Describe the journey of gold from mine to jewellery shop.

The journey of gold from a mine to a jewellery shop begins with mining gold ore from the earth. This ore is then crushed and processed through various methods, such as cyanidation or flotation, to extract the raw gold. The raw gold is then refined to a high purity, often into bars or ingots. These refined gold bars are then sent to jewellery manufacturers, where the gold is melted, often alloyed with other metals like copper or silver to increase its strength and durability, and then skillfully shaped, cast, or fabricated into various jewellery designs. Finally, the finished jewellery pieces are distributed to retail jewellery shops for sale to customers.