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GOLD |
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Click on the map to enlarge and view the Glacial Map of Ohio |
The best known and most productive localities have been along Stonelick Creek
and Brushy Fork, north of Owensville, Clermont County, and north of Bellville,
Richland County. It is probable that there are many other equally productive
localities in the glaciated portion of the state.
Gold also will concentrate at the upstream end of gravel bars, on the inside
bend of meanders, or behind large boulders. |
Gold's Wonderful Properties
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Gold, found in its natural state from ancient times to today, is prized above
all other metals for its warm color, low hardness, high strength, and extreme
resistance to corrosion. No natural acids can corrode or discolor it. It is one
of the heaviest metals, having a specific gravity of 19.3, meaning it is 19.3
times heavier than an equal volume of water. Quartz with which gold is usually
found has a sp.g of 2.64, which is the reason gold can be so easily separated
by panning and other methods.
Ninty-nine percent of gold mined today is in small pieces that cannot be seen
with the naked eye. Nuggets of gold are exceedingly rare, and are now found in
very small quantities, most being only a few grains in size. Rarer still is
leaf gold and crystallized gold, and the rarest form of all is wire gold,
usually seen only in museums. |
One of gold's most prized properties is it's low hardness of 2.5 and relatively
low melting point of 1947 degrees F, which made it easily shaped and worked
into intricate designs by craftsmen from the earliest times to the present day.
Since gold is so malleable and ductile it will bend but not break. An ounce of
gold can be beaten into an ultra thin translucent sheet about 100 feet square
or drawn into a fine wire over 50 miles long. Gold is an excellent conductor of
electricity and is widely used in micro electronic circuits.
The purity of gold is measured in Karats, 24 karat being pure, or 12 karat
being 50% gold combined with some other metal such as silver, copper or of a
combination of other metals. Gold is sometimes rated in terms of fineness, and
24 karat gold would be rated as 1000 fine.
24 karat gold is pure. 12 karat gold is 50% pure.
Melting Point: 1337.73K 1064.58°C 1948.24°F
Worldwide the Troy standard is used for measuring the weight of gold.
1 Troy pound = 12 Troy ounces
1 Troy ounce = 20 Pennyweights = 480 Grains = 31.1 grams
The dimensions of a Tone of
pure Gold is only a 14.2 inch cube. |
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