Gold Native gold, gold nugget, sponge gold 0.846 gram- 0.85 g - (1)

Discovery Zone 15°31’ North 12°02’ West This native gold in nugget form comes from the Saharan region of Guidimaka in Mauritania, about fifty kilometers from a town named Sélibabi. It was during prospecting in 2020 in the Mauritanian Sahel, while scouting, with a view to offering tourism stays for gold- prospecting, that I obtained this gold in nugget form. I had met a group of gold panners in the desert who needed diesel fuel to continue their activity; I gave them some, and in exchange they gave me a few native gold nuggets. These pieces of gold are not nuggets found with a detector, but come from another harvesting technique, the one that uses mercury. Mercury is a very fluid liquid that has the property of dissolving (or amalgamating) gold. Mixed with gold-bearing earth, it dissolves the tiny gold particles. The mercury containing dissolved gold is then separated from the earth. Depending on the amount of gold it has dissolved, the mercury becomes less fluid, sometimes almost paste-like. The gold is separated from the mercury by pressure with the thumb in the hollow of the hand, or by twisting it in a cloth; the highly fluid mercury passes through the fabric’s mesh while the gold remains trapped in the cloth. This gold is then slightly heated to remove the last traces of mercury. After cooling, the gold appears in the form of balls whose surface is covered with micro-cracks, with sometimes a few small mineral inclusions (usually quartz). Gold in this form is also called "spongy gold" due to its resemblance to a sponge. These gold nuggets are a step in the making of gold bars; once the quantity is sufficient, they are melted and cast into a mold. Gold is thus never marketed in nugget form, as these are difficult to obtain and are therefore genuine rarities. Although gold mining has become one of Mauritania’s primary resources, nuggets are rare on the market and nuggets nonexistent because almost all nuggets and nearly all nuggets are melted into ingots, which are then sent to the Arab Emirate of Dubai. The gold from this region is quite pure; generally its purity is around 950 to 980 thousandths, which corresponds to 22.80 to 23.50 carats The photos really correspond to the gold sold, and I am sending you exactly the nugget of gold that is in the photos. I am including an adorable little drawer box with a velvet interior All the photos were taken in natural daylight. I photographed this gold nugget as honestly and precisely as possible using daylight. Please note that differences in screen settings and ambient lighting can lead to variations in color, saturation, and perceived tones. I will make a fast, secure, and discreet shipment in a indestructible C5-sized envelope (162mm x 229mm) via La Poste French registered mail.

Estimate:£190.1

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