GOLD

Production and uses of gold

Uses

The price of a troy ounce of gold at the time of writing (Jan. 14, 2008) on the free market was approximately $US 539; the equivalent price of silver was $US 9.10 giving an Au:Ag value ratio of 59, a considerable increase since the time of Pharaoh Menes.

Those who wish to pursue the details of the production, uses and economics of gold should consult the informative works by Malcolmson (1907), Keynes (1930), Altman (1960), Badone and Spence (1961), Morgan (1965), Kavanagh (1968, 1976), Green (1970), Weil and Davidson (1970), West (1975), Hogan (1975), Collins (1975), Fahlgren (1975), Vilar (1975), Fells (1975) and Fells and Glynn (1976).

As we look in retrospect at the last 5000 years of the history of gold we see that the noblest and most beautiful of metals has played a remarkable and sometimes dominant role in human experience and progress, first in an ornamental way, next in coinage, then as an international medium of exchange, and now as an indispensable element in industry. We see also that gold has elicited both good and evil works in man, as have also most other materials of this earth. On the good side of the coin, avarice for the metal has given us great discoveries both chemical and geographical; on the evil side the "auri sacra fames" has led to conquest, enslavement of nations; civil contention and the vilest treatment of men ever devised.

As we look in prospect we perceive an industrial vista where gold will play an ever-increasing role in the production of high-speed computers, telecommunications, space vehicles, pharmaceuticals and a thousand other artefacts of future civilizations. We perceive also that man will lose none of his fascination for the metal that he has long admired for its natural beauty and enduring qualities.

Selected Bibliography

Altman, O. 1960: The role of gold in international liquidity; Mines Mag., v. 50, no. 10, p. 39-42.

Badone, L. and Spence, N.S. 1961: Physical metallurgy and uses of gold; Can., Dep. Mines Tech. Surv., Mines Br., Inform. Circ., 129, p. 192.

Collins, R.S. 1975: Gold; Miner. Resour. Consultative Comm., Miner. Doss. no. 14, Her Majesty's Stationary Office, London, p. 66.

Fahlgren, J.E.J. 1975: An analysis of gold mining in the context of present economic conditions; Can. Inst. Min. Metall., Bull., v. 68, p. 575.

Fells, P.D. 1975: Gold in 1975; Consolidated Gold Fields Ltd., London, p. 48.

Fells, P.D. and Glynn, C. 1976; Gold 1976; Consolidated Gold Fields Ltd., London, p. 26 plus appendices.

Green, T. 1970: The world of gold; Simon and Schuster, Inc., New York, 254 p.

Hogan, J. 1975: Gold; Can. Min. J., v. 96, no. 2, p. 109-112.

Kavanagh, P.M. 1968: Have 6000 years of gold mining exhausted the world's gold reserves?; Can. Inst. Min. Metall., Bull., v. 61, no. 672, p. 553-558. 1976: Gold reserves of the world; Geosci. Can., v. 3, no. 3, p. 151-155.

Keynes, J.M. 1930: A treatise on money, v. 1, 363 p. and v. 2, 424 p.; Harcourt, Brace and Company, New York.

Malcolmson, J.W. 1907: The history of gold and silver; Eng. Min. J., v. 84, p. 1021-1023.

Morgan, E.V. 1965: A history of money; 237 p., Pelican Books Inc., Baltimore, Md.

Vilar, P. 1975: Ahistory of gold and money 1450-1920; 360 p., New Left Books, London.

Weil, G.L. and Davidson, I. 1970: The gold war; 245 p., Secker and Warburg, London.

West, J.M. 1975: Gold; U.S. Dep. Interior, Bur. Mines, Miner. Yearb., v. 1, 1974, p. 603-626.

Gold in: Primitive Classic Medieval Renaissance post-Renaissance period.

Gold: Deposits Transport 1 2 3 4 5 6 Production 1 2 3 4 5

Rafal Swiecki, geological engineer email contact
February, 2008

This document is in the public domain.