Abstract:
The identification of gold-bearing material is essential for combating the theft of gold
in South Africa. Material seized in police operations is generally a mixture of gold
from different mines, and as such cannot be traced back to a single location. ICP-OES
analysis of material dissolved by acid dissolution provided a database of gold
compositions comprising gold from South African mines, illegal gold stolen from the
mines, and commercial gold alloys and jewelery. Discrimination between legal and
illegal gold was possible due to the presence of Pb, As, Sb, Sn, Se, and Te in the
stolen material, elements which are not present in legally produced gold. The presence
of these elements is a quick and simple way to distinguish between gold alloys based
on refined gold, such as in commercially manufactured jewelery, and gold alloys
containing a proportion of unrefined and therefore illegally obtained gold.
