Vintage Gold or New Gold?

Gold is one of the oldest symbols of wealth and eternal youth. It is rare, does not tarnish, does not corrode or corrupt despite the ravages of time. The rarity and eternal nature of gold made it the alchemist’s favorite element. For many of the same reasons that alchemists loved gold, we use gold in modern fashion and technologies.

Gold is naturally occurring and we have mined it for millennia. Gold is made into jewelry, wires, cables, and decor. But mining takes its toll.

In modern times, gold mining is not shaft mining. Miners do not decend into shafts looking for veins of glittering ore just waiting to be plucked. Instead, modern gold mining operations utilize pit mining. The acceptable ratio of gold to earth that makes gold pit mining profitable is 2 grams of gold to 1 ton of earth.

Once mined, the gold is processed. Gold melts at just shy of 2,000 degrees F, which is necessary to burn off impurities, and to pour the gold into useable shapes.

Last February, an Australian mining company called Predictive Discovery Ltd found additional unmined caches of gold in their exploration of mining in Guinea, West Africa. The mining is taking place about 340 miles away from the capital city of Conakry.

Predictive Discovery Ltd in cooperation with the Argo Mining SARLU permit holders, reported a discovery of 4.2 million ounces of Gold. That’s a lot of gold! They say they found gold at a rate of 4.75 grams per ton of earth removed which is more than twice as profitable as the minimum requirement of 2 grams of gold per 1 ton of earth ratio.

Predictive Discovery Ltd and Argo Mining worked with the Guinea government to make sure their mining did not harm the social fabric of the nation, nor the environment.

Most of the discovered gold is located in a national park. The gold mining operation requires the area to be clear-cut and pit mined, for 4.75 grams of gold in each 2,000 pounds of earth.

Since the discovery and approval, the mining operation has changed hands. Now the mine is owned and operated by Nordgold, whose principle shareholder is Alexey Mordashov of Russia.

It is for all the implications of mining new gold from pit mines like this that we prefer vintage gold and gold-filled items.

Vintage gold does not promote the creation of new mines.
Gold-filled items contain a Sterling silver core with layers of gold applied to the surface.
The cost of new purified gold is high, not just for you, but for every person and animal who happens to be near the gold along the way.

Find your next gold-filled or vintage gold item in the Pendant and Ring Etsy store.

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