Why gold loves arsenic (2021)

Having panned for gold in Gympie I was convinced I&#x27;d come home with a lot of pyrites and now 30 years later I feel I need to revisit that tiny jar of yellow dust.<p>(Got a killer dose of sunburn just above the bum crack bending over in the stream with my pan, a reminder sunscreen has to go EVERYWHERE.)

Fascinating read! So if arsenic helps gold concentrate in deposits, does this mean arsenic-rich environments are better places to prospect? Or is it more about how existing deposits form rather than finding new ones?

It loves mercury too which is also toxic. Interesting.

quick search on &quot;arsenic in water&quot; yields endless official governmental and other notices all over the world, so there does not apear to be a direct asosiation between (recoverable) gold and arsenic and that it is so prevelant that some humans have adapted and pass arsenic. <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.smithsonianmag.com&#x2F;smart-news&#x2F;centuries-poison-laced-water-gave-these-people-tolerance-arsenic-180954491&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.smithsonianmag.com&#x2F;smart-news&#x2F;centuries-poison-l...</a>

So what you are saying is that fool&#x27;s gold isn&#x27;t totally foolish.

If you have lots of gold, have your food tested for arsenic.

With this sympathy between gold and arsenic discovered, we’re one step closer to the philosopher’s stone.

Genuine question for an outsider: would this imply that gold can be created? My memories from the last chemistry class I had, I clearly remember my teacher demonstrating philosopher stone ( aka changing materials in gold ) was feasible.