While monetary uses for gold exceed all other uses, a number of important industrial applications exist. Lustrous, easily fashioned, and tarnish-resistant, gold is a favorite material in the jewelry industry. More gold is used for jewelry than for any other industrial application. The next largest industrial use for gold is in electronics where its tarnish-resistance makes it the material of choice for reliability in printed circuitry and various electrical devices.

Other applications include: dental supplies, where gold is used in fillings and orthodontic devices; aerospace, where gold-containing brazing alloys are important to jet engine assembly; and in glass manufacturing, where gold and gold oxide are used in heat-insulating windows and to decorate glass and porcelain dinnerware. Gold leaf is employed in commercial architecture for decorative purposes, and parts cast from gold alloys are used in chemical process equipment and synthetic fiber production machinery. A relatively small amount of gold is made into medallions and small bars for purchase as an investment.

Asarco produces 99.95% pure gold in 400-troy-ounce bars. Asarco gold meets the ASTM specifications shown in the table on the next page. Asarco’s 400-troy-ounce bars qualify for delivery on the London Bullion Market.