It’s not surprising that most people think of gold as an expensive, luxurious metal. You only need to read about golds extraordinary history to see how that came to be. But gold has an alter-ego as an incredibly versatile and useful material in science and technology. In fact, our ever-expanding use of technology has actually been a major factor in recent increases in the demand for gold.

ELECTRONICS

Golds main role in electronics is in contacts, switches, relays and connectors. Contacts are electroplated with a very thin film of gold. This touch of gold on a contact ensures rapid dispersion of heat, and also works to stop oxidation or tarnishing at extreme low or high temperature, providing an atomically clean metal surface with an electrical contact resistance close to zero.

SPACE AND AERONAUTICS

Gold, in the form of sheets 0.15mm thick, are used in space programs as a radiation shield. Because gold is such an effective reflector, it deflects the burning heat of the sun.

Gold is central to safe space travel, so itís demand has obviously grown as the space industry has. For example, more than 40.8 kilograms of gold was used in the construction of the famous US Columbia space shuttle, mainly in brazing alloys, fuel cell fabrication, coated plastic films and electrical contacts.

ENVIRONMENTAL

Diesel Emission Control
The recent announcement by U.S. company Nanostellar that they have developed an automotive pollution control catalyst for diesel engines that contains gold, as well as the traditional platinum and palladium ingredients, is a major step-forward in cost effective emission control.

DENTAL

Gold's malleability and resistance to corrosion make it perfect for dental use, although its softness means that it needs to be alloyed to reduce wearing.Japan is the leading dental gold fabricator, accounting for roughly 28% of the market, followed by Germany and the United States. There is significant unrecorded use, however, in Asia and Latin America where it is not unknown for dentists to melt down gold coin to make their own alloy. 

CONSTRUCTION

Gold's ability to reflect heat in summer (and retain it in winter) has also led to the use of gold-coated glass in several modern buildings, especially in North America; one ounce of gold typically covers one thousand square feet of glass. This reflective glass can cut cooling and heating costs by 40%.

May Metals Inc. can assist you in enhancing your bottom line through Precious and Base Metal recovery. Serious inquires are best served by calling our toll free number at (877) 774-5837 or our Tennessee office at 615-351-5407.