Gold Ore

Gold extraction

Gold extraction is the extraction of gold from dilute ores using a combination of chemical processes. Gold mining produces about 3,600 tons annually, and another 300 tons is produced from recycling. Since the 20th century, gold has been principally extracted in a cyanide process by leaching the ore with cyanide solution. The gold may then be further refined by gold parting, which removes other metals by blowing chlorine gas through the molten metal. Historically, small particles of gold were amalgamated with mercury, and then concentrated by boiling away the mercury. The mercury method is still used in some small operations.

Ore

Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically including metals, concentrated above background levels, and that is economically viable to mine and process. Ore grade refers to the concentration of the desired material it contains. The value of the metals or minerals a rock contains must be weighed against the cost of extraction to determine whether it is of sufficiently high grade to be worth mining and is therefore considered an ore. A complex ore is one containing more than one valuable mineral.

Gold

Gold is a chemical element; its chemical symbol is Au and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a bright-metallic-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal, a group 11 element, and one of the noble metals. It is one of the least reactive chemical elements, being the second lowest in the reactivity series, with only platinum ranked as less reactive. Gold is solid under standard conditions.

Gold (color)

Gold, also called golden, is a color tone resembling the chemical element gold.

gold

Noun

1. A heavy yellow elemental metal of great value, with atomic number 79.
2. A coin or coinage made of this material, or supposedly so.

Symbol

1. ☉ (alchemy)

ore

Symbol

1. ISO 639-3 language code for Orejón.

Noun

1. Rock or other material that contains valuable or utilitarian materials; primarily a rock containing metals or gems for which it is typically mined and processed.