Everyone wants gold — the classic inflation hedge, growing year after year. Demand is a given; but what about supply? Here’s how the world’s gold actually flows.
Where supply comes from
Mining provides the great majority of new supply, with recycling (jewellery, gold recovered from technology) topping it up. Roughly 2,500–3,000 tons of new gold is mined each year, and experts estimate about 190,000 tons of above-ground gold exists on Earth.
Nothing lasts forever
New gold discoveries have slowed considerably over two decades. Estimating what remains underground is genuinely hard — massive deposits may sit too deep to detect — so no one can date the last ounce.
“Peak gold”
Experts instead track “peak gold” — the moment annual production tops out. Predictions place it within the next one to two decades; even after the peak, major mines would take decades more to deplete.
Supply-side takeaway: a slowing tap and a fixed above-ground stock are the quiet, structural argument under gold’s long-term value — independent of any crisis.
Your gold is part of that 190,000-ton stock — see what today’s market pays for it.
