It has a non-negligible gamma ray cross section for the (γ, n) reaction with 10 Mega-Electronvolt Gamma Rays. This reaction, in addition to serving as a potential neutron source could also be used to produce Hg-197 and via electron capture produce 197 Au - stable gold. Given that it is roughly two orders of magnitude more abundant that Hg-196, the required isotopic separation, even it required a further step of separating the lighter Hg-196 from the heavier Hg-198 could be achieved with a better yield for any given effort than for Hg-196.