Gold can be found on nearly every continent of the earth. It also exists in trace amounts in sea water and in the human body. Despite the fact that gold can be found almost everywhere, there is very little gold in comparison to other elements on earth.
Gold is found all over the world, and in places many may find surprising. It is typically found deep in the ground in quartz veins, or in river and stream beds where it has been eroded and settled over hundreds and thousands of years.
In its natural form, it is found deep in the layers of the earth where it is transported by water, molten lava and volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes. Geologists have found gold in rocks as old as 4.5 billion years ago.
Gold is widespread in low concentrations in all igneous rocks. Its abundance in Earth's crust is estimated at about 0.005 part per million. It occurs mostly in the native state, remaining chemically uncombined except with tellurium, selenium, and bismuth.
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.
About 60% of Australia's gold resources occur in Western Australia, with the remainder in all other States and the Northern Territory. Virtually all resources occur in primary deposits, many of which have undergone some degree of weathering.
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.
Gold is primarily found as the pure, native metal. Sylvanite and calaverite are gold-bearing minerals. Gold is usually found embedded in quartz veins, or placer stream gravel. It is mined in South Africa, the USA (Nevada, Alaska), Russia, Australia and Canada.
What Country Has the Most Gold? The country with the most gold is the United States, with 8,133 metric tons in the American gold reserve. This amounts to a value of $480.84 billion, going by the price of gold at the beginning of January 2023.
So we've estimated that within 4000m of the surface of Earth's crust there is 35 billion tons of gold. With a remaining 87 billion under the ocean.
The short answer to the questions posed in this article title is: Yes! gold traces have indeed been identified within the lunar soil. Back in October 2009, NASA conducted a mission called LCROSS, which involved crashing a booster rocket into the Moon at nearly 6,000 miles per hour.
Gold is thought to have been produced in supernova nucleosynthesis, and from the collision of neutron stars, and to have been present in the dust from which the Solar System formed.
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. Worldwide, the production of gold reached an estimated 3,100 metric tons in 2022.
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.
Australia is estimated to have the world's largest gold reserves, with 9,500 tonnes or 17 per cent of the total world estimated gold reserves of 57,000 tonnes.
China may invade Taiwan, or it may not. Either way, there is financial uncertainty. Precious metals are the counterbalance to that uncertainty. Russia, China, Brazil, Egypt, India, Turkey, Qatar, and many other countries are stockpiling gold to overthrow the Dollar and ensure sovereignty.
The country with the purest gold in the world is Switzerland, a country known for paying attention to quality. Below, the precious metals experts from First National Bullion and Coin, the best place to buy gold in Scottsdale, explain why this particular country has an affinity for pure gold.
Yes, gold can be created from other elements. But the process requires nuclear reactions, and is so expensive that you currently cannot make money by selling the gold that you create from other elements.
What to do: Hold the magnet up to the gold. If it's real gold it will not stick to the magnet. (Fun fact: Real gold is not magnetic.) Fake gold, on the other hand, will stick to the magnet.
The reasons behind gold's enduring value include: Gold is perceived as a symbol of wealth, power, and majesty. Gold has had an exalted position throughout the ages as a highly coveted, even worshipped material. Gold has been used over millennia as jewelry and a means of exchange.
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.
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.
In addition, lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc, niobium, molybdenum, lanthanum, europium, tungsten, and gold have been found in trace amounts.