Olympics 2012 Medals : From Mine to Medals

The precious ore for the Olympics medals has been supplied by London 2012 sponsor Rio Tinto and was mined at Kennecott Utah Copper Mine near Salt Lake City in America, as well as from the Oyu Tolgoi project in Mongolia. 

The Rio Tinto official webpage provides  an interactive explanation on every process involved from Mine to Medals. 

Some processes involve Chemical Reactions :  

• Extraction
• Smelting
• Refining(Purification)

More details, visit http://www.riotinto.com/fromminetomedal/

Chemistry of Olympics 2012 Medals

Medal Specification : 

Weight :  375-400g

Diameter : 85mm 

Thickness : 7mm 

Composition of Olympics Medals

1. The gold medal  :  92.5% silver and 1.34% gold, with the remainder copper (a minimum of 6g of gold).
2. The silver medal :  92.5% silver, with the remainder copper.
3. The bronze medal is :  97.0% copper, 2.5% zinc and 0.5% tin.

*source from London Olympic Official Website

Oscar Trophy is an Alloy!

Guess what is the composition of the Oscar trophy?