Gold is one of the rarest and most intriguing elements found on Earth, with a cosmic origin rooted in the violent collisions of neutron stars. Over billions of years, this precious metal made its way to our planet and has captivated humanity ever since. For thousands of years, gold has been mined, primarily for use in jewellery and as a store of wealth. But as demand continues to grow, a crucial question remains — how much gold is still hidden beneath the Earth’s surface?
Estimates vary slightly depending on the source, but there’s a general consensus that a significant amount of gold has already been unearthed. According to the US Geological Survey, around 206,000 metric tons of gold have been mined to date. Meanwhile, the World Gold Council offers a slightly higher estimate of approximately 238,391 metric tons. To put that into perspective, all the gold ever mined would fit into a single cube measuring roughly 22 meters (or 72 feet) on each side.
Nearly half of this gold has been transformed into jewellery, while the remainder is held in the form of investment-grade coins, bullion bars, and central bank reserves. However, experts believe that more gold still lies untapped underground. The next challenge for the global mining industry is locating and extracting these remaining reserves — and determining which countries are home to the largest potential deposits.
