I was watching NG Explorer last night and they had a show on gold. They said that all the gold ever mined in history could fit into the base of the Statue of Liberty. Could that possibly be right? I wasn't really paying attention when that part came on so I thought someone here might know. Sure seems like there is alot more of it out there....
Amount of gold in the world - National Geographic Explorer
- Thread starter cbc58
- Start date
Allen72289
Member
- Joined
- Dec 21, 2007
- Messages
- 717
Gold is 19.2 times denser than water and one cubic foot weighs 1206 pounds
There are estimates that only 10% of the world's gold has ever been mined.
There are estimates that only 10% of the world's gold has ever been mined.
Dr.3D
Member
- Joined
- Dec 6, 2007
- Messages
- 30,314
http://www.coinlink.com/Resources/fun-facts/how-much-gold-is-there-in-the-world/
So according to the above article. All of the gold ever mined would form a cube 66 feet 1.3 inches on each side.
So according to the above article. All of the gold ever mined would form a cube 66 feet 1.3 inches on each side.
Last edited:
I wouldn't doubt it but I assume much of what's left is prohibitively expensive to extract.
acptulsa
Member
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2008
- Messages
- 75,515
A garage six stories tall?
Well, now, here's a cube as long as a commuter coach rail car, just as wide and just as tall. Each ounce will form a coin that will buy groceries for months. I know there's a lot of exchange that happens in the world's marketplace, but that will cover it I think.
I want a cube like that. I promise I won't insult it and accuse it of being too small. Too late to put it on my Christmas list?
Well, now, here's a cube as long as a commuter coach rail car, just as wide and just as tall. Each ounce will form a coin that will buy groceries for months. I know there's a lot of exchange that happens in the world's marketplace, but that will cover it I think.
I want a cube like that. I promise I won't insult it and accuse it of being too small. Too late to put it on my Christmas list?
eric_cartman
Member
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2007
- Messages
- 1,524
i heard someone say that all the gold mined would be a cube, the dimensions of a basketball court, about 30 feet high. it was something like that anyways... might not have been 30 feet because i don't remember exactly... but something like that
jonahtrainer
Member
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2007
- Messages
- 1,986
Allen72289
Member
- Joined
- Dec 21, 2007
- Messages
- 717
Expensive to extract in the 1800's and prior.
Not with modern 20th centrury bulldozers, backhoes, excavators etc.
The problem is most of the gold bearing lands are owned by the government and they're regulated heavily by the EPA, NF, BLM etc. to the point where after paying legal fees and what not it is not worth extracting.
As for determining the amount of gold that has been mined that's impossible because gold miners are often very secretive about their finds.
Last edited:
Original_Intent
Member
- Joined
- May 18, 2007
- Messages
- 9,381
A long while ago (10 years?) I had heard the figure at a cube 20 metres per side.
That may not seem like much, but that is 8000 cubes 1 metre per side.
That may not seem like much, but that is 8000 cubes 1 metre per side.
Last I heard was the amount of mined gold would fill two olympic swimming pools.
NatGeo also featured a gold story as the front page of the latest magazine as well. It wasn't very flattering. Here's the online link:
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/01/gold/larmer-text
NatGeo also featured a gold story as the front page of the latest magazine as well. It wasn't very flattering. Here's the online link:
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/01/gold/larmer-text
Ozwest
Member
- Joined
- Aug 14, 2007
- Messages
- 7,898
That is diddly squat.
I live in West Australia, and we mine some minerals here.
Ever been to a open cut mine?
Not a gold mine, no. Been to a few large quarries though. Impressive sights for sure.
Read the article. If it is factual (I assume it is), it explains that the only gold being mined these days is in very, very small amounts and requires chemical processes to extract it. The days of digging out big motherlode nuggets apparently are over.
Similar threads
