GOLD
The Mineral
The Australian Gold Rush & Classroom Activities
WHAT IS GOLD??
Gold is an element (Au) and a mineral – one of the few single-element minerals. Gold on Earth is rare, valued and extra-terrestrial, originating from star explosions and possibly brought to Earth by catastrophic asteroid bombardments around four billion years ago. With time, gold has been concentrated in the earth's crust by a variety of geological , physical, chemical and biological processes, locally forming ore deposits.
The above Gold Nugget is known as the “Welcome Nugget” which was one of the largest nuggets found in the world at the time, and to this day, remains the 2nd largest nugget ever found.
A great site to answer this questions is Exploring the Earth There are some great images and info.
Image Anatoli Lvov
GOLD PANNING & SLUICING in the CLASSROOOM
We had such fun Gold Panning and Sluicing. A great activity to support units of work on Gold as well as Weathering, Erosion and Deposition. Of course, we used Fool's Gold,
which is still heavier than sand and pans and sluices quite nicely.
Can you Answer all the questions?
How does Gold get into rivers?
Where does gold come from?
Who first discovered gold in Australia?
What are the biggest Gold Nuggets?
How do you Pan for Gold?
WHERE DOES GOLD COME FROM???
BBC Earth Lab Where does gold come from before it makes its way into jewelry?
Helen Czerski explores the methods old prospectors used to find gold.
Also explores weathering, erosion, deposition.
GOLD MINING
The National Museum of Australia has great study resources with accompanying videos on The Gold Rushes. One of the best resources. There is a great Timeline and excellent classroom resources based around splendid questions.
State Library of Victoria fabulous collection of resources, images and information. Newspaper articles. Includes section on Life on the Goldfields. Lots of primary source material and CC images.
Image Date(s): 1875/1930 Creator: Harvey, John Henry 1855-1938 photographer.No copyright restrictions apply. State Library Victoria.
The GOLD SUPER PIT
Explore the Super Pit at Kalgoorlie, one of the biggest open cut mines in the World. Take a look at the Video
This is how some gold mining is done today. Why do they spend so much money on gold mining?
Well you can….
…….check out today’s Gold prices as well Love this graph. You can see the fluctuations over the last hour, week, month, year, 30 years. Splendid. Work out how much you would make if you had 20kg of gold in 2025 and 2012.
Link to Wiki Commons Image credit.
EUREKA it’s GOLD
Eureka Stockade - National Museum of Australia - comprehensive coverage of the 1854 Rebellion.
The NMA has a wonderful comprehensive setup for teaching resources with questions images and videos on the EUREKA STOCKADE check them out.
Image CC - National Museum of Australia - eduational use.
GOLD PROSPECTORS
The Early Australian Prospectors Part 1 (21m) and Part 2 (25m) take an informed look at the Gold Rushes and early prospecting in Australia. The Video covers the first Gold Rushes of the 1850's and how other discoveries unfolded around the country. It tells the story through 'old film look' recreations, presentors and paintings from the era.
Image: 1861/1867 Creator: Gill, S. T., 1818-1880, artist. No copyright restrictions apply. State Library Victoria
Keep Exploring…….
ASTROPHYSICS & ASTRONOMY
Did you know? The gold found on Earth was forged in the explosions of ancient stars. When massive stars exploded or neutron stars collided, they created heavy elements like gold and scattered them across the universe. That means every piece of gold on Earth and every gold ring ever made, has its origins in space.
Learn more on our Astronomy & Astrophysics page
Australia
Investigate Australia in more detail. Explore bushrangers, federation & watch wheat harvest.
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