Just pure gold (100 percent) or 24 karat gold is way too soft for a metal. This softness allows gold's ductility (ability to be drawn into wires) and malleability (ability to be hammered into sheets).
As 100% pure gold is virtually impossible to achieve, the purest type of gold currently commercially available is 999.99. This is sometimes referred to as five nines fine. The Royal Canadian Mint regularly produces commemorative coins from this fine gold.
Despite this, in truth it is impossible to produce 100% pure gold based on current technical limits. Removing any tiny molecules of other material is not achievable, and would prove extremely expensive and difficult to even prove. This is why, in common terms, pure gold is 999 or 999.9 not 1,000 fineness.
Natural gold nuggets are never 100% pure gold. That is the short answer. Natural alloys of various metals naturally occur with gold in its natural form. The refining process is needed to remove these impurities to produce gold bullion that is truly pure.
999.99 or five nines fine, is the highest quality of fine gold. 22 carat gold, that is typically used in making jewellery, has a fineness of 916. A fineness of 100% is impossible to achieve as there will be some degree of impurity in commercially available gold. Pure gold is too soft to be used in making jewellery.
There is no such thing as 100% pure of ANYTHING realistically. There is always some impurites in everything, even the most “pure” of stuff we can get. Even a 100% pure something will get contaminated very fast.
'Caratage' is the measurement of purity of gold alloyed with other metals. 24 carat is pure gold with no other metals.
Buy Australian gold
These 99.99% pure gold 1 kilo cast bars are now available. Each bar is stamped with The Perth Mint's distinctive Australian Origin Gold logo and a serial number and has a certificate featuring weight, purity and the serial number.
On Earth, gold exists as it is, deep in the earth, though the form it takes (solid, or molten) may differ. There are no naturally occurring processes that produce new gold… on Earth.
Gold often occurs in free elemental (native state), as nuggets or grains, in rocks, veins, and alluvial deposits. It occurs in a solid solution series with the native element silver (as in electrum), naturally alloyed with other metals like copper and palladium, and mineral inclusions such as within pyrite.
With gold having been in use since the dawn of history and new mining still occurring, it may seem strange to think of a day when there is no more gold to be extracted from the ground. Nevertheless, like any other limited natural resource, there is a finite supply of gold in the world.
Gold is rare throughout the Universe because it's a relatively hefty atom, consisting of 79 protons and 118 neutrons. That makes it hard to produce, even in the incredible heat and pressure of the 'chemical forges' of supernovae, the deaths of giant stars responsible for creating most chemical elements.
For example, when gold is exposed to high pressure and temperature, it may react with other environmental elements and form gold compounds. While gold can be damaged and destroyed, it takes time to be done. Gold is a durable, long-lasting material resistant to many environmental factors and elements.
Countries such as Switzerland, Australia, and Canada are known for producing high-purity gold, while countries such as China and Russia are the largest producers of gold in the world.
A group of experts have concluded that the current increased production rate will lead to the depletion of some finite resources, including gold. Just how scarce are our gold reserves? Well, a group of scientists have set a date for the disappearance of the rare metal, and that is just 27 years away, in 2050.
Using the millesimal fineness scale, 999.999 is the purest gold ever made. This was produced by the Perth Mint in 1957. Commonly referred to as six nines fine, it has since been used by The Royal Mint and around the world as the ultimate yardstick for gold purity.
The short answer to the questions posed in this article title is: Yes! gold traces have indeed been identified within the lunar soil. Back in October 2009, NASA conducted a mission called LCROSS, which involved crashing a booster rocket into the Moon at nearly 6,000 miles per hour.
We do know that gold makes up about four parts per billion of the earth's crust. What we don't know, however, is precisely how much gold is still out there. The WGC estimates that there are 54,000 tonnes of “below-ground gold reserves” waiting to be mined.
The United States holds the largest stockpile of gold reserves in the world by a considerable margin at over 8,100 tons. The U.S. government has almost as many reserves as the next three largest gold-holding countries combined (Germany, Italy, and France).
In Australia this concentration of gold took place in the Earth hundreds of millions of years ago in the eastern states, and thousands of millions of years ago in Western Australia. As well as gold, the fluids can carry other dissolved minerals, such as quartz. This is why gold is often found with quartz.
Australia is estimated to have the world's largest gold reserves, with 9,500 tonnes or 17 per cent of the total world estimated gold reserves of 57,000 tonnes.
Your finds
If you find gold or other minerals on a mining tenement where you have have permission to prospect, then these may only be kept with the permission of the mining tenement holder.
Platinum, palladium, and rhodium are rarer than gold. Iridium, osmium and ruthenium are even rarer than the other three.
Because of its softness, 22K gold is more susceptible to scratches, dents, and other forms of wear and tear when worn daily. That's why many high-end jewelry designers often choose 18K or 14K gold for pieces that will be subject to frequent use.
Gold is expensive, no matter what karat it comes in. 10k gold is the most affordable but still comes with a sizable price tag, meaning 14k gold has a significantly higher price to it. Although overall, purchasing 14k gold over 10k gold will get you more value for money depending on how far your budget can stretch.