Gold is So Costly

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.

Name of the America

How did America get its name?

Christopher Columbus

          Today America, popularly called U.S.A., is regarded as a superpower and one of the most affluent countries in the world. Its development is mainly confined to the last two hundred years.

          The world famous Italian traveler, Christopher Columbus set out on a sea Voyage in search of India in 1492. He landed on an island on the morning of October 12, 1492, and named it after the name of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain as ‘San Salvador’. This island was a part of America, now called Watling Island, He thought it was India, and started calling its inhabitants Indians.

          Even today, their descendants are often called Indians (though calling them ‘native Americans’ is more politically correct). Columbus wanted to go to Japan, but instead he reached Cuba and Hispaniola. Disappointed with his failure to locate India, Columbus returned to Spain on March 13, 1493.

Amerigo Vespucci

            On his second voyage, which started on September 24, 1493, Columbus discovered several Virgin Islands like Puerto Rico and Jamaica, but again failed to locate India. On his third journey in 1498, he discovered Trinidad and touched South America. During this period, a Florentine sailor named first person to have landed at the mainland of South America on June 16, 1497. In 1499, Alonso de Ojeda, accompanied by Amerigo Vespucci sailed up to the Orinoco straits and discovered Venezuela. During 1501-1502, Amerigo Vespucci himself directed a sea voyage under the Portuguese banner and discovered Brazil. It became clear to Amerigo Vespucci that what Columbus considered to be a part of Asia, was in fact a continent of the new world. In the beginning of 1500, Amerigo Vespucci’s writings were widely circulated and he got the credit of becoming the first European to have discovered South America. 

               A German geographer, Wald see miller, named the territory of Brazil as America in honor of Amerigo Vespucci. This name caught people’s fancy and the entire world started called the continents America, in his honor. To day, the tow continent-North and South America- is collectively referred to as the America. In New York, there is even a famous street called the avenue of the Americas.