We can’t wait until the day we have a reason to dress up again!
Until then, let’s talk about how Canadian mining provides minerals that help shape fashion trends here and around the world.
Gold has been used for making jewelry for thousands of years. Artisans of ancient civilizations used gold lavishly in decorating tombs and temples, and gold objects made more than 5,000 years ago have been found in Egypt.
What makes gold such an excellent mineral for jewelry making? Special properties of gold make it perfect for manufacturing jewelry, including very high luster; desirable yellow color; tarnish resistance; ability to be drawn into wires, hammered into sheets, or cast into shapes. These are all properties of an attractive metal that is easily worked into beautiful objects. Another extremely important factor that demands the use of gold as a jewelry metal is tradition. Important objects are expected to be made from gold.
Gold is mined in 9 Canadian provinces and territories, and is the highest valued commodity produced in Canada by value of production. Demand for gold production continues to grow each year. In fact, half of the global demand for gold is used for jewelry production.
Nickel also plays an important role in fashion. Nickel is used to make earrings – and the posts assembled into pierced ears – necklaces, bracelets and chains, anklets, finger rings, wrist-watch cases, watch straps, rivet buttons, rivets, zippers and metal marks.
Canada ranks fifth in the world for nickel mining and refined nickel mining, with 7.7% of global mined production.