World Gold Reserves: Facts & Figures

Formed ⁢in space⁢ from colliding neutron stars,gold is among Earth’s rarer elements. But just how rare‍ is ‍gold,and what’s the total amount of gold in the world?

The ⁣U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) estimates humans have mined roughly 206,000 tons of gold throughout history, with ⁣much of today’s production used in jewelry.⁢ The World Gold Council places the figure higher, at 238,391 tons.‍ This amount would form a cube about 72 feet on each side. The council reports that about 45% of this gold is in jewelry, 22% in bars and coins, and 17% ⁢held by central banks.

While a critically important portion of economically extractable gold has been mined, reserves remain. the USGS reports roughly 70,550 tons of gold remain in viable deposits‍ worldwide.Russia, Australia, and South Africa hold the largest untapped gold reserves, though China led gold ⁤extraction in 2024.

Experts differentiate ⁣between reserves (economically extractable ore) and resources (less certain ore deposits).⁤ the World gold Council, using data from Metals Focus, estimates global gold reserves at 60,370 tons and resources at 145,626 tons.

Combined estimates suggest ‍between 277,000 and 299,000 tons of gold exist in human ⁤objects and known crustal deposits. However, this figure carries considerable uncertainty.

Moast gold on Earth exists as tiny, uneconomical particles throughout the crust, especially in seawater and igneous rocks, according to the⁢ University of California, Berkeley. The Royal Mint calculates the crust’s gold concentration at about 4 parts per billion, totaling roughly 441 million tons.

Even this vast amount pales in comparison to the gold locked in earth’s core, which ‍geologists estimate⁢ holds 99% of the world’s gold—enough to coat the planet in a 1.6-foot layer.

During Earth’s formation, most gold sank to the core due to its density, Chris Voisey, an ore deposit geologist at Monash University, said. The remaining gold ‍arrived later ⁤during⁤ the “Late Heavy Bombardment,” a period of intense meteorite impacts between 4.1 billion and ⁢3.8 billion years⁤ ago.This 0.5% holds the gold found ⁤in rocks and ore deposits today, Voisey said.

This gold didn’t sink because Earth had already formed a ‍solid crust. “A lot of‍ Earth’s precious metals that form ore deposits is believed to be sourced from this event,since ⁣it isn’t locked in the iron-nickel core,” he ⁤said.

Since then, meteorite deliveries of gold are “more or less negligible,” Voisey said. Gold already on Earth is “simply shuffled around by⁢ geological processes which can form ore deposits.”

Voisey doubts researchers can accurately measure all ‍the gold on Earth, given the core’s vast reserves and variable crustal concentrations. Determining undiscovered gold is‍ “impossible,” he said. ‍The‍ primary_keyword, how much gold, remains a tantalizing mystery, ⁣with secondary_keyword_1, gold reserves, and⁣ secondary_keyword_2, gold deposits, ⁤being actively explored.