Why is Gold Rare?

[Serendipity]

Gold owes its status as a precious metal to its rarity, but why isn't there more of this expensive element?

https://www.sciencefocus.com/science/why-is-gold-rare/

[sovereignsteve]

This is current state of the art scientific thinking therefore there will a conspiracy theory somewhere that will state it's all a lie and there is an unlimited amount deep underground just waiting to be found.

[Michal]

"We are nothing more than stardust" - don't remember who said that 😂

[Au79]

It is rare for doing nothing (non-reactive) most of the time.

 

[UltramanArgent]

1 hour ago, sovereignsteve said:

This is current state of the art scientific thinking therefore there will a conspiracy theory somewhere that will state it's all a lie and there is an unlimited amount deep underground just waiting to be found.

There are two things that will almost certainly change the status of Gold in terms of its rarity, the question is if we can actually access it or not. The first, which is more likely to happen within this century, is asteroid mining - there's lots of gold out there in the Asteroid belt, with 16 Psyche being thought to be a particularly rich supply. Earth gold will probably keep its rarity, but it might have to compete with 'space gold' in the future!

The second is deep within the mantle. Since gold is a heavy element, when the earth first formed a lot of it sunk deep below the surface, before periodically being sent upwards through tectonic behaviour. This still happens to this day - in 1994, it was reported that Galeras, Colombia's most active volcano, was erupting about a pound of gold in the composition of its lava every day. While we certainly can't access the stuff that's already in the mantle, maybe one day we might quite literally strike gold in the cooled lava flows around some of the other active volcanoes across the world  

[sixgun]

Bix Weir told me there are billions of tonnes of gold in the Grand Canyon. It's all top secret and this is why they set up the Federal Reserve Bank. 🤡

[sovereignsteve]

33 minutes ago, sixgun said:

Bix Weir told me there are billions of tonnes of gold in the Grand Canyon. It's all top secret and this is why they set up the Federal Reserve Bank. 🤡

That is why the Us have sold all their gold and Fort Knox is empty. They are waiting for China and Russia to accumulate it all, reset  the price and then all that stuff can be dug out of the canyon.

[KDave]

Canada is genuinely in that position since selling the last of its gold reserves; nothing in the vaults, everything in the ground. Just needs to nationalise the mines, job done. 

[HighlandTiger]

gold is rare cos it ain't from around these parts.......

 

"Ultra high precision analyses of some of the oldest rock samples on Earth by researchers at the University of Bristol provides clear evidence that the planet's accessible reserves of precious metals are the result of a bombardment of meteorites more than 200 million years after Earth was formed."

 

Just got to find where those meteorites came from.......

[Bimetallic]

On 07/08/2019 at 03:37, Michal said:

"We are nothing more than stardust" - don't remember who said that 😂

Neil Degrasse Tyson said it or something similar.

[Bimetallic]

21 hours ago, HighlandTiger said:

gold is rare cos it ain't from around these parts.......

 

"Ultra high precision analyses of some of the oldest rock samples on Earth by researchers at the University of Bristol provides clear evidence that the planet's accessible reserves of precious metals are the result of a bombardment of meteorites more than 200 million years after Earth was formed."

 

Just got to find where those meteorites came from.......

Maybe the 16 Psyche asteroid?

[sovereignsteve]

On 7 August 2019 at 11:37, Michal said:

"We are nothing more than stardust" - don't remember who said that 😂

Joni Michell said "we are stardust" in her song Woodstock

[Bimetallic]

5 minutes ago, sovereignsteve said:

Joni Michell said "we are stardust" in her song Woodstock

Right. Tyson here: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/484586-the-atoms-of-our-bodies-are-traceable-to-stars-that

[UltramanArgent]

10 hours ago, Bimetallic said:

Maybe the 16 Psyche asteroid?

A lot of it may have come from the Late Heavy Bombardment, in which essentially all of the inner planets (and the Moon too!) were peppered by an endless onslaught of asteroids fired out towards the sun by Jupiter, although other theories exist for what might have been happening back then. If a bombardment event did happen, it's perfectly possible that there may be Gold somewhere on the Moon. Considering its dark side is covered in meteor and asteroid craters, there may well be a treasure trove in the lunar soil waiting up there.

[Michal]

I think it was Neil in "Beyond the universe"

[KevjustKev]

On 07/08/2019 at 12:11, UltramanArgent said:

There are two things that will almost certainly change the status of Gold in terms of its rarity, the question is if we can actually access it or not. The first, which is more likely to happen within this century, is asteroid mining - there's lots of gold out there in the Asteroid belt, with 16 Psyche being thought to be a particularly rich supply. Earth gold will probably keep its rarity, but it might have to compete with 'space gold' in the future!

The second is deep within the mantle. Since gold is a heavy element, when the earth first formed a lot of it sunk deep below the surface, before periodically being sent upwards through tectonic behaviour. This still happens to this day - in 1994, it was reported that Galeras, Colombia's most active volcano, was erupting about a pound of gold in the composition of its lava every day. While we certainly can't access the stuff that's already in the mantle, maybe one day we might quite literally strike gold in the cooled lava flows around some of the other active volcanoes across the world  

In a previous life, I got my hands on some of the ex-lava from that volcano, two day old rock. Than cut it up!😁

[HighlandTiger]

I think the legendary genius that is Carl Sagan first spoke of us all being made of "star stuff"