Where did all of this shiny stuff come from?
While scientists don’t yet have a firm grasp on how the gold that exists in the universe was created, it has been proposed that the collision of two super-dense neutron stars could result in the production of massive amounts of gold. It seems that these cosmic fender-benders likely splattered the universe with wreckage of up to six moon-sized masses of the gleaming yellow metal per crash.
Crunchy Outside With a Gooey Golden Center
All of the earth’s elemental gold sunk to the core during the formation of the planet and will stay there, forever irretrievable by you or anybody else due to the extreme technical difficulty involved in breaching the earth’s thin crust, let alone the 1,800-mile-deep mantle. The planet’s oceans are estimated to hold nearly 20 million tons of dissolved gold, but unless you’re finally able to develop an economically feasible method to recover those exceedingly diluted particles, that gold also can’t be used to fund your retirement.
The Big Yellow Monster From Outer Space
Nearly all of the gold and other precious metals that exist in the earth’s crust arrived via meteorite bombardment approximately 3.9 billion years ago. You’re probably also not aware that there’s only a meager 0.004 grams of gold per ton of the Earth’s crust on average. That’s a tiny amount only about double the weight of one grain of salt.
Your Ancestors Saw Something Shiny
Although there’s some debate as to the exact earliest recorded discovery and use of the uber-malleable metal, gold has been mined for well more than 6,000 years and possibly up to as many as 8,000 years ago.
The best and most recent—albeit still hotly debated—calculation is that there’s been 171,300 metric tons of gold mined since the emergence of human civilization. All of the gold produced in the known history of mankind would fit into an amazingly small cube of about 67 feet per side, which is probably significantly smaller than the last office building you entered.
Has the world finally reached peak gold? Does this combination of factors mean that the human race is in danger of running out of gold in the future? While certainly possible, it’s not likely to happen anytime soon.
What’s Left for You?
One factor to consider is the recyclable nature of the gold that has already been mined and currently resides in bank and government vaults throughout the world. Unless the human race takes it back to the stars, any existing gold is unlikely to leave the planet in a measurable amount.
It’s estimated that up to one billion troy ounces of gold are lingering unmined, tucked away securely in the deepest recesses of the planet’s outermost layer. These reserves, while still plentiful, are not without limit, and the shiny stuff that remains will surely not be extracted from the earth nearly as easily as in the past. With global demand for gold setting a new record last year, the price of the world’s favorite elemental metal will likely not remain at its presently reduced level for long.
Do you want to find out how much your share of the planet’s most valuable metal in history is worth? Premier Gold Silver & Coins can help. Stop by our Cheektowaga, NY, offices today for a free appraisal.
