{"id":8220,"date":"2026-05-25T08:17:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T06:17:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.italpreziosi.it\/news\/gold-deposits-what-is-the-current-situation-and-how-is-it-likely-to-develop\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T08:17:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T06:17:19","slug":"gold-deposits-what-is-the-current-situation-and-how-is-it-likely-to-develop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.italpreziosi.it\/en\/news\/gold-deposits-what-is-the-current-situation-and-how-is-it-likely-to-develop\/","title":{"rendered":"Gold deposits: what is the current situation and how is it likely to develop?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A fascinating, luminous metal, believed by ancient peoples to possess divine qualities, and a strategic asset in the modern world for protecting capital against devaluation. Over the millennia, gold has altered its relationship with our species, yet never severed it. For over 6,000 years, humankind has scoured rivers and the earth in search of the noblest of metals, inventing ever-new techniques to locate, collect and work it. <\/span><\/p>\n

And that brings us to today\u2019s question: how much metal remains in the veins of our planet? <\/span><\/p>\n

Gold, as we know, is a finite resource that cannot be imitated, copied or artificially reproduced in a laboratory. Its origins are still a matter of debate, but there is no doubt that they are not of \u2018terrestrial\u2019 origin. The most widely accepted hypothesis, particularly following a study conducted in 2017, suggests a collision between two neutron stars: the collapsed cores of stars so dense that a single teaspoon of the material they are made of would weigh, on Earth, up to a billion tonnes. The enormous density of neutrons resulting from the collision between these celestial giants would be such as to create gold, platinum and other heavy elements. However, these phenomena would have occurred too late in cosmic history to explain the formation of gold in the earliest eras of the universe. <\/span><\/p>\n

A second theory suggests that gold originates in the cores of supernovae, which act as forges for various heavy metals \u2013 including gold. However, stars of such immense magnitude that this process is possible are exceptionally rare: the few that do exist are so massive that, upon their death, they turn into black holes \u2013 which would inevitably end up swallowing the gold. <\/span><\/p>\n

Whatever the origin of this precious substance, these immense celestial bodies would have scattered it throughout the universe in the form of debris, which would then have coalesced to form the planets. The Earth is therefore presumably rich in gold in its core and innermost layers, but thanks to seismic and volcanic activity and meteorite impacts \u2013 which themselves contain varying amounts of the yellow metal \u2013 the planet\u2019s surface also contains it. And this is the only gold we can hope to obtain. <\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a look at the image below:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"ground<\/a><\/p>\n

The most accurate estimates of the total amount of gold mined throughout history put the figure at 219,890 tonnes, around two-thirds of which has been mined since 1950.<\/span><\/p>\n

If every single gram of gold ever mined were placed side by side, the resulting cube would measure just 22 metres on each side: an extremely small volume for such a precious and sought-after metal, with such an ancient history. Given that gold is virtually indestructible, we must assume that all the gold mined to date still exists in some form. <\/span><\/p>\n

Since the 2000s, we have seen a decline in available resources, due to the scarcity of newly discovered deposits. Current reserves are estimated at around three billion ounces, which, at current rates, would be sufficient to sustain approximately 25 years of production. Within these resources, it is worth making three further distinctions: <\/span><\/p>\n