# Have We Mined All the Gold? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 16, 2009, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-mined-all-the-gold/506634 "2009-08-16T17:33:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Mesquite-oh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a183cd/32.png) [@Mesquite-oh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mesquite-oh)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-mined-all-the-gold/506634/41 "2009-08-18T06:35:12Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > I remember quite some excitement around 1991 about the gold content in black smokers. Obama has gold in him? That is quite exciting, even 20 year later. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-mined-all-the-gold/506634/42 "2009-08-18T10:50:31Z")
Can’t they transmute base metals into gold by nuclear hocus pocus now? ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-mined-all-the-gold/506634/43 "2009-08-18T14:35:32Z")
If they could, they’d only be able to make an atom of it and that might only last for a billionth of a second. That’s not really too handy if you’re trying to make a real estate purchase, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![IAmNotSpartacus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@IAmNotSpartacus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IAmNotSpartacus)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-mined-all-the-gold/506634/44 "2009-08-18T14:43:42Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > Can’t they transmute base metals into gold by nuclear hocus pocus now? Sure, but you have to be a level 60 enchanter and your jewelrymaking skill has to be maxxed out. …I put on my robe and wizard hat… ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-mined-all-the-gold/506634/45 "2009-08-18T14:55:43Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > In addition to wires, gold is used as a solder in some applications, as a coloring agent for glass, as electromagnetic shielding for spacecraft, as a conductive alloy to coat biological specimens, in your teeth, in radioactive isotope form for certain types of medical imaging, as a lubricant in certain high-precision machinery, and as an excellent brand name for pretzels. Gold is also used in musical instruments. I have several gold-plated saxophone mouthpieces (besides sounding good, the plating is necessary as protection against the toxicity of the bell metal alloy the mouthpieces are made of). Professional grade flutes have gold alloy springs, and some use gold for the embouchure, the head joint, or even the whole body. ---
**Author:** ![cantara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6f9a4e/32.png) [@cantara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cantara)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-mined-all-the-gold/506634/46 "2009-08-18T15:43:35Z")
Timely… [Possible discovery of fabled mother lode sparks new Klondike gold rush](http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5iqiLvbvne6f46b8NNukvo0AWRPhw) The article doesn’t suggest the size of the deposit(s), but does discuss the concentration… > [@](#): > > Many operating mines exploit deposits that yield one gram of gold per tonne of ore. White-Gold-area miners report 100-metre stretches of claim that yield three or four times that. > > One company says a small section of its claim contains 410 grams of gold per tonne. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-mined-all-the-gold/506634/47 "2009-08-18T16:33:44Z")
> [@CC](#): > > If they could, they’d only be able to make an atom of it and that might only last for a billionth of a second. That’s not really too handy if you’re trying to make a real estate purchase, for instance. I checked the net, it can and has been done, and for more than a billionth of a second too. (Prohibitively expensive, certainly, cheaper and faster than the ocean route though!) > [@](#): > > Transmutation of lead into gold isn’t just theoretically possible - it has been achieved! There are reports that Glenn Seaborg, 1951 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, succeeded in transmuting a minute quantity of lead (possibly en route from bismuth, in 1980) into gold. There is an earlier report (1972) in which Soviet physicists at a nuclear research facility near Lake Baikal in Siberia accidentally discovered a reaction for turning lead into gold when they found the lead shielding of an experimental reactor had changed to gold. [Link](http://chemistry.about.com/cs/generalchemistry/a/aa050601a.htm) ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-mined-all-the-gold/506634/48 "2009-08-18T16:39:20Z")
Ok, let me just say that the report of the soviet physicists is open to question. If nothing else, lead that is used in reactors around the world might have exhibited the same reaction. I haven’t found any references to such a thing. And, as your cite mentioned, the gold the Seborg et al may have formed was unstable and did not remain as elemental gold. Point is, at this state of the art, don’t put your money on a company that can, even via radioactivity, turn your fishing weights into jewelry. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-mined-all-the-gold/506634/49 "2009-08-18T17:47:09Z")
Well, poking around a bit, turning lead to gold from nuclear methods seems particularly troublesome, as lead is higher up on the periodic table, and thus you’d have to split parts out of its nucleus, instead of bombarding it. But no really common ‘base metal’ is in a really convenient place for the bombardment method either. The best one I could find was tin If you take tin 120, bombard each nucleus with 14 beta particles, 1 proton, and 20 neutrons, then you should have gold 197 left over. Good luck trying to juggle that reaction on a large scale though. 🙂 Which makes me think, is there some other valuable in-demand element, below Uranium on the table, that could be more easily formed from a common element by nuclear bombardment? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-mined-all-the-gold/506634/50 "2009-08-18T17:55:52Z")
