Gold

Gold is a monetary metal first: most is held as jewellery, bars and central-bank reserves rather than consumed in industry.

Precious metals · No. 21

• Not on a critical list
• HHI 489 · unconcentrated

The US Treasury still values its 8,130 tons of gold at $42.22 an ounce, while the market pays over $4,000.

Chart: Illustration: Gold

Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Gold comes from quartz veins, huge low-grade orebodies like Nevada's Carlin Trend, river gravels and copper mines. Most ore is crushed and leached with cyanide.

Three things to know

1. Gold ETFs bought 619 tons in the first nine months of 2025, over 25 times the year before.
2. The UK sold 375 tons of gold in 1999-2002 at an average of just $275 an ounce.
3. Only about 7% of gold goes into electronics; most is held as jewellery, bars and central-bank reserves.

The journey

1. 1 OreLode, placer or porphyry-copper deposits
2. 2 LeachingCrushed and dissolved with cyanide
3. 3 Doré barMixed gold-silver bar cast at the mine
4. 4 RefiningPurified to 99.5% bullion or better
5. 5 End usesBars, coins, jewellery and electronics

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