When was gold first mined? The answer is not clear but what most historians agree on, is that humans have been using gold since the bronze age.
During this early period of human histories, gold was used to make jewellery and fashion other adornments it does seem that since, it was first discovered, it has always been valued for it’s beauty. To this day, gold is mostly used in the making of jewellery. Statistics from the World Gold Council show that 50% of the world’s gold production is used to make jewellery. The rest is turned into gold bullion bars and coins.
Artefacts made from gold predated to the Christian Era by over four millenia were discovered in the Balkans.
Gold has a history that goes back to ancient Egypt, Rome, Africa and Greece. It has been used by these cultures to make jewellery. The ancient Egyptian king Tushratta claimed in 2600 BC that Egypt had more gold than dirt. This is where the reference of “streets paved in gold” comes from.
There is no scientific proof that there was more gold in Egypt than anywhere in the world, but the abundant use of gold in Egyptian culture and the amount of gold unearthed in archeological sites suggest that there was a lot of gold in Egypt during that time period.
There is an ancient map known as the Turin map made of Papyrus that shows a structure of a mine in a region known during Ancient Egyptian times as Nubia.
Strabo, who was a geographer in ancient Greece shared a refining method with a smelting process he called Fire-Sitting.
One of the popular Greek Legends of “Jason and the Argonauts and the quest for The Golden Fleece” may have had something to do with how they used a fleece to trap gold dust when sifting placer dust.
Romans are believed to have been the first to come up with the gold mining methods that led to what we use today like hydraulic mining. The Romans quest for gold led them to expand their empire to Egypt, modern-day Turkey and a lot of other continents.
Fascination with the yellow metal has continued for millenia. Currencies may no longer be tied to gold but the yellow metal continues to be the best bet in uncertain times. Fiat currencies bolster a financial system that is based on faith and they always fail retain their value.
There is a limited supply of gold and for that is one of the major reasons why it can retains its intrinsic value through all sorts of problems and economic upheavals. Gold cannot be destroyed but it can be recycled. This is why there are many gold buyers Melbourne looking to buy your unwanted gold items for cash. Gold buyers Melbourne buy any of your unwanted gold damaged jewellery or gold bullion bars and put it through the recycling process by getting it all refined.
After the gold is refined it is then sold off as investment grade gold bullion to the gold bullion dealers.
These bullion dealers end up selling the gold bullion to investors or superfunds. It protects them against the negative movement of markets and mitigates unforeseen risks.
The bottom line
There is a finite amount of gold on earth which means, at some point gold mining will dwindle, however, the demand for this precious metal remains high. This is why the recycling part of the gold industry is so important.
You may not be able to derive an income from the gold you buy but you most certainly can sell those unwanted gold items to gold buyers Melbourne when you need to get some cash.
