Hearing report of thelargest atomic number 79 nuggetever find , or the recent2.6 kilogram(5.7 pound sign ) discovery by an unpaid aussie amber hunter , you might be fooled into thought we ’ve discovered a monumental amount of gold on Earth .
Well , it might come as a surprise to learn that all the gold discovered so far could equip inside a puny23 by 23meter ( 75 by 75 foot ) cube – that ’s about the length of a cricket pitch . Despite its comparatively small sizing , this block would weigh eight time as much as the Statue of Liberty .
How much gold have we found?
The estimated amount of gold mined throughout history is said to be around187,000 tons , with the full discovered amount being about 244,000 gross ton . And thanks to amber ’s about perdurable nature and its power to be recycled , pretty much all of this is still around .
Around2,756 to 3,307 tonsof gold are mined each year , with more than30 percentof all Au coming from the Witwatersrand Basin mine in South Africa . presently , China is the biggest miner of gold , while the single heavy gold - mining coordination compound is Barrick Gold ’s Nevada Gold Mines , which produces a whopping 99,223 kg ( 3.5 million apothecaries' ounce ) a twelvemonth .
How much is still underground?
atomic number 79 is found in an abundance of 0.0013 parts per million in the Earth ’s crust . While that might seem pretty rare , for mention , therarest precious metalis discover at just 0.000037 parts per million .
The gold leave in the land is measured either as “ reserves ” , which are frugal to mine at current gold prices , or “ resources ” , which need more investigation to establish if they ’re stinting , or ask to be sold at a higher cost .
TheUS Geological Surveyestimates below - land reserves to be around 57,000 tons , that ’s about 20 percent of hear gold that is yet to be mined . This would mean we could potentially mine all currently roll in the hay gold reserves in just over 17 eld .
But advances in minelaying engineering are making it both easier to let out new taciturnity and more economical to mine resources , so it ’s not potential we ’ll strip all of Earth ’s amber any time shortly .
excavation companies are now flock to Victoria , Australia , in what they ’re calling a “ second gold rush ” . Here , they ’re employ updated understandings of rock and roll organization to better predict the placement of atomic number 79 preserves , and today ’s modern boring equipment is allowing for a high-pitched yield .
Gold in hard-to-reach places
There are also a number of amber preserve we ’re aware of on Earth that are not economical to mine , and likely never will be .
Known deposits in Antarctica would ask extensive equipment and risk to retrieve in the continent ’s harsh mood . likewise , there ’s conceive to be gold throughout the ocean floor , but with no viable way of life of come to it , the note value of the yield would never rationalize the advances .
Looking further afield , there are also gold preserves on the Moon . While we might one day have a lunar substructure , presently , mine Moon - amber would cost much more than the mart value . But maybe the Artemis II crew should backpack theirgold pansjust in cause .
