One of the ways to purifying gold is to take the crude gold ingots and electrolyse them.  The crude ingots are used as gold anodes and electolysed in a hot acidic solution which consists of a mixture of 8 % gold chloride and 10% hydrochloric acid. As the gold ions migrate through the solution they are deposited on to foil cathodes so purifying the gold, the gold produced in this method is about 98.5% pure.

One of the older methods of purifying gold would not be permitted today since it involved toxic heavy metals. This traditional example invloves taking gold ore and crushing it down to a powder. it was then amalgamated in a mixture of salt, copper powder which had been roasted and liquid mercury a particularly toxic combination! This mixture was then spread on the ground and donkeys were lead round and round in a circle trampling the mixture to crush it into even smaller granules. Over time the mixture dissolves in the liquid mercury and this mixture is then distilled and placed in a cupola, which is a type of furnace. in this way the gold that emerge from the furnace was pure. This method of purifying gold, as previously mentioned is no longer practiced.

Purifying Gold – Dore Bars

In the final stage of gold purifying gold or gold refining any of the impurities from the smelting process are removed. Dore bars have variable weights and can be up to 25 kg they have to be sent to gold refineries to raise the purity to more than 99.5%

Some Dore bars that are mined in Brazil in small or independent groups these bars can weigh from 18 g upwards and the quality varies enormously, these are called Garimpo bars.

Dore bars are purified by melting them in a furnace and adding borax and soda ash to the molten metal. This separates the gold from other precious, and the less important base metals. The gold from this process is 99.9% pure. It is then cast into one of the more standard forms of gold ingots of which there are close to 55 categories.

The falling gold price at the end of August has resulted in the index hovering in and around 1300 and looking at a trend down.

Given our article on when to sell gold it follows that with unrest in the world in Russia/Ukraine, Syria, Iraq and Israel it might seem that the gold price should be rising rather than a falling gold price, with the world hedging its bets and moving towards the traditional security blanket.

This falling gold price should perhaps be moving in the other direction towards 1300 and up towards 1500. The gold index is evidently struggling a little.

Reasons for a falling gold price

There are perhaps 2 reasons for this, the first is that the major institutions have already made their money from gold and got out of the market. The number of hedge funds operating is half what it used to be with the falling gold price a reality and not a blip.

Most retail and small time investors have cashed in their lots and moved on, this has little effect on the market anyway but it is the area that gets the most publicity in the press.

The second factor has more of an element of conspiracy and intrigue about it. The fact is it may well be that the world does not want its wealth to be held in a reservoir called gold.

The UK’s gold reserves were famously sold off the country’s gold reserves at a low, or relatively low price. The reserves of gold in the USA at Fort Knox are reported to be either very low or non-existent.

Now consider the fact that he countries that are holding large amounts of gold are India, China and Iraq. With the present situation these countries are not the ones that the ’West’ want to be holding such significant wealth. One way of eroding that wealth is to have a falling gold price so the value of their asset falls.

Time will tell but it is expected that the gold price will continue to fall downwards towards 1000.

Gold Bars

All gold bullion bars have a few advantages over coins.

The premium markups on bars are less than on coins. For example, as of this writing, a once ounce gold bar is less than a 1 ounce gold coin.

So if you intend on buying a lot of gold, this can add up to significant cost savings.

Another advantage to gold bars is that you can easily acquire higher ounce bars. You can get 1 ounce, 10 ounce or up to 400 ounce bars. (You can’t buy a 10 ounce gold coin!).

As well as the higher ounce bars you get, the cheaper per-ounce price you’ll pay out.

For example, as of this writing a 10 ounce gold bar at GoldSilver is about £4.00 cheaper per ounce – so if you were to buy 10 ounces of gold, the 10 ounce gold bar would be £40.00 less than buying 10 – 1 ounce gold bars.

If you’re looking to buy a lot of gold, bars are the most cost-effective option.

On the other hand, if you are planning to take actual shipment of your gold bars, when you go to sell these back, the dealer will possibly demand having them assayed for purity – which can cost you time as well as money.

An additional benefit (and a way to conserve lots more money) when acquiring bullion bars is that you can easily sometimes acquire portions of gold bars from dealers and have them put in storage for you in a secure, protected vault. There are numerous benefits to this.

First, you save a lot of funds on markups and get your gold for spot plus a really small premium. Secondly, there’s no minimum purchase – so you don’t have to buy a complete bar at once.

Third, the gold is housed for you so the moment you go to sell it back to the dealership, you do not have to have the gold appraised for purity. You can have cash in your account in moments.

You can choose to store your bullion bars in an offshore vault – meaning it’s out of reach – should they ever decide to try and confiscate your gold.
So these are a number of the advantages and drawbacks of buying gold bars.

How You Can Buy Gold Bars.

Irrespective of exactly how you purchase your gold bullion, there is no stamp duty nor VAT payable.
For a guide to how to buy gold bars and gold bullion agents who will market gold bullion, bars, and coins.

Storing Gold

Gold-bars

You have numerous options for storing gold, each with their own benefits and disadvantages. Here are some possibilities on the best ways of  storing gold:.

A Safe.

Find a high quality home safe in which you can bolt to the floor or wall. While it won’t stop thieves from attempting to take it, it will certainly make it much more challenging for them.

Hiding your safe somewhere thieves wouldn’t think to look– such as in with household goods or garage tools in a basement. A “dummy” safe – one that is set out in the open specifically for thieves.

It really depends on your individual preference. The advantage of storing gold is that it’s readily on hand, should you need it.

The disadvantage is that thieves don’t just break it – they could also hold you hostage. If people know you have gold in a safe, they may just come in when you’re home (or your kids) and force you to give them the combination.

this is one reason that it may not be a good idea to store a great deal of gold or other belongings in a safe at home so what are the other options.

Safety Deposit Box.

There certainly are options to rent a safety deposit box and for storing gold at a financial institution such as a bank. The advantage is that thieves are much less likely to burglarize and steal.

There are some negative aspects. You may not be able to get into your box in a genuine crisis – which defeats the purpose of holding gold in the initial instance.

Contents in safe deposit boxes are actually not dealt with by bank insurance. If there is a break-in at the bank, you may lose everything you will need your own insurance.

Allocated or Segregated Vault Storage.

This is most likely one of your best options for storing gold in large amounts. You can have your gold kept safely in a protected, assigned, insured vault.

This means your gold products are registered in your name and distinct from various accounts. You are able to also take personal delivery of your gold bars. You can even store your yellow metal in a vault which is out-of-country i.e. USA, Switzerland, Hong Kong.