Unlike most people who deal with gold, businessman Grant Conner cares about how the gold he sells is sourced. It takes one with a heart of gold to care so much about the environmental impacts of mining gold and to ensure gold mining is done the right way. Grant Conner has been encircled by gold ever since he was born. In fact, he was born with gold running in his veins. For him, gold isn't just a means to an end. It is a calling, a passion.

Conner was brought up in the California town of Oroville, which literally means gold town, as gold is known as "oro" in Spanish, and the French word "ville" means town. Conner would usually say, "I'm fourth generation, and I'm from the city of gold." While he may be the fourth generation in his family to work in the gold and jewellery trade, he is the first to expand his operations internationally.

Ethical gold mining is a cause close to Grant Conner's heart. He has experienced mining's aftereffects firsthand. Because of his passion for teaching and his abiding interest in gold, Conner has made it his mission to educate the world about the subject. This is why he's making the documentary "The New Gold Standard." He says, "The goal is to make people see and understand gold in a new light and care about where and who they buy from. This is because it could affect harsh mining conditions, corruption, and genocide within Africa." At 35, Conner feels refreshed and ready to leave a lasting legacy.

Conner sets himself apart in the gold and jewelry industry by establishing a firm foundation of honesty and integrity. He started Nuggets by Grant, an international online store that sells high-quality gold nuggets that were mined responsibly. They mine in Alaska, Canada, and Australia because of their ties to Orocal, the largest manufacturer of jewellery made from natural gold in the world. His gold enterprise is one of a kind because it is also environmentally friendly. Instead of the more destructive pit or hard rock mining, they engage in placer or artisanal mining.

Conner's lifelong goal has been to influence positive change. The making of his documentary finally allows him to do so. In addition, he has invested considerable time in expanding his professional contacts. On just one social media platform, he has over 100,000 followers. More and more people will start to think about the origins of their gold. The advent of modern technology has also paved the way. "Now that blockchain technology is out, I believe the provenance of where your product came from, backed by smart contracts, will change the world and how we see this precious metal, which is one of the most intriguing substances in the known universe," he says.

Right from the start, Conner was taught the fundamentals of the jewelry trade, including how to clean, wax, and cut stones. As a teenager, Conner honed his sales and marketing skills, eventually launching a successful line of coin souvenirs. Within a year, Nuggets by Grant had become one of the top 1% of companies on eBay thanks to Grant and his team's hard work. In 2020, their sales topped $8 million and expanded their network to include prominent gold nugget wholesalers like Lynch Mining Paydirt. Now, over 10,000 people visit his Shopify store each and every month. He comes up first in search engine results when looking for this moral elixir.

Grant Conner, a world traveller, discovered that despite the continent's wealth, some of the world's poorest people live there. Conner recently spent time in Belgium learning from a leading geologist about the origins of gold and the current market for the precious metal. This job has allowed Conner to travel the world, where he has met incredible people and discovered their deep ties to the precious metal. Conner admits that going the ethical gold route is hard in an industry where everyone goes left for higher profits. Still, he will persevere until his mission is accomplished. He wants to promote freedom through his company by bringing light to the dark and new, risk-free mining methods to the elite.

If you want to know more about Grant Conner, you can follow him on Instagram at @nuggsbygrant.