Extensively revised and updated, this edition provides the broad base of knowledge required by all working in the gold extraction and gold processing industries. It bridges the gap between research and industry by emphasizing practical applications of chemical principles and techniques.

Due to its inherent characteristics, mercury contamination from gold mining is a major environmental problem compared to past mercury contamination from industrial point sources. The worsening of social-economical conditions and increasing gold prices in the late 1970s resulted in a new rush for gold by individual entrepreneurs for whom Hg amalgamation is a cheap and easily carried out operation. Even after the present-day mining areas are exhausted, the mercury left behind will remain part of the biochemical cycle of the tropical forest. This book reviews the current information on mercury from gold mining, its cycling in the environment and its long-term ecotoxicological impact. The book is illustrated with numerous diagrams and photographs.

Filling a gap in our systematic knowledge of gold, this monograph covers the fundamental aspects, while also considering new applications of gold compounds in catalysis, as nanoparticles, and their potential application as luminescent compounds. Written by an eminent team of authors from academia, the book analyzes the current status of gold chemistry, its special characteristics, oxidation states and main type of complexes, before going on to look at the synthesis of supramolecular aggregates due to the formation of gold-gold, gold-metal interactions or other secondary bonds. Final sections deal with LEDs, solvoluminescent and electroluminescent materials, liquid crystals and catalysis. While of interest to advanced chemistry students, this book is also useful for researchers interested in the chemistry of gold and its applications, as well as those involved in metal-metal interactions, heteronuclear chemistry or in the optical properties of coordination compounds.

"The history of Earth's early atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere, from Hadean through Proterozoic time, is one of geology's enduring puzzles. Ore deposits provide important insights into this history because they contain elements and minerals that are highly sensitive to the geochemical environment in which they form. Just what these minerals tell us remains a matter of considerable debate, however. When and how did life develop, an oxygen-rich atmosphere form, and sulfate dominate the ocean? This volume contains reports on these questions from both sides of the aisle for iron and manganese formations, uranium paleoplacers and hydrothermal deposits, and exhalative sulfides and oxides."--Publisher's website.