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The 500-gram (17.6-ounce) Olympic gold medals that Usain
Bolt, Michael Phelps and other athletes will be competing for in
Rio de Janeiro are nearly 99 percent silver. They contain just
1.2 percent gold, mostly used as plating.
"It's a great honor and a great responsibility," said Victor
Hugo Berbert, head of medal-making, as he showed Reuters around
the mint in Rio de Janeiro.
Each of the 5,130 Olympic and Paralympic medals takes about 48
hours to make, said Berbert, who has an 80-strong team working
shifts around the clock.
The medals are the most sustainable in Olympic history. Much of
the silver is recycled from old mirrors and X-ray plates. The
gold is free of mercury, which is often used to separate gold
from ore and can poison local ecosystems if not carefully
disposed of.
Nike, the winged goddess of victory in Ancient Greece, is minted
on one side below the five Olympic rings, while the discipline
for which the medal has been won is engraved along its edge. The
other side bears the Rio 2016 logo.
"It's a sense of great satisfaction that our work will be worn
on the chests of athletes who have given everything to win,"
said Nelson Neto Carneiro, who has worked at the mint for over
40 years.
(Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
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