Gold

THE HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF GOLD

The use of gold in jewellery has a long history dating back to ancient times. More than 6,000 years ago, gold was already revered as a symbol of wealth and power in various cultures such as the Egyptians, Mesopotamians and Indus Valley civilisations. It was used for jewellery, ritual objects and as a medium of exchange.
For thousands of years, people have treasured gold for its colour, lustre, beauty, rarity, durability and striking weight.
Alongside silver and the platinum metals, it is one of the most precious metals and is therefore used by many cultures for jewellery production, for decoration as gold leaf or for gilding, in medicine and dental technology, electronics and as an investment, to name just a few areas.

THE DARK SIDE OF GLAMOUR: THE EFFECTS OF GOLD MINING

However, not all that glitters is gold. Greed for the precious metal has often led to raids and wars, and gold mining is associated with considerable environmental and health damage. After the discovery of America in 1492, the gold wealth of the indigenous peoples in Central and South America in particular attracted European conquistadors, who brought gold to Europe in galleons. Spain thus became the richest nation in Europe for a time; the indigenous cultures were destroyed by the conquistadors or by imported diseases.

Time and again, gold discoveries attracted large crowds of adventurers. In the 19th century, there were mass movements of gold seekers to the areas of large gold deposits on various continents, known as gold rushes.
The fluctuating gold price often leads to significant social changes: A falling gold price in South Africa, for example, led to a sharp impoverishment of the section of the population living from gold mining. In the Brazilian Amazon region, informal gold mining by garimpeiros (= illegal gold prospectors) is often associated with serious social and ecological consequences. Highly toxic chemicals such as arsenic, mercury and cyanide are often used to mine gold.