Why is gold so costly?
Gold
Ornaments
Since the beginning of the civilization, man has
had a deep fascination for this shiny, yellow colored metal, which symbioses
affluence even today. Kings and emperors always attached great importance to
gold. The statues of our gods and goddesses are decorated with gold ornaments.
There
are many reasons for this. Firstly it is a rare metal and is found in very
small quantities. Its yellow color and sheen are very attractive, and being
soft, it can be easily fashioned into beautiful ornaments. Lastly, it is not
affected by heat, cold, wind and humidity.
Gold
is found in both free and combined states. To extract gold from its ores is a
very costly process. An exception was a small rock of seventy-and-a-half
kilograms found in Victoria,
Australia,
which yielded seventy kilograms of pure gold, but such rocks are very rare.
Extremely small quantities of gold are obtained from gold mines. Seawater
contains traces of gold, but its extraction is uneconomical. Gold also occurs
as fine grains in sand and gravel.
A
significant portion of the world’s total gold production is used in ornaments.
Gold is also used in medicines and dentistry. Till 1914, currencies of
different countries were exchanged in terms of gold only. Even today, the
entire global economy is based on gold. For instance, the government of India had to deposit India’s
gold reserved in the bank of England
as security against India
not being able to repay an installment of its foreign loan. It is a soft and
malleable metal; hence it can be easily converted into thin sheets. Thin layers
of gold are coated on other metals also. This process is called gold plating.
Other
metals like copper, silver, zinc, etc. are mixed with gold to make it hard. It
is not affected by most acids and alkalis, but dissolves in aquaria, a mixture
of nitric acid and hydrochloric acid. Since the price of gold is consistently
rising, people are investing money in gold and boarding the metal instead of
the currency. Hence gold is regarded as a good security, and a sage investment.
The gold mines of India are found in Karnataka,
South Africa, Russia, Australia,
Canada and the United States of America
are the biggest producers of gold in the world.
