In the Golden Tree it becomes clearly visible where the gold comes from and where the gold goes. Unfortunately, we cannot escape a relatively technical story, but the figures do give us a clear insight into this.

Sources of gold

It is estimated that at the beginning of 2023, 50,000 tonnes of gold were known in underground reserves, which is about 20% of the total amount. Of this, about 3,600 tonnes of gold is mined annually.

This underground reserve is greatest in:
-       Australia (8,400 tonnes)
-       Russia (6,800 tonnes)
-       South Africa (5,000 tonnes)

China has a localized reserve of 1,900 tons, which has not changed for years. Even more striking is that China is the country that mines the most gold per year, which is just under 400 tons per year. South Africa has a reserve that is almost three times as large, yet the country produces four times less than China. China does not seem to be giving up all its reserves. In Europe, Bulgaria, Sweden and Finland are the only countries worth mentioning where gold is mined, all three just under 10 tonnes per year.

Approximately 2,200 tonnes of gold are recycled every year. In this process, gold is melted down and used for other purposes. A large part of this consists of old jewelry. Due to the high Gold price a lot of old jewellery is sold and melted down. This molten gold can be used to make ingots or granules, which can be used in the production process.

Uses of Gold

At the end of 2022, it is estimated that a total of 208,874 tonnes of gold had been mined. It is very difficult to estimate how much gold is currently still in circulation, but due to its sustainable nature and value, it is expected that not much gold has been 'lost'.

Technology

In contrast to silver, gold is used relatively little in the production process. We can assume about 12%. The gold is used in very small quantities, such as in telephones. This makes the recycling of gold incorporated into the technology an intensive and expensive activity, making it unprofitable in many cases.

Investment

About 35% of gold is used for investment, of which 17% is held by Central banks. For the Central Banks, a big difference can be seen in the amount of gold they hold as a reserve for their total debt. Remarkably, the Central Banks of Turkey and Venezuela have one of the highest gold reserves (100% and 93% respectively). In Europe, Portugal has the largest gold reserve in percentage terms with 69%. The Dutch Central Bank has a gold reserve of almost 60% (612.5 tonnes). 

The United States has the largest amount of gold reserves at 8,133.5 tonnes (68.2%). Followed by Germany, Italy and 

France (3,352, 2451 and 2436 tonnes respectively). China comes in at the 6^e 2,113 tonnes, which is remarkably only 3.84 of the total outside capital. 

 Jewelry:

At the moment, it is expected that more than half (between 50% and 60%) of the gold is processed in jewellery. The largest market for this is India, because of the cultural and traditional value attached to gold. The fastest growing market is the Chinese market. Remarkable: most Dutch jewelry is 14 carats, while in China more than 80% of the jewelry is 24 carats.