How much of the scarce resource gold is there currently? How soon will gold exhaustion occur? How much gold has been extracted by humans so far? This time, we’ll break down how much gold has been extracted to date and how much is still in existence into two parts.
The total amount and reserves of gold mined so far
Currently, humans mine about 3,000 tons of gold annually. About 100,000 tons of gold have so far been extracted from the earth. It can fill nearly 4 swimming pools when put in a standard-sized swimming pool, but only about 1 swimming pool can be filled by the estimated 50,000 tons of underground storage that currently exists. Gold reserves are predicted to run out in more than ten years if mining keeps up at this pace. Gold that cannot be mined is not included in the reserves, though. To put it another way, the reserves are only as large as what can be extracted using current mining techniques and at a profit. Gold that cannot be mined with current technology, or the cost of mining is not economically beneficial, cannot be called “amount of reserves” but only “amount of resources.”for example:
Theoretically, seawater could be used to extract gold. The seawater contains traces of gold, despite the extremely low concentration. Due to the size of the oceans that cover the surface of the earth, a total of 5 billion tons of gold can be extracted from the ocean. The era of extracting gold from seawater may arrive if the price of gold rises in the future and technology advances, and the amount of gold in reserves is likely to rise as a result.Annual gold production
Initially, South Africa was the world’s top producer of gold, but due to domestic issues, an unstable power supply, and outdated mining technology, the nation’s output has decreased yearly. On the other hand, China over the past 13 years has emerged as the world’s top gold producer. (2007). Its production has increased year over year and is firmly in first place. Its output is 1.5 times greater than second-place Australia. However, production has decreased recently as a result of environmental protection laws.
The following is a ranking of major gold producing countries and output in recent years:
1. China
2. Australia
3. Russia
4. United States
5. Canada
*The total global gold production in 2018 was 3,296 tons, an increase of approximately 910 tons from 10 years ago.
Gold reserves
Next, let me list out to you the ranking of gold reserves in the world in recent years:
Australia is first in reserves, second in production, and second in reserves, with South Africa’s production declining year over year. China, which produces the most gold annually, has gold reserves totaling about 2,000 tons, ranking ninth in the world.
Gold recycles
About 1/3 of the total annual gold demand is recovered from the market.
In addition to jewelry and accessories made of precious metals, electronic products like computers, digital cameras, and the circuit boards in mobile phones all have gold, platinum, or silver plating. Only 5 grams of gold can be extracted from a ton of gold, but from the same ton of mobile phones, 150 grams of gold can be recovered.
