Gold Gold Gold, Au, is a soft yellow malleable transition metal element, found in Group Ib of the periodic table. 19.32 Discovery Gold was known from ancient times, and it was probably used as money. Occurrence Gold is very widely distributed in nature at concentrations too low for it to be extracted profitably. Gold has been found as large nuggets in California.
Gold is extracted from crushed gold-bearing quartz by forming a complex with sodium cyanide.
The gold is subsequently recovered from the complex by precipitation with zinc dust. Reactions Gold is stable and not oxidised in air. Gold is not attacked by nitric acid, sulphuric acid, or hydrochloric acid. Gold is attacked by boiling ferric chloride solution. Uses Gold is the standard for the world's currency.