As gold prices continue to rise, here are rare facts about the yellow metal

Gold prices are rising higher as a sustained rise in novel coronavirus cases around the world has intensified fears about a delay in global economic recovery, prompting investors to seek the safe-haven metal. As demand for the yellow metals rise, here are some of the rare facts about it:

1. Gold, a precious yellow or

2. If all of the existing gold in the world was pulled into a 5 micron thick wire, it could wrap around the world 11.2 million times. Credit: AFP Photo

3. It is rarer to find a one ounce nugget of gold than a five carat diamond. Credit: Reuters

4. Around 187,200 tonnes of gold has been mined since the beginning of civilisation. Credit: Reuters

5. While digging up stones to build a house, Australian miner George Harrison found gold ore near Johannesburg in 1885, beginning the South African gold rush. Credit: AFP Photo

6. All of the gold ever mined would fit into a crate of 21 metres cubed. However, around half of all gold mined today is made into jewellery, which remains the single largest use for gold. Credit: Reuters

7. The 40,000 miners who joined the California Gold Rush in 1849 were called “49ers”. Only a very small number of them ever got rich. Credit: AFP Photo

8. The largest gold coin ever created was cast by the Perth Mint in 2012. Weighing one tonne and measuring 80 cm in diameter, it surpassed the previous record, a 2007, C$1 million coin which was just 53 cm across. Credit: Reuters

9. The largest ever true gold nugget weighed 2316 troy ounces when found at Moliagul in Australia in 1869. It was called the “Welcome Stranger”. Credit: Reuters

10. Gold is often alloyed with other metals to change its colour and strength. Eighteen karat gold is composed of 750 parts of pure gold per 1,000. Credit: Reuters