Different Pieces of Gold

Gold pieces will be passed through the 10-mesh (opening of 1/16”) that cannot sifted through a 20-mesh (openings of 1/32”) will be classified as a “10-20 mesh.” Gold sifted through 20-mesh and cannot be sifted through a 40-mesh (openings of 1/64”) will be classified as “20-40 mesh”, and so on.

Many pieces of gold of different sizes are labeled for their different sizes of mesh. “Coarse gold” or “nuggets” are considered pieces of gold that will not be sifted through a 10-mesh. Middle-sized pieces of gold, flakes and the rest are of 10-20 mesh range, from where it would take an average of 2,200 pieces divided by colors to make a troy ounce. “Fine gold” is a 20-40 mesh, from where it would take 12,000 divided by colors to make a troy ounce. “Flour gold” or “dust gold” includes all the 40-mesh small pieces including the microscopic particles. Since gold is so malleable due to the beat, friction and pushing of nature, gold will tend to stay in one piece, while some of the impurities will be beaten and fractioned until it comes off. So pieces of gold generally become more pure when beaten and fractioned by the forces of natures, specially on the streambeds of creeks in which it is strongly beaten against the rocks and embraced by the streams of water that flow and help impurities to come off.

The constant hammering also has an effect in breaking the gold into small pieces, so that even larger amounts of impurities come off. So, it is generally found in small pieces but with a greater content of pure gold than those large pieces that come from the same source. For example, the “fine” and “flour” gold recovered from many creeks with gold contents in the west region of the United States will have a content of gold higher than 90%.

Recovered nuggets in the same deposit can contain gold in a lesser degree such as 80%. At first sight, this could indicate that fine gold has a greater value than coarse gold, and this is true in reference to its current value. However, larger pieces have a “jewelry specimen value,” due to its unique and natural characteristics, and therefore, can result of great monetary benefit considering the market’s current value of gold. Fine gold is generally sold to refiners, which melt and refine until obtaining the pure metal form, so as to be eventually sold in the world’s gold market.