India’s infatuation with
gold is not a secret. For centuries, the glittering metal has been an integral
part of India’s history, culture, religions, and traditions. In spite of
increase in gold rates, Indians have not stopped to buy or invest in this beautiful
and valuable metal. India’s love for gold is so much that the recent survey
report by the World Gold Council shows that in the first quarter of 2017, the
gold purchases made from India were accounted for a little over one-fifth of
world gold jewellery demand. Indians may have an undying relentless love for
gold, however, there are many facts that the Indians and many people in the
world do not know about it. They may know the current gold rate but
there are various interesting facts on its production and consumption that will
for sure leave them amazed. To know more, read on.
1. It is the most malleable and ductile metal in the periodic table.
Even at its highest purity of 99.99 percent, it can be readily cold shaped to
prepare 10 mm thick wires or 0.2 mm thick foil. Since it is soft, it can be
highly polished. It can also be beaten into a very thin translucent foil.
2. When a ray of light is incident on the surface of the translucent
gold foil, the foil acquires reddish/yellow tinge. The light that passes through
it is somewhat blue in color.
3. It is one of the least reactive elements and therefore resistant
to most acids and rusting. However, this yellowish metal can dissolve in ‘Aqua
Regia’ (a solution of nitric acid and hydrochloric acid) and the alkaline solution
of cyanide (a solution used for mining and electroplating).
4. To change the color and strength of the gold, it is often alloyed
with other metals such as copper, which is used to change its color from gold
to rose gold. Gold’s purity is measured in ‘Karat,’ which is denoted by the
letter ‘K’. The word is derived from the Arabic word “qīrāṭ,” which means ‘the
fruit of the carob tree.’ The word also means ‘weight of 4 grains.’ Even in the
olden times, the word was a unit of mass but was used to measure gold. The 18K
gold has 750 parts of pure gold per 1,000.
5. The gold nuggets are hard to find. They are even rarer than a five
carat of diamond. Till today, ‘Welcome Stranger’ is the largest gold nugget
that has been ever discovered. The nugget is 10 by 25 inches in size and was
discovered in Australia by discovered by John Deason and Richard Oates on 5th
February 1869. It was found about two inches below the ground surface and at
that time was reported to yield 2,248 ounces of pure gold.
6. Since the starting of the civilization, about 175,000 tonnes of
gold has been mined by the mankind.
7. In Cabarrus, North Carolina, the first gold nugget discovered was
of 17 pounds. Also in 1803, when more gold was discovered in North Carolina,
the first gold rush in the United States began.
8. The Amersham Corporation of Illinois use the tiny spheres of gold
to tag particular type of proteins. It is a method to know their functions in
the human body, which will further help in the treatment of a disease.
9. China tops the chart of top ten producers of gold in the world.
South Africa was the crowning glory of the list until China overtook this
position in 2007. According to a report by the USGS, in the year 2015, China
had mined 455 metric tons of gold. Other countries that follow on the list
include Australia, Russia, United States, Canada, Peru, South Africa, Mexico,
Indonesia, and Uzbekistan.
10. As per a report by the USGS, the gold production worldwide has
only increased over the years. In the report, the gold production in 1994 was
about 2,300 tonnes per year and in the year 2014, it reached somewhere near to
2,860 tonnes.
11. Worldwide, gold is most commonly used in the form of gold
jewelry. Therefore, the world gold consumption is measured by the gold
jewelry consumption. Among all the nations across the globe, India is the
biggest gold consumer. According to the latest report by the World Gold
Council, in the first quarter of 2017, the gold jewelry demand from India was
92.3 tonnes as compared to 22.9 tonnes in the U.S. another country that closely
follows India in the race is China.
12. The gold rates have only increased with the time. In 2005, gold
was about 57 percent cheaper than platinum. Even though over the last decade,
the gold rates have increased to nearly as high as the price of platinum, the
metal has still remained more popular among Indians than platinum. Even when
the current gold rate in India is high, there has been no significant decline in its demand.
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