A detailed study of the x-ray spectra of gold has been inspired by the necessities of the National Ignition Campaign to learn more about the M-band contribution to the total energy balance inside the NIF's hohlraum. For this purpose a survey x-ray spectrometer covering a spectral range from 0.5 to 19.5 angstroms has been added to the the Nike diagnostic suite. This instrument allows simultaneous observation of both M- and N- spectra of Hf, W, Ta, Pt and Au with high spectral resolution. Shots taken with a power density of 2×1014 W/cm2 confirmed the strong presence of transitions of Ni-like ions of the above mentioned elements.