Posted on 07/08/2025 7:32:39 AM PDT by Red Badger
The cube would probably look a little something like this. Image credit: Clark Ukidu / Shutterstock
Hearing stories of the largest gold nugget ever found, or the recent 2.6 kilogram (5.7 pound) discovery by an amateur aussie gold hunter, you might be fooled into thinking we’ve discovered a massive amount of gold on Earth.
Well, it might come as a surprise to learn that all the gold discovered so far could fit inside a puny 23 by 23 meter (75 by 75 foot) cube – that’s about the length of a cricket pitch. Despite its relatively small size, this cube would weigh eight times 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 around 187,000 tons, with the total discovered amount being about 244,000 tons. And thanks to gold’s virtually indestructible nature and its ability to be recycled, pretty much all of this is still around.
Around 2,756 to 3,307 tons of gold are mined each year, with more than 30 percent of all gold coming from the Witwatersrand Basin mine in South Africa. Currently, China is the biggest miner of gold, while the single largest gold-mining complex is Barrick Gold’s Nevada Gold Mines, which produces a whopping 99,223 kilograms (3.5 million ounces) a year.
How much is still underground?
The gold left in the ground is measured either as “reserves”, which are economical to mine at current gold prices, or “resources”, which need more investigation to establish if they’re economical, or need to be sold at a higher price.
The US Geological Survey estimates below-ground reserves to be around 57,000 tons, that’s about 20 percent of discovered gold that is yet to be mined. This would mean we could potentially mine all currently known gold reserves in just over 17 years.
But advances in mining technology are making it both easier to discover new reserves and more economical to mine resources, so it’s not likely we’ll pillage all of Earth’s gold any time soon.
Mining companies are now flocking to Victoria, Australia, in what they’re calling a “second gold rush”. Here, they’re utilizing updated understandings of rock formation to better predict the location of gold preserves, and today’s modern drilling equipment is allowing for a higher yield.
Gold in hard-to-reach places There are also a number of gold preserves we’re aware of on Earth that are not economical to mine, and likely never will be.
Known deposits in Antarctica would require extensive equipment and risk to retrieve in the continent’s harsh climate. Similarly, there’s thought to be gold throughout the ocean floor, but with no viable way of getting to it, the value of the yield would never justify the advances.
Looking further afield, there are also gold preserves on the Moon. While we might one day have a lunar base, currently, mining Moon-gold would cost much more than the market value. But maybe the Artemis II crew should pack their gold pans just in case.
It took 20 posts?!?!?!?!
They can hold their breath. Crybabies.
Goldmember: I love gold! The look of it! The smell of it! The taste of it! The texture! I love gold so much that I lost my genitalia in an unfortunate smelting accident. Hence the name... Goldmember.
Huh? The max supply at the end of mining bitcoin is 21 million bitcoins. 21 million atoms wouldn't make a speck large enough to see.
Ironically, aluminum used to be more valuable than gold, because it was almost impossible to process. The Emperor Napoleon had a set of aluminum (gasp!) tableware, IIRC.
Then the Bessemer process was invented, and aluminum became commonplace.
About .77 hectares.
I have no idea.
That 166,500 tons refers to the amount of gold mined to date. The estimated amount of gold in the Earth’s crust is 35 billion tons. The estimated amount in the Earth as a whole is 1.6 quadrillion tons. Feel free to work out the size of the resulting cubes. Most of this gold is inaccessible, of course.
The very top pyramid cap piece on the Washington Monument was manufactured from that extremely valuable (worth more than gold, at the time) metal, aluminum.
“However, if you bought Gold around 2001 it was $260 oz/t…..today, $3,300 oz/t”
“oz/t”
Is Socrates writing your posts?
Unfortunately, I hid my gold in my mother's basement and while in prison some maintenace dude found it and sold it for pennies on the dollar. That is why I now have to resort to scamming dumb suckers.
“(worth more than gold, at the time) “
Not quite. About the same as silver.
Approximately 20 million TONS of gold in ocean water. Very dilute.Uneconomical to get ..
That would be a 75’ × 75’ cube, for those who use real measuring systems.
One good question is why is gold considered valuable at all? It is pretty much useless outside of electronics. I don’t think the ancient Egyptians had PCs.
Jewelry mainly. It doesn’t react with most chemicals and it doesn’t tarnish like silver, plus it’s rarity makes it a good standard for trade............
We are in agreement on that.
Bkmk
lolol
They are researching the use of gold in cancer detection and treatment, skin care. It has very mild antiseptic properties (not too useful however). Gold salts have been used for decades as an anti-rheumatoid arthritis treatment.(we have “better” treatments now.)
So, nothing to justify the madness for it.
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