As the World’s population has grown so has the pressure on the Earth’s natural resources. Even renewable resources are under pressure and we should all now be acutely aware that finite resources like oil will eventually be exhausted. Are we also in danger of running out of gold? Whilst gold is not found in abundance on our planet, our reserves have not been under threat until now. So what has changed?
The Figures
Gold is actually a relatively rare commodity and occurs as part of the earth’s crust at only .0025 parts per million. It is not possible to calculate the exact amount of gold that has already been mined but experts suggest that the quantity is approximately 171,000 tons. To give you some idea of what that means, all of this gold would fit in a space the size of Wimbledon’s Centre Court and to a height of 9.8 metres. This really isn’t much gold is it? The US Geological Survey estimates that around 52,000 tons of gold is still in the ground but there is the possibility that further deposits could be discovered in the future. If these figures are accurate then we may have already mined 77% of all the gold on Earth so why aren’t we panicking?
How We Use Gold
The answer lies in the way that we have used gold. Gold jewellery, gold teeth, in fact gold anything remains simply gold. When the item is no longer required the gold can be melted down and used again. Almost all of the gold that has ever been mined is still with us walking around on our fingers, around our necks or sitting in government gold reserves. Gold is not like oil which once used is never to be seen again. Gold is not a renewable resource but it is a recyclable one and because of its value it is always recycled. Until now that is.
The Future
New industrial applications for gold require minute quantities of the metal to be used, quantities which are so small that the gold cannot later be recovered. Gold is now being consumed and this could mean that at some point in the future the gold will start to run out. Reserves are not threatened now but we don’t know how we will be using gold in the coming years. We might have to view gold in a new light. Sure gold is already special but it could become a very rare commodity. Prices could rise dramatically as a result.
Indeed some gold was mined in such small quantities that it is already so costly that it is used extremely sparingly. There were gold deposits in Wales, for instance, but they have been mined out. Welsh gold is now highly prized and jewellery which features Welsh Gold does so only in tiny quantities which are mixed with gold from elsewhere. Perhaps all gold will be treated like this one day. In the future a gold ring may simply be a partly gold ring!
Article by Sally Stacey