How much gold is left in the world?

It is estimated that around 190,000 metric tons of minable gold exists worldwide, whether in known reserves or still undiscovered. About 54,000 tons of gold have already been mined throughout human history across regions including Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Europe. This leaves roughly two-thirds, or some 126,000 tons, still buried within the earth’s crust and yet to be recovered through mining.

The known portion of minable gold increases each year as mining activity unearths new stores and higher gold prices drive renewed interest in exploration worldwide using sophisticated geochemical and geophysical techniques. However, gold’s innate rarity coupled with perpetual demand ensures yearly global production from mining remains relatively small at between 2,500-3,000 tons. Existing gold stocks are also supplemented by an additional 1,000 tons per year recycled from jewelry and gold-bearing electronics to help meet demand.

Some of the world’s largest gold producers include South Africa, which has produced over 40% of all gold mined, the Witwatersrand Basin region, China, Australia, Russia, Peru, Indonesia, and the United States. Gold mining within these countries is an important part of gross domestic product and exports. Yet despite regional concentrations, gold can be found on every continent and efforts to locate new economically viable deposits continue. This is because the majority of the planet’s surface is yet to be thoroughly surveyed using modern prospecting techniques and tools.

More gold will certainly be discovered across the globe as exploration extends into untapped regions. But gold’s innate scarcity in the earth’s crust means substantial new deposits are increasingly more difficult to find as existing stores become exhausted. Gold’s rarity juxtaposed with perpetual demand ensures mining production will remain fairly small and new sources hard to come by. However, recycled gold will continue playing an important role in meeting needs.