4. How much gold is left in the ground?
According to estimates by the US Geological Survey, there are just over 50,000 tons of economically recoverable gold left in the ground worldwide. That's less than a third of the total amount of gold present above ground. With an annual gold mine production of 2,500 to 3,000 tons, we can go on for a few more decades before more gold will not be found. The global production of gold mines is barely increasing, a phenomenon that is also known as 'peak gold'. The following graph shows that a plateau has formed at just over 2,500 tonnes. Production is barely rising, despite the rise in the price of gold. That means it's really going to be harder to get more gold out of the ground.
Global production of gold mines appears to be stabilizing
Underground gold reserves are about 52,000 tons
