Stories about the largest gold nugget ever found or a recent gold discovery by an Australian treasure hunter weighing 2.6 kilograms (5.7 pounds) might make it seem like there is a lot of gold on Earth.
However, the truth is surprising. All the gold ever found could fit into a cube that measures just 23 meters (75 feet) long on each side. This would be the length of a cricket pitch. While the cube may be on the small side (in contrast to our expectations), it would be extremely heavy, weighing eight times more than the Statue of Liberty.
Throughout history, about 212,582 tons of gold have been mined, with a total discovered amount estimated at around 244,000 tons. Since gold is nearly indestructible and can be recycled, almost all of it still exists today.
Each year, around 2,500 to 3,000 tons of gold are mined, according to US Money Reserve. Over 40 percent of that gold comes from the Witwatersrand Basin in South Africa. Currently, China is the world’s biggest gold producer, but the single largest mining site is Barrick Gold’s Nevada Gold Mines, which produces around 99,223 kilograms (almost 219,000 pounds) annually.
54,000 tons of gold yet to be mined
Estimating how much gold is left to mine is difficult. While gold makes up about four parts per billion of the Earth’s crust, the exact amount remaining is uncertain.
The World Gold Council (WGC) suggests there are around 54,000 tons of gold still underground, ready to be mined. This figure is less than 30 percent of all the gold that has already been extracted.
Tracking gold supplies worldwide is challenging. The West Coast Placer gold blog notes that gold reserves are not always reported accurately. Over 50 percent of the gold above ground is used in jewelry, making it even harder to keep track of the global gold supply.
AI imagines the 23x23x23 meter cube of all the gold ever mined in the world…Is this right? pic.twitter.com/HQzImKMIoZ
— Eyes On – Unacceptable (@jaycurrie) September 25, 2024
Additionally, small-scale gold miners, especially in developing countries, often don’t accurately report the amount they find.
If the estimate of 54,000 tons of gold still in underground reserves is correct, it is not a large amount. A single cargo ship can carry about 25,000 tons. This means all the remaining gold on Earth could fit into fewer than three cargo ships.
World’s mineable gold would run out by 2035
There is still some gold left in the ground in the US and worldwide, but the amount is quite limited. In 2015, Goldman Sachs investment bankers predicted that the world’s mineable gold reserves could be exhausted by 2035.
Some experts even believe that the peak in gold production occurred in 2019 and has been declining since then. Over the last thirty years, the discovery of new gold mines has significantly slowed down.
In the fourth quarter of 2018, many gold miners reported reduced production. The World Gold Council confirmed this drop in its report, “Gold Demand Trends Full Year and Q4 2018,” noting that mine production fell from the record levels seen in the third quarter of that year.
