You know about the engineered parts metalcasting can produce, but an in- dustry niche that receives less attention is the casting of gold bars.
Shea Gibbs, Senior Editor
It’s not engineered precision, but without the casting process, precious metals couldn’t fi nd their way into ingot.
Shea Gibbs, Senior Editor
T
he metalcasting process supports a $5.5 billion market- place, but not a single one of those sales dollars is ac- counted for in the industry’s annual forecasts or recaps. The sales are of gold bars, the majority of which are pro-
duced in one of two metalcasting processes—permanent mold and continuous casting. At an average price of almost $1,000 an ounce in 2009,
they don’t call gold a precious metal because it’s cute. The World Gold Council estimates the total identifi able
March/april 2010
demand for gold in 2009 was 3,385.8 metric tons, which amounts to sales of $105.5 billion. In addition to gold bars, those fi gures include consumption of gold in the form of jewelry, dental implants, electronics and industrial products, and other investment products like coins. As with bullion, gold often fi nds its way into these products via the metalcasting process, but because the bars are not engineered components, they fl y under the general metalcasting industry radar.
Metal casting Design anD purchasing 23
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