Ages 7 to 14 years. Unlike other metals, such as copper or lead, gold is prized for its beauty and scarcity rather than its usefulness. As a metal, it is too soft to use for tools or weapons, and is used mainly as money, in jewellery, and in electronics as a conductor of electricity. This colourfully illustrated new book describes both the basics of this dazzling metal and our fascination with it throughout history. Topics include: how gold is formed; lode or vein deposits underground and placer deposits in water or dry creek beds; a day in the life of a prospector; gold in history including ancient Egyptian jewellery and alchemists who tried to turn lead into gold in the Middle Ages; the great gold rushes in California, Nevada, the Klondike, Australia, South Africa, and other parts of the world; gold mining methods such as open pit, underground, and hardrock mining; how gold ore is refined; the damage done to the environment by gold mining, such as changing the landscape and wildlife habitats, and waste rock and water pollution from the refining process.