Description of Gold

Gold is a soft yellow metal which is much heavier than a normal stone of the same size. It is non-corrosive, non-magnetic. However, gold is very good conductor of heat and electricity and it does not change its state or color even when exposed to the nature for millions of years.

Gold is valuable and can be a substitute for money in trade. Gold is like money and it is used as a financial instrument and is readily traded throughout the world. It has a well-publicized price. Gold is mined and recovered by utilizing different mining and processing techniques. 

It can be mined by locals using small scale mining methods for alluvial or mined from hard rock gold deposits using highly mechanized operations or from placer deposits using simple or semi mechanized alluvial mining techniques.

Some minerals can be misleading. i.e. pyrite will look similar to gold but you need to know very well the properties of gold in terms of shape patterns and appearance. Pyrite is actually a fools gold.  First timers need to be very careful if you are buying gold from alluvial gold miners. There are other various techniques which you can use to identify and be sure that what you see is for sure gold. Stay in tune or subscribe for updates on the next article(s)

Photo Courtesy of Gem Rock Auction

Reference:

Small Scale Gold Mining in Papua New Guinea, Department of Mining Papua New Guinea 2001.