Answer: We enjoy meeting investors around the world and sometimes we bring silver dore bars to our meetings to show investors what the end product of our Guanacevi mine looks like. When they hold a dore silver bar, we commonly get asked the question, what is heavier, silver or gold?

Actually, the real question is, which is denser? Weight is the measure of the force of gravity on the mass of an object, expressed as grams or ounces. Density, or specific gravity, is the weight of an object per unit of volume, expressed as grams per cubic centimeter. Water has a specific gravity of 1, and the densities of all other materials are relative to that of water.

The answer is gold, which is why smaller gold objects feel heavier when compared to silver objects of the same size. Density or specific gravity depends on the size of the nucleus of the atoms. A single atom of silver has a total of 47 protons and electrons and 61 neutrons. On the other hand, a single gold atom consists of 79 protons and electrons and 118 neutrons; or close to double the elements of a silver atom. Therefore, gold has a density of 19.32 g/cm³ whereas silver has a density of only 10.49 g/cm³.

Thus, a 1 oz bar of gold will be almost half as large as a 1 oz bar of silver. So, the next time you purchase gold bullion and/ or silver bullion, weigh them in your hand and look at their size and verify this difference for yourself.