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Thread: Tungsten-filled gold bar found in UK

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    Default Tungsten-filled gold bar found in UK

    Remember all those rumors from a year or two ago about gold bars that were actually gold-plated tungsten? A one-kilo gold bar sparked a dealer's suspicions in Britain recently because it was two grams short. He had it clipped, and found that was filled with tungsten rods.

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/tungst...d-bar-found-uk

    This is going to fill the (physical) gold market with dread.

    ETA: I'm going to qualify this by saying "ZeroHedge is reporting..." ZH has had some questionable posts in the recent past, so I'll treat this a little more cautiously than I would have in the past.
    Collapse now and avoid the rush!

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    ETA: I'm going to qualify this by saying "ZeroHedge is reporting..." ZH has had some questionable posts in the recent past, so I'll treat this a little more cautiously than I would have in the past.
    And that right there sums up the biggest letdown of the year.
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    It might be ZH reporting about it, but the story didn't originate there, it did originate with ABC Bullion as ZH says: http://ausbullion.blogspot.com/2012/...gold-bars.html

    Company's main website: http://www.abcbullion.com.au/index.php/

    I can't vouch for how trustworthy ABC Bullion itself is. Though it is unusual to see RT and Alex Jones videos on a large gold operation website. Up to you if that makes them more and less trustworthy
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    The article says the gold bar was drilled and filled with tungsten.

    The melt temp of gold is around 2000 degrees and the melt temp of tungsten is about 6400 degrees.

    The tungsten bars would have to have the gold poured around them.

    Does tungsten commonly come in the form of round bars?

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    I buy tungsten as 1/8"x about 6" rods for TIG welding.

    They aren't cheap.........but I didn't know they were worth their weight in gold.
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    Audit Fort Knox. The gold is gone.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Millwright View Post
    I buy tungsten as 1/8"x about 6" rods for TIG welding.

    They aren't cheap.........but I didn't know they were worth their weight in gold.
    They could well be if cut into small sections and properly encased in lead...
    "They who have put out the people's eyes reproach them of their blindness."
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    Quote Originally Posted by Silverback View Post
    The article says the gold bar was drilled and filled with tungsten.

    The melt temp of gold is around 2000 degrees and the melt temp of tungsten is about 6400 degrees.

    The tungsten bars would have to have the gold poured around them.

    Does tungsten commonly come in the form of round bars?
    Yes, this is what the weights in AR 15 buffers are made from. It is nearly twice as heavy as lead.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Silverback View Post
    The article says the gold bar was drilled and filled with tungsten.

    The melt temp of gold is around 2000 degrees and the melt temp of tungsten is about 6400 degrees.

    The tungsten bars would have to have the gold poured around them.

    Does tungsten commonly come in the form of round bars?
    Melt point of Au is 1947F, the melt point of W is 6170F. So yes..... the gold would have to be poured around the tungsten. The hard part of the operation would be getting the dimensions correct. The specific density of W is 19.25g/cm3, for gold it's 19.3g/cm3.
    This means that a properly dimensioned gold bar filled with tungsten would weigh just a tiny tiny amount less than a pure gold bar. A difference of less than half a percent. If one is unaware of the correct dimensions and weight for a manufacturers product it would be very easy to miss a counterfeit bar.

    I suspect there are a whole lot more of these fakes polluting the market.....most probably compliments of our friends, the Chinese.
    I'd suspect that modern technology could discern these fakes if the right type of equipment was used to test for say.....conductivity.
    Au and W will conduct current at a different rate, a fake would measure condictivity that wasn't the same as a genuine bar.
    Other measures would work, the trick is making the process simple enough to be available outside of a high end lab.
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    I suspect there are a whole lot more of these fakes polluting the market.....most probably compliments of our friends, the Chinese.
    Bill&Hil must of did some consulting work then.
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