Yeah, ironically it’s actually easier to turn gold into lead than the other way around. Quoth **ghardester** : > [@](#): > > Well a ‘ooh shiny’ Krugerrand that is about the size of a US 50 cent piece is worth about $1000 right now. Stay amused, but it’s not just pretty. Well, yes, but why is it worth that much? Almost entirely just because it’s pretty and shiny. You can eat wheat or beef, you can make things out of steel or copper. Those things have intrinsic value. Gold, though, despite what Ron Paul will tell you, has almost no intrinsic value beyond just being pretty (yes, there are a few practical uses for gold, but not nearly as much as for steel). ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-mined-all-the-gold/506634/51 "2009-08-18T19:16:44Z")
> [@HorseloverFat](#): > > No way. Its probably closer to two Mt. Fujis. I don’t think there’s that much refined _silver_ in the world, let alone gold. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-mined-all-the-gold/506634/52 "2009-08-18T19:41:28Z")
Apparently the California gold rush miners only got the more obvious stuff and there’s quite a bit more down there; it just hasn’t yet been worth the cost of digging it out. Some local people still go panning in the hills and claim you can get a decent return for a week’s work. At the library, I’ve had guys looking for old maps so they can camp at a good spot. ---
**Author:** ![Jamicat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c67d28/32.png) [@Jamicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamicat)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-mined-all-the-gold/506634/53 "2009-08-19T01:20:07Z")
> [@chrisk](#): > > Well, poking around a bit, turning lead to gold from nuclear methods seems particularly troublesome, as lead is higher up on the periodic table, and thus you’d have to split parts out of its nucleus, instead of bombarding it. > > But no really common ‘base metal’ is in a really convenient place for the bombardment method either. The best one I could find was tin > > If you take tin 120, bombard each nucleus with 14 beta particles, 1 proton, and 20 neutrons, then you should have gold 197 left over. Good luck trying to juggle that reaction on a large scale though. 🙂 > > Which makes me think, is there some other valuable in-demand element, below Uranium on the table, that could be more easily formed from a common element by nuclear bombardment? I casually researched this for my book..they say that in order to change the lead atom it has to be put into a higher state, the article claims “bismuth”…when the atoms fraction off, I suspect there were traces of mercury and thallium along with the gold and whatever other elements the atom parts happen to stick together as. I’m new in this field of exploration, so I have no freaking idea what the hell happens. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-mined-all-the-gold/506634/54 "2009-08-19T05:07:58Z")
> [@chrisk](#): > > Which makes me think, is there some other valuable in-demand element, below Uranium on the table, that could be more easily formed from a common element by nuclear bombardment? Any chance for lithium? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-mined-all-the-gold/506634/55 "2009-08-19T05:11:35Z")
> [@chrisk](#): > > Which makes me think, is there some other valuable in-demand element, below Uranium on the table, that could be more easily formed from a common element by nuclear bombardment? Plutonium. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-mined-all-the-gold/506634/56 "2009-08-19T05:13:05Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Plutonium. lol ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-mined-all-the-gold/506634/57 "2009-08-19T09:59:26Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Plutonium. For certain values of “below uranium”, agreed. All this talk of transmutation reminds me of another Pterry quote, about alchemists with the remarkable talent for turning gold into less gold. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![EdwardLost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@EdwardLost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EdwardLost)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-mined-all-the-gold/506634/58 "2009-08-19T12:31:19Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Quoth **ghardester** :Well, yes, but why is it worth that much? Almost entirely just because it’s pretty and shiny. You can eat wheat or beef, you can make things out of steel or copper. Those things have intrinsic value. Gold, though, despite what Ron Paul will tell you, has almost no intrinsic value beyond just being pretty (yes, there are a few practical uses for gold, but not nearly as much as for steel). I think it’s a chicken-and-egg thing. Gold has value because it’s rare, so it’s main use is to display wealth. True, gold is of little use for making tools, weapons (except bullets), and I-beams, but if gold were as common as iron I think a lot more uses would have been found for it. Gold is probably better than lead for most things lead has been used for; it probably would replace copper in many uses. Gold is pretty and shiny mainly because it resists oxidation. That’s a very useful property in a metal. Gold was used for tooth fillings (originally, at least) despite, not because of, its value - because it was the best material for the job. I would bet that cheap-as-iron gold, gold alloy, or gold plating would have been used in a lot of situations where corrosion was a problem. There he goes: Columbus sailing to America in his gold-plated ships in search of spices, oblivious to shipworms. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-we-mined-all-the-gold/506634.md?page=2)