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Message:: [QUOTE="Tom B, post: 867320, member: 11854"]Hold on a second here. You are writing that millions of tonnes of gold were mixed with iridium (Ir) because of the India TV News article? That seems to be quite a bit more than a stretch of logic based upon a 15kg shipment of the metal that was intercepted. The last information I have at hand for worldwide usage of Ir is from 2006 where there were approximately 95,000 ounces used by the chemical, electrochemical and electronics industries and 35,000 ounces used elsewhere. Worldwide production is also approximately the same as usage for Ir.  Therefore, if one were to go to the extreme and claim all of the yearly production of Ir that is not taken by the chemical, electrochemical and electronics industries was somehow quietly and ilicity used to alter jewelry finess for gold then 35,000 ounces per year of Ir could go to that venture. This represents about 1 tonne of Ir available per year. Your claim is that millions of tonnes of gold were mixed with Ir. If so, then to even reduce the purity of "only" one million tonnes of gold by one-tenth of one percent (0.1% or one part per thousand) would require that this ilicit operation consume 1,000 tonnes of Ir. At the current production and usage of Ir it would require 1,000 years to produce the Ir. Regardless, the dilution of the gold would be from an assay of 0.999 to 0.998 fine if this were to occur.[/QUOTE]