Tungsten as a Gold Substitute

In early 2008 it was reported that at least some of the gold bars in the vaults at the National Bank of Ethiopia were fake. The discovery was made when bars shipped from Ethiopia to South Africa were returned after they were identified as being gilded steel.

Gilded steel is a very unconvincing form of fake gold because the density of the iron alloy is significantly less. A steel bar identical in volume to the standard 400 troy ounce gold bars commonly used in bank-to-bank trades would weigh only 162.5 troy ounces (about sixty percent lighter). Anyone familiar with handling gold bars would easily identify them as counterfeit.

Even lead, a common heavy metal, is a poor substitute as it is only 59% the density of gold. One of the things that historically made gold so attractive to be used as money was its unmistakable density.

Nowadays we know of several metals that have similar densities to gold, such as the heavier platinum-group metals. However, using these metals to produce fake gold is unprofitable due to their high cost.

There are two metals that are suitable, from both a density and economic perspective, for manufacturing fake gold - uranium and tungsten.

These metals aren't without their give-aways either. Different chemical and electro-magnetic properties exist. Uranium is of course radioactive. Tungsten is extremely brittle - the exact opposite of gold. Additionally, tungsten has the highest known melting point of any non-alloyed metal at 3422 degrees Celsius, making it difficult to work with. However, it appears that at least one high-temperature furnace is producing gilded tungsten products.

A Chinese company called Chinatungsten is advertising imitation gold merchandise on its website. The following quote is taken directly from their Tungsten Alloy for Gold Substitution page:

"a coin with a tungsten center and gold all around it could not be detected as counterfeit by density measurement alone... We are well accustomed to exploit more innovative applications of tungsten products. Gold-plated tungsten is one of our main products."

This raises a few (somewhat rhetorical) questions. What kind of customer is this company looking to sell its imitation gold products to and for what purposes are they intended? Furthermore, what exactly are the "more innovative applications of tungsten products" that this company is hinting at?

Mike Hewitt is the editor of www.DollarDaze.org, a website pertaining to commentary on the instability of the global fiat monetary system and investment strategies on mining companies.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are not intended to be taken as investment advice. It is to be taken as opinion only and I encourage you to complete your own due diligence when making an investment decision

If you need more detailed information,please contact Chinatungsten Online directly.
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Chinatungsten Online specializes in manufacturing, sourcing, importing, exporting and worldwide distribution of tungsten products. With more than 20 years experiences of tungsten business, we are now the top professional Chinese company in the fields of tungsten ore, oxide ,trioxide, acid, powder, carbide powder, tungsten carbide cutting and drilling tools, tips, insert, wear part, rare earth, tungsten heavy alloy, tungsten wire & heater, tungsten arc welding electrodes and others about tungsten. We are very proud of our highest quality, best service and most competitive price. For any further technical info or pricing on tungsten, please contact us without any hesitation. Email:sales@chinatungsten.com Tel: +86 592 5129696 Fax: +86 592 5129797
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