Gold Mineral Data

General Gold Information

Chemical Formula:

Composition:

Molecular Weight = 196.97 gm

Gold 100.00 % Au

______

100.00 %

Empirical Formula:

Environment:

Quartz veins and alluvial deposits.

IMA Status:

Valid Species (Pre-IMA) Prehistoric

Locality:

Sierra Nevada Mountains, Nome, Alaska and many other places in the world. Link to MinDat.org Location Data.

Name Origin:

Anglo Saxon, of uncertain origin.

Name Pronunciation:

Gold

Synonym:

Electrum - Ag Alloy

ICSD 64701

Oro

PDF 4-784

Gold Image

Images:

Gold Silver

Comments: Very well crystallized Electrum (Silver rich gold) on quartz. The analysis gave 31.47% silver.
Location: Verespatak (now Rosia Montana), Transylvania, Romania. Scale: 2.8 x 3.4 cm.
© Fabre Minerals

Images:

Gold

Comments: Well crystallized bright metallic gold specimen.
Location: Red Ledge mine, Nevada Co., California. Scale: 3.5 x 6 cm in size.
© Dan Weinrich

Images:

Gold Isomertieite Arsenopalladinite Bornite

Comments: Light grayish grain of intimately intergrown isomertieite and arsenopalladinite (in the center of the picture), with pale yellow gold and brownish to violet bornite. Polished section (from microprobe analysis) in reflected light.
Location: Noril'sk, Putoran Mts, Taymyrskiy Autonomous Okrug, Eastern-Siberian Region, Russia. Scale: Picture size 0.1 mm.
© Thomas Witzke / Abraxas-Verlag

Images:

Gold Petzite

Comments: Dark, stubby petzite crystals with native gold on quartz.
Location: Rosia Montana (Verespatak), Transylvania, Romania. Scale: Not Given.
© Lou Perloff / Photo Atlas of Minerals

Images:

Gold

Comments: Two skeletal octahedral crystals of gold. Stereo pair images..
Location: Berezovsk Mine, Russia. Scale: Crystal size 1.1 cm.
© John Veevaert

Images:

Gold Rucklidgeite

Comments: Polished section (PPL) image of sphalerite(sph)-chalcopyrite ore associated with hessite (he), rucklidgeite (rk), pyrite (py) and native gold (Au).
Location: Level 1070 m., Massive sulphide deposits of the Hanson-Flin Flon-Snow Lake, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Canada. Scale: Picture Size 0,12 mm.
© National Resouces of Canada

Gold Crystallography

Cell Dimensions:

a = 4.0786, Z = 4; V = 67.85 Den(Calc)= 19.28

Crystal System:

Isometric - HexoctahedralH-M Symbol (4/m 3 2/m) Space Group: F m3m

$Help on X Ray Diffraction:$ X Ray Diffraction:

By Intensity(I/I_o): 2.355(1), 2.039(0.52), 1.23(0.36),

Forms:

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Forms: ( 1 1 1)

Warning: this large pop-up is very compute intensive and may not work well with some computers.

Crystal Structure:

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drag1 - LMB Manipulate Structure
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Wyckoff R W G , Crystal Structures , 1 (1963) p.7-83, Second edition. Interscience Publishers, New York, New York, Cubic closest packed, ccp, structure

View Additional jPOWD Structure files for Gold
[jpx]

Physical Properties of Gold

Cleavage:

None

Color:

Yellow, Pale yellow, Orange, Yellow white, Reddish white.

Density:

16 - 19.3, Average = 17.64

Diaphaneity:

Opaque

Fracture:

Hackly - Jagged, torn surfaces, (e.g. fractured metals).

Habit:

Arborescent - "Tree like" growths of branched systems (e.g. silver).

Habit:

Granular - Generally occurs as anhedral to subhedral crystals in matrix.

Habit:

Platy - Sheet forms (e.g. micas).

Hardness:

2.5-3 - Finger Nail-Calcite

Luminescence:

Non-fluorescent.

Luster:

Metallic

Magnetism:

Nonmagnetic

Streak:

yellow

Optical Properties of Gold

Optical Data:

NCalc= 4.05 - from Gladstone-Dale relationship (KC = 0.1582) where Ncalc=Dcalc*KC+1
NCalc= 3.79 - from Gladstone-Dale relationship (KC = 0.1582) where Ncalc=Dmeas*KC+1

RL Color:

Gold-yellow when pure, silver white to copper-red when impure, blue and green in transmitted light.

Reflectivity

**Standardized Intensity (100%) Reflection Spectra of Gold in Air**
λ	R	∑ R(λ)
400 nm	24.90
420 nm	26.50
440 nm	28.10
460 nm	31.60
480 nm	39.00
500 nm	49.50
520 nm	57.80
540 nm	63.40
560 nm	67.80
580 nm	71.00
600 nm	73.80
620 nm	76.10
640 nm	78.20
660 nm	80.10
680 nm	81.90
700 nm	83.60

**Calculated Relative Intensity Colors of Gold in Air**
Relative Intensity	0%	30%	60%	90%	100%	120%	150%	180%	210%	240%	270%	280%
R

Calculated Properties of Gold

Electron Density:

Bulk Density (Electron Density)=15.5 gm/cc
note: Specific Gravity of Gold =19.3 gm/cc.

Fermion Index:

Fermion Index = 0
Boson Index = 1

Photoelectric:

PE_Gold=1,695.89 barns/electron
U=PE_Gold x rElectron Density=26228.24 barns/cc.

Radioactivity:

GRapi = 0 (Gamma Ray American Petroleum Institute Units)
Gold is Not Radioactive

Gold Classification

Dana Class:

01.01.01.01 (01)Native Elements

(01.01)with metallic elements other than the platinum group

(01.01.01)Gold group

01.01.01.01 Gold Au F m3m 4/m 3 2/m

01.01.01.02 Silver Ag F m3m 4/m 3 2/m

01.01.01.03 Copper Cu F m3m 4/m 3 2/m

01.01.01.04 Lead Pb F m3m 4/m 3 2/m

01.01.01.05 Aluminum Al F m3m,P m3m 4/m 3 2/m

Strunz Class:

01.AA.05 01 - ELEMENTS (Metals and intermetallic alloys; metalloids and nonmetals; carbides, silicides, nitrides, phosphides)

01.A - Metals and Intermetallic Alloys

01.AA -Copper-cupalite family

01.AA.05 Aluminum Al F m3m,P m3m 4/m 3 2/m

01.AA.05 Copper Cu F m3m 4/m 3 2/m

01.AA.05 Lead Pb F m3m 4/m 3 2/m

01.AA.05 Gold Au F m3m 4/m 3 2/m

01.AA.05 Nickel Ni F m3m 4/m 3 2/m

01.AA.05 Silver Ag F m3m 4/m 3 2/m

Other Gold Information

References:

NAME( Sinkankas66) PHYS. PROP.(Enc. of Minerals,2nd ed.,1990) OPTIC PROP.(AntBidBlaNic1)

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Gold

Au
Dana No: 01.01.01.01 Strunz No: 01.AA.05
Locality:

Notes: