TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - METALLURGY - Preferred Process: The gold and the less noble element(s), in suitable ratios, are melted in a furnace under a protective or inert atmosphere. A promoter metal is added to the melt. The less noble element is removed using a chemical or electrochemical technique which does not attack nor react with the gold in the precursor material. In an electrochemical technique, the less noble element is removed by controlling the electrical potential or current density. The removal step is preceded by a step of comminuting the precursor material in an alcohol medium. The less noble element is removed from the comminuted precursor material by a leaching medium. The comminuted precursor material and leaching medium are agitated and kept at below 10 degrees C. A dispersant is added to the leaching medium to counteract forces between the resulting fine gold particles. The removal of the less noble element results in the provision of a promoter element for the gold.The precursor material is combined with the support material by:(a) spraying molten particles of the precursor material onto a metallic support and then selectively dissolving the more reactive metal;(b) filling a fibrous support system with alloyed powder or catalyst powder by vibratory filling;(c) milling the precursor material with the support material and then leaching;(d) applying the precursor material, once milled after admixture of a binder, in the form of a paste to the support material and then removing the binder;(e) electroplating;(f) electrodepositing the less noble metal and gold onto a support material to form gold and less noble metal layers on the support material which are subsequently processed to obtain a catalytically active surface; or(g) impregnating the precursor material with the support material.Preferred Materials: The less noble element is Group IIB or IIIA element. It is aluminum. The precursor material includes gold-aluminum (AuxAly). The promoter metal is Group IVB-VIB, VIII, IB-IVA, magnesium or cerium. It is iron-aluminum (FexAly), titanium-aluminum (TixAly), or a platinum group metal/aluminum compound. The support material is a metal oxide of Group IVB-VIB, VIII, IB, IIB, IIIA, IVA, and/or cerium. EXAMPLE - Activity tests of the catalysts produced by the invention were performed in a continuous micro fixed bed reactor. Carbon monoxide (CO) oxidation tests were conducted with a gas mixture comprising 1 vol.% CO in air at a total flow rate of 76 mL/minute. The products in the effluent stream were analyzed by a gas chromatograph. Catalytic gold alone, prepared by the leaching route, showed some activity, i.e., 5% for the oxidation of CO. Catalytic gold with a support material showed higher activity for the conversion of CO. For 4 wt.% gold on a mixed iron/cobalt oxide support, a conversion of more than 90% can be obtained in dry and humid atmospheres. In this test, 0.5 g of the sample was tested at 60 degrees C.