A knowledge of the commercial uses of gold enables a savvy investor to make a judgement on the future demand for the metal and in conjunction with other criteria such as the erosion of the purchasing power of a currency, political factors, gold hoarding or selling off by governments, the technical picture, etc.etc., can make the decision to be long, short or stay out of the market until a more favorable opportunity occurs.

Basic Information

Chemical Symbol: Au Atomic Number: 79 Melting Point: 1947.97 Degrees Fahrenheit, 1064.43 Degrees Centigrade

Medicine

Gold is non toxic and biologically benign, an excellent conductor of electricity, virtually indestructible, easy to shape and flatten and can be drawn out into microscopically thin strands known as bonding wire.

The most well known use of gold in medicine is in dentistry. The metal is combined with other metals such as platinum, silver, copper zinc or palladium to produce non-toxic, chemically inert alloys that are easy for dentists to work with and are strong and lasting.

The current demand for gold in dentistry is about 60 tonnes annually having recovered from a decline to circa 48 tonnes in 1987.

Rapid and ongoing developments in the use of lasers incorporating gold coatings are making dramatic progress in the treatment of cancers, sealing battlefield wounds in the field, emergency injury treatments in hospitals and previously inoperable heart conditions and tumors.

Lasers reliant on gold are used in delicate eye and brain surgery where absolute accuracy is essential.

Another recent development is the use of gold-coated lasers in the rejuvenation of burnt or damaged skin tissue leaving adjacent healthy tissue unaffected.

Gold helps in the treatment of prostate cancer and some other cancers and is used in surgical instruments to clear clogged arteries.

It is used in an eye surgery procedure to correct a condition, known as Lagophthalmos, where eyelids cannot be fully closed. By surgically implanting gold into the upper lids the gravity effect of its weight allows the lids to close when the muscles relax.

Computerized wheelchairs enable the handicapped to have more control over their movements.

The controls and the computer are linked by gold wire (bonding wire) and gold-coated pads that are both resistant to corrosion and have high electrical conductivity.

As these power wheelchairs are used outdoors and often exposed to extremes of temperature and weather, the use of gold in essential components is necessary to minimize breakdowns and the possible life threatening consequences.

Hi-Tech Electronics

Gold plays an essential part in every one of the millions of computers and peripherals that are produced worldwide every year. Gold is refined to 99.999 % pure and is drawn out to a wire only one hundredth of a millimetre in diameter.