Gold: a metal that has attracted and fascinated the human being since ancient times.
It is used to embellish people, buildings, objects, and its charm knows no boundaries or time limits .
It was liked at the time of the Egyptians and Romans; it was liked by the grandmothers of the last century who, in giving gold objects, expressed all the affection and good wishes to loved ones. Young people like it, who use it in modern manufacturing to express sentiment when it is truly sincere.
Not only that: gold is a symbol of power, wealth, luxury and well-being, referring to individuals, but also and above all to nations and peoples.
The search for this metal, yellow and ductile, has given rise to stories and life stories that have stimulated the imagination of writers and directors.
Gold can be found in nuggets or grains in rocks , or in specks in alluvial deposits. In fact, the metal is distributed throughout the earth's crust, but it is convenient to extract it where, for various reasons, it has accumulated more.
The most interesting gold veins are found, as well as in alluvial deposits, where gold is dragged as a result of erosions caused by atmospheric agents, in metamorphic rocks and in igneous rocks. Here it accumulates in more interesting percentages, for a process of metamorphism, and it becomes convenient to extract it.
Getting gold from rocks, in closed or open cast mines, it is a complex and expensive process; you have to move large quantities of soil, use energy to treat the rocks and chemicals to extract the precious metal.
The most important gold deposits are found in South Africa, China, the United States (especially Dakota and Nevada), Russia, Peru and Australia. Unfortunately, however, gold mining is not a friendly process for the territory; the landscapes are upset by the displacement of large quantities of land, not to mention the explosions which are used to crush rocks. Furthermore, to separate the precious metal from the rocks in which it is present, potentially dangerous products are used, such as mercury and cyanide.
Without going into the details of the process that these elements carry out to extract and purify gold, it is important to know that given their high toxicity, large sums of money are needed to manage these operations, without compromising human health and the environment.
The problem is so significant that governments have set themselves the goal of trying to avoid damage to the ecosystem as much as possible . So we started talking about "ethical gold", that is gold extracted with methods that respect the ecosystem, but also attentive to the conditions of the populations living in the vicinity of the extraction areas.
Ethical gold must be obtained without the use of explosives and without the use of dangerous products; we talk about environmental sustainability and social responsibility. The first envisages that all chemical agents that are enemies of the environment are avoided in the extraction phase; this involves an extraction made mainly from alluvial deposits. By social responsibility, on the other hand, we mean that aid and attention are provided both for those who work in the extractions and for the populations living in the areas in question. In practice it translates into respect for the various ethnic traditions, with structural works, medical assistance, education and training.
It is a step forward in the correct management of this ancient and yet still valid activity, but it is also a reflection that is essential.
The total gold extracted so far from the earth's surface is around 140 thousand tons, distributed in various forms and concentrations.
A part of this gold lies inert in the drawers of the homes of citizens who, because it is broken, unpaired, no longer current in form and workmanship, forget it and do not consider it.
In recent decades, alongside the traditional jewelers, various gold buying activities have sprung up . Even if they are often viewed with suspicion, these activities, when they are in good standing and managed by good professionals, represent a valid alternative to jewelry, when you want to sell gold that is no longer used.
A gold buying shop is regulated by specific laws and deals with the buying and selling of used gold. The purchased gold is then delivered to special refineries, which melt it and create new ingots of pure gold.
This implies a response to the demand for gold and, consequently, a lower need to extract the metal in nature. As we have seen, the less gold we try to extract from the veins, the more we protect the environment. Recycling the forgotten gold serves to be able to dispose of the metal and meet the demands in a simple and ecological way.
Selling your gold, no matter how old or broken, is easier than you might think. Just follow a few simple steps. First of all weigh the gold at home, in order to have an idea, even if not exactly exact to the milligram, of how much you have. Then just log in to any online site to find out the current price per gram. If desired, on some sites, you can also block the price, if it appears convenient.
Finally, we go to the shop, preferably more than one, with an identity card.
Here you listen to the purchase proposal made by the owner and if you agree you come out with the money, or with a check.
It is worth thinking about it, not only to use resources that are left in the drawers that are useless, but also to help this Earth already so exploited.
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