For millennia, people have valued gold as the most precious of metals. Its history as currency goes back to 600 BC when King Alyattes of Lydia oversaw the first historically documented mint.
Why has gold held such historic value? The answer comes in part from our love of the shiny and bright. Because gold never loses its luster, it’s come to signify permanence.
Its shine also makes it an excellent material for jewelry and other uses. However, you can’t just mint or shape gold straight out of the mine. Instead, it must undergo the process of gold refinement.
If you want to know more about refining gold, keep reading! We’ll explain everything you need to know about this process.
Finding Deposits
The first step in refining gold is finding it. Geologists use specialized maps to find deposits of gold in natural areas. They closely examine rocks and natural formations to decide if gold might dwell beneath the surface.
Once they find a promising location, they then perform tests to determine if they were correct about gold lying below the surface. Some of these tests utilize geochemistry, remote sensing, and geophysics.
Once geologists ascertain that they’ve found a gold deposit, the next step is establishing a mine. From there, miners hunt for rock samples until they find a substantial amount of gold.
On-Site Processing
What geologists find isn’t so much gold as it is gold ore. This ore must undergo the gold refining process to become pure gold.
First, refiners crush the ore. Then, they put it through several processes that vary depending on what elements and minerals mixed with the ore.
These procedures extract the gold from any surrounding elements. As a result, the ore becomes gold of higher quality.
These processes also vary in complexity depending on the grade of the gold ore. Higher grade gold ore requires more extensive and complex processes to refine. Lower-grade ore, however, is relatively simple to process.
Off-Site Gold Refinement
These processes also vary in complexity depending on the grade of the gold ore. Higher grade gold ore requires more extensive and complex processes to refine. Lower-grade ore, however, is relatively simple to process.
First, they melt the crude gold and treat it with chloride. This process changes any extra material into chloride itself, which then drifts from the gold. At the end of this process, refiners have 99.5% pure gold.
Finally, refiners put gold into electrodes or anodes. Then, they place it in an electrolytic cell. An electric current passes through the cell, which turns the gold 99.99% pure.
The Best Precious Metals for Investors
The result of this refinement process is pure gold. The higher the gold quality, the better it is for smart investments.
Many investors buy this gold as a part of their portfolio diversification. If this prospect intrigues you, learn more at raremetalblog.com/advantage-gold.
Find Your Best Gold Deals Today
Once you understand the gold refinement process, you can process just how valuable this metal is. This knowledge helps in several fields, whether you want to invest in gold or buy jewelry for a loved one. Whichever the case, find the best gold deals for your purposes today!
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