Unusual gold wreath found in Greece

A gold wreath has been discovered in an ancient part of northern Greece, it has been reported.

According to the Associated Press (AP), the University of Thessaloniki has revealed that a golden jar with the gold oak leaf wreath was found during its excavations in the ruins of ancient Aigai.

The university described the find as ‘astonishing’ and said it could date back to the times when Philip and Alexander reigned - the fourth century BC.

An unusual aspect of the artefact is that it appears to have been removed from a separate grave and reburied.

Chryssoula Saatsoglou-Paliadeli told AP that this probably happened soon after the original burial, but the reasons why remain unclear.

"It probably belonged to a high-ranking person" she added.

The University of Thessaloniki is the largest university in Greece, comprising of nine faculties across 23 hectares around the town.

Scottish river panned for ‘olympic gold’

Volunteers are planning to pan a Highlands river for gold to make a medal for the 2012 London Olympics, it has been reported.

According to BBC News, the section of the River Helmsdale in the Strath of Kildonan, Sutherland, will be searched for the precious metal.

Victoria Reeves, from the Timespan museum in Helmsdale which is campaigning for any gold found to be used in the Games, told the BBC she was "confident volunteers would find enough to offer for a medal".

She also spoke of a gold rush in the area back in 1869.

"All these years later people still pan for gold and do find bits of gold" she added.

An Olympic spokesman told the broadcasting corporation the bid could be successful "if they can provide what would be required".

China topped the medals table at the Beijing Games this year, with a total of 51 gold medals. The USA came in second with 36 gold, and Russia third with 23.

Gold mine part of new acquisition deal

A new acquisition deal will see Shoshone Silver Mining take over a gold mining property in the United States, it has emerged.

The new deal, which will see the firm take over 100 per cent of shares formerly owned by Kimberly Gold Mines, includes the Rescue Gold Mine property, which is located in Idaho County and has previously yielded gold grades of one ounce per tonne.

Also included in the scheme is the Kimberly Gold Mine, which accesses a total of four gold-bearing veins through a network of ten tunnels, with workings totalling 7,500 feet.

In 2002, it was reported that the Kimberly Gold Mine contained an inferred gold resource of 166,740 ounces. This figure was based on historical data from the site.

Meanwhile, Shoshone Silver Mining is headquartered in the US state of Idaho and has a large portfolio of metal exploration projects in the United States and Mexico.

Rusoro Mining announces gold sales

Rusoro Mining has revealed the total amount of gold it sold during the three months up to and including June 2008.

In all, 36,343 ounces of the precious metal were sold by the company over the second quarter of the year.

This equates to a total market value of $23.2 million (£13 million), according to the company.

During the same period, Rusoro Mining reveals that it made "significant" discoveries of gold deposits at a number of its exploratory sites.

These comprise the Increible 14, Valle Hondo and Yuruan projects, three of the ten sites on which the mining company is currently carrying out explorations.

Meanwhile, results from the existing Choco 10 and Isidora mines lead the company to predict total production in 2008 of around 150,000 ounces of gold.

Aiming to meet this target over the course of the year is, according to Rusoro Mining, part of its "aggressive approach" towards becoming more well established in the gold mining sector.

Gold atom weighed

Researchers have developed new technology that can measure the mass of a single atom of gold, it has emerged.

Scientists from Berkeley Lab and the University of California (UC) have created a nanoelectromechanical system (NEMS) that functions as a scale to measure molecules, according to Nanotechnology Today.

They discovered that a gold atom has a mass of 3.25 x ten to 25 kilograms.

Alex Zettl, who led the study, holds joint positions at Berkeley Lab’s material sciences division and UC’s physics department.

Two other members of his research group, Kenneth Jensen and Kwanpyo Kim, worked with him.

Mr Zettl commented: "For the past 15 years or so, the holy grail of NEMS has been to push them to a small enough size with high enough sensitivity so that they might resolve the mass of a single molecule or even single atom."

Gold nanotechnology has been the subject of numerous studies, including a recent one from the University of Texas about its use in cancer treatment.

Minerva reveals Tulu Kapi grade results

Minerva Resources have revealed new results for its Tulu Kapi Gold project in western Ethiopia.

They confirmed significant strike and depth extensions of high grade gold mineralisation.

The results consisted of: 13. g/t Au across 3.5 metres, 5.0g/t across five metres, 5.0g/t Au across 6.04 metres, 3.7g/t Au across 5.9 metres, 6.4g/t Au across 0.8 metres and 5.0g/t Au across two metres.

Managing director Terry Ward, commented that the assay results "verified the continuation of the multiple intersections with high grade values".

"They also support the presence of a widely mineralised system at the Tulu Kapi project" he added.

Tulu Kapi encompasses a large gold zone, already explored by 1930′s mine workings workers?.

UK-based Minerva also has a drilling project at Guji, seven kilometres away from the Tulu Kapi location. Results from this exploration are expected later this month.

The mineral development company are currently quoted on London’s Alternative Investment Market.

Gold nano scientist is honoured

A researcher who specialises in gold nanotechnology has received an award, it has been announced.

Scientists’ association Spie has revealed that one of its members, Mostafa El-Sayed, was given a National Medal of Science for his pioneering work.

The medals are the biggest honour in US science and technology.

Mr El-Sayed is the director of the laser dynamics laboratory at the Georgia Institute of Technology and his research focuses on nanomaterials.

His paper, entitled "Gold nanoparticles, properties, and some application in medicine and biology," is due to be presented at the exhibition Photonics West next year.

El-Sayed has served as program committee chair and as an Spie symposium chair, the organisation said.

The National Medal of Science was established by the 86th Congress in 1959, and since then it has been awarded to 441 distinguished scientists and engineers. The President of the United States appoints a committee of 12 to evaluate the nominees.

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