Periodic Table · element
Gold
Au · Z 79
- atomic number
- 79
- atomic mass
- 196.97
- notation
- Au
- group
- 11: Copper
- period
- 6
- state0c
- Solid
- state20c
- Solid
- occurrence
- Primordial
- density
- 19.3
- melting pt
- 1064.18
- boiling pt
- 2856
- discovered
- -6000
- abundance
- 0.004
- ore grade
- 2
- ore minerals
- native gold in quartz veins; refractory gold locked in pyrite and arsenopyrite; placer
- mined as
- Primary
extraction
A gram or two per tonne is a good mine. Ore is ground and leached with dilute cyanide, the gold adsorbed onto activated carbon (CIL/CIP), stripped and electrowon into doré. Refractory ore is roasted, pressure-oxidised or bio-oxidised first to break the sulfides open. Placer gold is simply washed out by density, as it has been for five thousand years.
categories
#Transition Metal#Metal
Referenced by
equation
mine
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