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Let us take a look on the production method of gold to further understand the knowledge of gold. Perhaps many people have heard of making gold and what they imagine in their minds is smelting or refinement.
The term metallurgy is not often used in ordinary daily life. What does metallurgy mean and what is the process?
We will introduce the production method of gold in detail, please refer below.
What is metallurgy?
When we talk about gold manufacturing, we often see the term “metallurgy”.
Metallurgy – extract metal from metal ore
Since ancient times, mankind has known that there are many kinds of metals in ore, but to use it for various purposes, it is necessary to remove impurities and turn the ore into more practical form. Metallurgy is technology for this purpose. Professionally speaking, it is “scientific metallurgy”, which means the technology of extracting metal by chemical methods, to extract metals from minerals, various technologies and knowledge must be possessed. They are called alchemy or metallurgy. Metallurgy in a wide range usually covers this part.
Difference of smelting and refining
When learning about metallurgy and manufacturing, smelting, or refining are often used as synonyms. We should note that these terms have different meanings. To know the difference between these words, you must first understand the meaning of smelting or refining.
What is smelting?
Smelting refers to the process of extracting metals from ore. What metallurgy does is smelting. It refers to the process of extracting metals from ore and reducing metal elements.
What is refining?
Refining refers to the removal of impurities in metal. The metal extracted from the smelting of ore contains many impurities which usually cannot use directly. So, it must go through the refining process.
If you are not familiar with metal manufacturing, you are likely to confuse these two words.
There is a big difference between the two words. Therefore, we must first have a concept, that is the operation process, and the result purpose of smelting and refining are quite different.
How is gold made? Alchemy?
When it comes to method of making gold, many people’s minds are not metallurgy but alchemy.
Alchemy, which often appears in movies or comics, refers to the study of changing in properties of a certain metal to transform it into gold or metal. In the past world, gold was also very valuable but the amount of gold that can be extracted from the ore was too rare, so maybe this made the predecessors think and study “Is there any way to make gold?”.
Even so, it is sad that even with all their efforts, it was still impossible to make gold from any metal.
But this does not mean that alchemy is completely meaningless. The technology developed in alchemy and may new knowledge have discovered in the research are the foundation of modern science.
Gold bars production in modern days
Nowadays, gold is usually traded in the form of gold bars. So, what is the process of making gold bars?
Refer below for the manufacturing process.
1. Mining gold.
2. From the gold ore, copper is melted and refined.
3. During the production of copper, gold and silver ores are produced. These ores are made into copper electrolytic anodes (anodes plates).
4. Precious metal such as gold and silver are precipitated through electrolysis.
5. Inject chlorine gas on the sediment and take out the leaching solution which contains gold.
6. Extract gold using liquid extraction method.
7. Obtain pure gold through refining.
8. Processed into various shapes such as gold bars and shipped out.
The metallurgy method of extracting gold from gold ore can be said deeply related to smelting and refining of copper and silver. The specific process requires you to use your imagination to think about it.
Summary
From old days, people have had metallurgical technology to extract metal from ore. As the time goes by, metallurgical methods have slowly developed.
Perhaps the gold we see is final product, and we have never had the opportunity to turn our attention to the process of their birth.
However, trying to have a little interest and concern for metallurgy may deepen our understanding and knowledge of gold.
