a luxurious pilgrimage.

To make sure they had enough money to get them to their destination and back, Mansa Musa took 80-100 camel-loads of gold dust with him, each load weighing about 300 pounds. By the time this large caravan got started, some sources say that it consisted of up to 60,000 people! When Mansa Musa's caravan was in Cairo, Egypt on the way back home, he gave away so much gold to court officials and other people that he went broke! To be able to get back home, he had to borrow from leading merchants of Cairo. Another problem involved with giving away so much gold was that the Cairo gold market was all but ruined. “A writer in the service of the Egyptian sultan reported that the Cairo gold market had still not fully recovered from Mansa Musa's visit twelve years after Musa's hajj,” A Glorious Age in Africa stated. For years after the pilgrimage, Mansa Musa was remembered as one of the wealthiest people on earth.

INTERESTING AND FUN GOLD FACTS:

The world's largest gold bar (250 kg) is in the Toi Museum in Japan.
A 5mm gold nugget can be hammered into a gold foil ½ a square meter.
“Gold produces a deep, intense red color when used as a colouring agent in cranberry glass.”—quote from Wikipedia.org
“Gold can be manufactured so thin that it appears transparent. It is used in some aircraft cockpit windows for de-icing or anti-icing by passing electricity through it. The heat produced by the resistance of the gold is enough to deter ice from forming.”—quote from Wikipedia.org
“The 7th century BC, gold wire was used to install false tooth by Italian dentist. Since the early 16th century, gold filling was recommended for filling the cavity.”—Beembee.com
“Outside the lunar module of the United States “Apollo ” airship was coated with gold foil, with the aim to protect astronauts from radiation. Even now, the helmet worn by astronauts is still coated with a thin gold membrane to protect astronaut’s eyes from intense light.” —Beembee.com
“As pure gold is very soft, it is often combined with other things when making jewelry.”—FunFunnyFacts.com
“During the [US] Gold Rush in 1849, some people paid as much as $100 for a glass of water!”—FunFunnyFacts.com
“The word Gold derives from the Old English word Gelo meaning yellow.”—FunFunnyFacts.com