Gold was the first metal to be used by early civilisations because of its purity, chemically it is the most stable of all the other metals as it is hardly effected by water and oxygen, few acids effect it so it doesn't degrade. It is almost indestructable, untarnishable but at the same time is very malleable, shiny, heavy, rare, and it lasts forever. Gold is used as a country's measure of wealth but it is illegal to use as currency and it gets locked away in bank vaults only ever to be seen by a few!

What struck me about this programme about gold and its extraction methods was the immensely industrial and labour intensive process that miners go through in order to extract the metal that eventually is melted down and becomes this mass produced bar of wealth and beauty that is revered by many yet touched by few. The processes of extraction and industrialisation are eradicated in the melted and homogenised bars. When melted down and reformed this natural metal becomes something that looks almost supernatural.