Gold is rare throughout the Universe because it's a relatively hefty atom, consisting of 79 protons and 118 neutrons. That makes it hard to produce, even in the incredible heat and pressure of the 'chemical forges' of supernovae, the deaths of giant stars responsible for creating most chemical elements.
Gold was highly valued for its rarity and ability to reflect light, making it a natural choice for displays of rank and authority. Its immunity to decay has made it a potent symbol for immortality and enduring power worldwide, yet parts of the ancient American world never fell under the sway of gold's allure.
Gold is also more valuable than silver because it is available in much smaller quantities than silver. It's estimated that all the gold that has been mined throughout history and is yet to be mined can fit in just over three Olympic-sized swimming pools at a total of 244,000 metric tons.
Of the three precious metals (gold, silver and platinum), gold is the rarest (0.004 ppm), followed by platinum (0.005 ppm) and silver (0.075 ppm).
The relative rarity of gold is a key factor in its high price. Yet there is more to gold's price than purely fundamental supply and demand economics. Silver, which shares many of the qualities of gold, has an annual production of about 1 billion ounces compared with about 150 million ounces for gold.
Since there is only one stable gold isotope, 197Au, nuclear reactions must create this isotope in order to produce usable gold. Gold was synthesized from mercury by neutron bombardment in 1941, but the isotopes of gold produced were all radioactive. In 1924, a German scientist, Adolf Miethe, accomplished the same feat.
The average concentration of gold in Earth's crust is 'very, very low,' at 4 parts per billion. In its elemental form, gold is significantly rarer than diamonds.
Gold often occurs in free elemental (native state), as nuggets or grains, in rocks, veins, and alluvial deposits. It occurs in a solid solution series with the native element silver (as in electrum), naturally alloyed with other metals like copper and palladium, and mineral inclusions such as within pyrite.
Where is All the Gold? The World Gold Council estimates that miners have historically extracted a total of 201,296 tonnes of gold, leaving another 53,000 tonnes left in identified underground reserves.
The reasons why gold prices may experience a fall in value include an excess of supply relative to demand and shifts in investor sentiment. A strong dollar and rising interest rates can also hurt the price of gold, as can low inflation.
HARDER, BETTER, RARER, STRONGER
Over gold, platinum has earned its rank for a number of reasons. For starters, gold is far more abundant in the earth's crust, making platinum rarer. Whilst 1,500 tons of gold are mined annually, only 160 tons of platinum are extracted. Platinum is also denser than gold, thus heavier.
"Platinum and Palladium Are 30 Times Rarer Than Gold."
The Earth's core is believed to contain around 1.6 quadrillion tons of gold, which is about 16 times more than the total amount of gold mined in human history.
All of the gold that's deposited in our planet was formed during the explosions of stars and collisions of asteroids, and eventually found its way to earth over time.
The most prosperous region in Egypt was Nubia, where the Egyptians constructed the world's first active gold mines. The name “Nubia” is rooted in the word “nbw,” the Egyptian word for gold. From the mines in Nubia, the Egyptians harvested gold for thousands of years.
The immense durability of gold makes it one of the few things in nature that can act as a true store of value. This is why gold has been used as a currency throughout history—it doesn't break down through daily use.
Source: Office of the Chief Economist. Australia is estimated to have the world's largest gold reserves, with 9,500 tonnes or 17 per cent of the total world estimated gold reserves of 57,000 tonnes. Geoscience Australia estimates that 60 per cent of Australia's gold reserves are in Western Australia.
The United States has the largest gold reserve, with more than 8,000 metric tons of gold. This was more than twice the gold reserves of Germany and more than three times the gold reserves of Italy and France.
Examples of primary deposits include those mined at Kalgoorlie in the Super Pit, Granny Smith, St Ives, Norseman and Mount Magnet (WA), Gympie and Ravenswood (Qld), Callie (NT), Stawell (Vic), Cadia (NSW), Henty (Tas) and Challenger (SA). At Olympic Dam (SA) gold occurs and is mined with copper and uranium.
The short answer to the questions posed in this article title is: Yes! gold traces have indeed been identified within the lunar soil. Back in October 2009, NASA conducted a mission called LCROSS, which involved crashing a booster rocket into the Moon at nearly 6,000 miles per hour.
You have to use nuclear reactions to create gold. The difficulty is that nuclear reactions require a lot of energy. The nucleus of a stable atom is very tightly bound together, so it is hard to get anything permanently into or out of the nucleus.
What makes Dahlonega gold so different from other gold found around the world is the purity. Dahlonega has the purest gold in the world, which is 98.7 percent pure.
Painite : Not just the rarest gemstone, but also the rarest mineral on earth, Painite holds the Guinness World Record for it. After its discovery in the year 1951, there existed only 2 specimens of Painite for the next many decades. By the year 2004, there were less than 2 dozens known gemstones.
Red beryl. Often called the scarlet emerald, this gorgeous red crystal is said to be 1,000 times more valuable than gold. It is found in the Wah Wah Mountains of Utah and is sold at more than £8,000 per carat.
Riddle: What has fifteen diamonds but isn't rich? Answer: A deck of cards.