The predicted growth in consumer electronics in the future looks set to be a good end market for gold.

The world’s fourth most-
traded commodity is no longer just being used in jewellery, but also plays a significant role in 
several industries. 
The industrial demand for gold in 2008 was estimated at 430 t, which is about 12% of total end user consumption.

The main consuming industry for gold is the electronics industry, which, in 2007, used over 
300 t of gold in bonding wire, which is used in semiconductor chips and electroplated coatings on contacts and connectors, 
organisation for gold-mining companies World Gold Council head of industrial applications Dr Richard Holliday tells Mining Weekly.

“Gold is mostly used in computers and mobile phones. It is not unusual for a computer to contain over $5 of gold on the circuit boards. 
“As the consumer electronic 
market grows, it is important that gold retains its position as ‘the material of choice’,” he adds.

Gold is a widely used metal in several industries, but it depends on the application. 
“Although it is not as good as copper or silver, gold is also used in the electronics industry, as it is a good conductor of electricity. 
“Because it is highly resistant to corrosion, it has excellent reliability, wherever it is used. 
“A cheaper metal, such as copper, usually experiences higher failure rates in service.

“In other applications, the benefits of gold are related to different properties. Its long use as a dental alloy has been sustained by the unrivalled biocompatibility of gold in the human body. 
“It is also used as a coating on firefighters’ helmet visors 
because gold has the ability to reflect heat,” Holliday explains.

The world’s largest broadcaster, the British Broadcasting Corporation, has also reported that the McLaren F1 supercar’s engine bay is lined with gold 
because of its heat-reflecting properties, which protects the carbon fibre body of the vehicle 
from the heat generated by its engine.

New Developments

Diversified manufacturing corporation 3M, which is known for Scotch tape and Post-It notes, has unveiled a range of gold catalysts to be used in protection against carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning, which occurs after the gas has been inhaled. CO poisoning targets the body systems and organs most dependent on oxygen, such as the central nervous system and the heart.

“The World Gold Council also went into a strategic partnership with Nanostellar in 2007. 
“This is a company that uses a nanotechnology methodology to develop precious metals containing materials for the automotive and power generation industries. 
“The strategic partnership 
enables the introduction of gold into the autocatalyst market, which will be a significant development,” says Holliday.

For its efforts, the World Economic Forum proclaimed the joint venture a technology pioneer in 2008. Nanostellar has developed a new product, called NS Gold, which is a catalyst formulation for use in the automotive industry. “For the first time, it includes gold, alongside traditional platinum and palladium 
metals, which improves cost and performance. Further, the company has signed an agreement with a European automotive manufacturer to implement this technology.

“The industrial use of gold is not new. The first technical use of gold was probably in dental restorations by the Etruscan 
civilisation, which lived in ancient Italy and Corsica, over 
2 000 years ago. Its use as a treatment for arthritis occurred in the early twentieth century,” Holliday continues.

Meanwhile, the Council has also supported research projects in the electronics field. Some have already led to commercially feasible products.

One such product is a gold-based ink that can be ink-jet-
printed at room temperature to lay down electronic circuitry on a surface, including plastics. 
This product avoids the need for traditional ‘clean-room’ semi-
conductor technology and the high associated cost. 
The Council’s industrial partner in this research, speciality 
chemicals company Johnson Matthey, has already received orders for this ink.

Further, manufacturer of 
information storage media and appliances Hitachi Maxell has developed a new catalyst used for oxygen-reduction reactions at the cathode, which is the negative electrode of an electrolytic cell, of a proton-exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell. The catalyst contains gold and platinum nanoparticles.

The general catalyst for the oxygen-reduction reaction in the PEM fuel cell is platinum, but this technology could 
result in a significant decrease in platinum, which leads to cost savings while improving the 
catalytic effect. 
“The success of this catalyst will play an important role in its commercial viability,” Holliday adds.

Future

Holliday believes that gold has a great future as an industrial 
metal. 
“Through our research, we have identified five key markets as the most likely to provide the bedrock of new uses.
This includes advanced electronics, fuel cell systems, biomedical applications, optical materials, such as solar cells, and industrial catalysts.

The Council also has an active programme aimed at protecting existing industrial demand for gold by championing the benefits of gold over copper in the electronics industry and speeding up the commercialisation of new industrial uses. 
“There are also daily updates on the use of gold by industries on the Council’s blog,” Holliday concludes.

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