Mining for Gold Articles

When I was analyzing some of the blog data, I noticed that our top Mining blog article of all time addressed Pyrite, also known as fools’ gold. Another quick glance and I discovered additional gold stories were viewed often. So I thought our readers may want to access some of our gold articles in one place. Here are our top 7 gold articles published on Advancing Mining:

Pyrite: The Real Story Behind “Fool’s Gold” — Pyrite is called “Fool’s Gold” because it resembles gold to the untrained eye. While pyrite has a brass-yellow color and metallic luster similar to gold, pyrite is brittle and will break rather than bend as gold does. Gold leaves a yellow streak, while pyrite’s streak is brownish black. Read more about pyrite and its properties.
From Tailings to Treasure? A New Mother Lode — One South African company abandoned traditional mining to focus on extracting gold from tailings. New technology allows it to recover up to 40% of the gold left in particle form in tailings. In one quarter, they extracted 33,600 ounces of gold, worth nearly US$40 million.
Gold Mining, Past and Present: What Does the Future Hold? — To enhance their chances of finding gold, geologists may use geophysical methods to measure variations in the physical properties of rocks that may indicate the presence of gold, such as density, magnetism, electrical conductivity, or natural radioactivity. Although these geophysical methods can be crucial for gold exploration, geochemical methods – including portable x-ray florescence (XRF) – are the only methods that can measure concentrations of gold and other associated elements.
A Reader Asks: Can XRF Tell the Difference Between Precious Metals and Pyrite? — A reader gets the answer to: “Can the XRF analyzers tell the difference between precious metals and pyrite when the pyrite is silver or brassy yellow without being deceived?” Read the answer.
Portable XRF Analyzers Lead the Way…to Gold — Sampling techniques are aimed at mapping the distribution of gold and in particular, the various elements associated with gold known as the pathfinder elements (silver, copper, zinc, nickel, mercury, arsenic and barium). Pathfinder elements are very important in finding gold because they help focus the search area. It’s much easier to find the pathfinder elements than it is to find gold, and once found they can help determine if gold is nearby. Read how geologists use portable XRF analysis as a direct check on the identification of lithology and base metal anomalies used in gold exploration.
Can Gold Help Mining Exploration Spending Increase? — While geologists employ geophysical methods for gold exploration, geochemical methods – including x-ray florescence (XRF) – are the only methods that can measure concentrations of gold and other pathfinder elements. Portable XRF analyzers are used in various stages of gold exploration and mining including grass-root exploration finding source of gold in stream sediments, core logging, identification of lithologies, and even grade control. Read more.
Ancient Egypt May Point the Way to Modern Gold Discoveries — Some geologists believe that in Egypt, ancient gold mines abandoned centuries ago, point the way for modern miners. An exploration company working in the area is using modern mining techniques and technology in the hope to recover a lot of the gold that the Egyptians missed, because they were unable to mine it and process it. More than 100 gold deposits have already been identified.