The Earth's core is believed to contain around 1.6 quadrillion tons of gold, which is about 16 times more than the total amount of gold mined in human history.
Elements that dissolve in iron, called siderophiles, are also found in the core. Because these elements are found much more rarely on Earth's crust, many siderophiles are classified as “precious metals.” Siderophile elements include gold, platinum, and cobalt.
There is enough gold within Earth to cover the planet. According to Discover Magazine, there's a lot of gold on—or in—our planet: 99 percent of the precious metal can be found in the Earth's core. How much do you have? Enough gold to cover the entire Earth's surface in 1.5 feet of gold.
During the formation of Earth, molten iron sank to its centre to make the core. This took with it the vast majority of the planet's precious metals -- such as gold and platinum. In fact, there are enough precious metals in the core to cover the entire surface of Earth with a four-metre thick layer.
The amount of gold present in the earth's crust is 0.001 to 0.006 parts per million. The amount of gold per 4000 meters on the surface is 35 billion tons of gold. Under the ocean about 87 billion of gold is present. The more amount of gold is present inside the earth's core.
Satellite imaging has shown that the top 10 centimetres of regolith (moon soil) at the south pole of the moon appear to hold about 100 times more gold than the richest mines on earth. Only a few years ago, most geologists would have laughed at the idea of mining anything from our moon.
About 244,000 metric tons of gold has been discovered to date (187,000 metric tons historically produced plus current underground reserves of 57,000 metric tons). Most of that gold has come from just three countries: China, Australia, and South Africa.
In Australia this concentration of gold took place in the Earth hundreds of millions of years ago in the eastern states, and thousands of millions of years ago in Western Australia. As well as gold, the fluids can carry other dissolved minerals, such as quartz. This is why gold is often found with quartz.
All of the gold that's deposited in our planet was formed during the explosions of stars and collisions of asteroids, and eventually found its way to earth over time. Today, gold is one of the most valuable precious metals and rarest natural minerals.
Where Does Gold Occur? All of the gold found on Earth came from the debris of dead stars. As the Earth formed, heavy elements such as iron and gold sank toward the planet's core. If no other event had occurred, there would be no gold in the Earth's crust.
There are no naturally occurring processes that produce new gold… on Earth. The process by which gold is created takes place amongst the stars! Gold is formed when stars explode or collide, only then are the necessary energy and conditions right to create gold.
If you were hoping make your fortune mining the sea, consider this: Gold in the ocean is so dilute that its concentration is very small. One study found there is only about one gram of gold for every 100 million metric tons of ocean water in the Atlantic and north Pacific.
Industry would come to a standstill in general, and many specialty fields would go out of business, from aerospace engineering to nanotechnology to certain types of environmental control and protection.
Scientists are not able to reach the Earth's core, which makes it hard to study. What they can do are geophysical studies and experiments that simulate the conditions deep down in the Earth.
Other gold mines use underground mining, where the ore is extracted through tunnels or shafts. South Africa has the world's deepest hard rock gold mine up to 3,900 metres (12,800 ft) underground. At such depths, the heat is unbearable for humans, and air conditioning is required for the safety of the workers.
New experiments indicate that when water released from subducted tectonic plates reacts with the metallic iron core, it liberates carbon as diamond. Earth's core contains the planet's largest subsurface reservoir of carbon.
Some of the veins produce up to one quarter of an ounce of gold per ton of rock. What makes Dahlonega gold so different from other gold found around the world is the purity. Dahlonega has the purest gold in the world, which is 98.7 percent pure.
Adding or removing protons from a nucleus are types of nuclear reactions. As such, no series of chemical reactions can ever create gold. Chemical reactions change the number and shape of the electrons in an atom but leave the nucleus of the atom unchanged.
Nevertheless, on the whole, there is more gold in space than on Earth because space is simply exponentially bigger. In fact, gold is more “rare” in space when scaled to the size of the Earth. It is even considered rare when compared to other elements.
Considered by most authorities to be the biggest gold nugget ever found, the Welcome Stranger was found at Moliagul, Victoria, Australia, in 1869 by John Deason and Richard Oates. It weighed gross, over 2,520 troy ounces (78 kg; 173 lb) and returned over 2,284 troy ounces (71.0 kg; 156.6 lb) net.
It is perfectly legal to sell and buy gold in Australia. You can sell a kilo of gold bars, a wedding ring or an old coin. The Australian government has set guidelines for the sale of precious metals. There is no restriction on the weight or value of precious metal.
An Australian man using a budget metal detector has hit the score of a lifetime – a giant gold nugget worth $160,000. The man, who did not want to be identified, made the life-changing discovery in the southern state of Victoria, the world's largest gold nugget was discovered in 1869.
Australia and Russia hold the largest reserves of gold
Australia and Russia hold a large share of the world's gold mine reserves, accounting for 8,400 metric tons and 6,800 metric tons, respectively.
The largest gold specimen Kamp has found was a 24-ounce piece, which now would be worth around 70,000 AUD ($46,753). He said that about 10 years ago, his friend found a 600-ounce gold nugget.