Roberts, R.J. (James)Dixon, Roger D.Merkle, R.K.W. (Roland Karl Willi), 1954-2016-07-212016-01Roberts, RJ, Dixon, RD & Merkle, RKW 2016, 'Distinguishing between legally and illegally produced gold in South Africa', Journal of Forensic Sciences, vol. 61, suppl. 1, pp. 230-236.0022-1198 (print)1556-4029 (online)10.1111/1556-4029.12886http://hdl.handle.net/2263/55999The 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.en© 2015 American Academy of Forensic Sciences. This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the following article :Distinguishing between legally and illegally produced gold in South Africa, Journal of Forensic Sciences, vol. 61, no. SI, pp. 230-236, 2016. doi : 10.1111/1556-4029.12886. The definite version is available at : http://onlinelibrary.wiley.comjournal/10.1111/(ISSN)1556-4029.IdentificationGold-bearing materialSouth African minesSouth Africa (SA)Theft of goldIllegally obtained goldLegally obtained goldPostprint Article