Tornado Alley (PROG)

[F6]

Bernija1 -- OK, so say that's $500 trillion in physical gold, based on gold that's still valued at $1500/oz.:

$1500/oz. x 16 oz. = $24,000/lb. of gold

$24,000 x 2000 lbs/ton = $48,000,000/ton of gold

$500,000,000,000,000 / $48,000,000 = 10,416,667 tons of gold

which, x 2000/2204.6, is 9,449,938 tonnes of gold

from http://www.gold.org/investment/why_and_how/faqs :

21. How much gold has been mined?

The best estimates available suggest that the total volume of gold ever mined up to the end of 2012 was approximately 174,100 tonnes, of which around 60% has been mined since 1950.

22. How much gold is still underground?

The volume of gold available for future extraction is a product of both geology and economics. Measuring the volume of gold ore available for mining will depend on what quality of gold ore grade is classed at a specific time as a viable ‘reserve’ - ore that can be economically/profitably mined at the current or expected gold price. Latest figures from the US Geological Society (USGS) estimated ‘Global Gold Reserves’ at around 52,000 tonnes.

On this basis, if mine supply were the only source to satisfy current levels of demand, these reserves would only last 12 years or so. However, there are lower grades available that might become economical should the price rise further (or, albeit unlikely, the cost of extraction fall) and the USGS ‘global reserve base’ of gold for possible future extraction has actually risen over the last decade to take into account improved technology, new discoveries and, most significantly, the impetus provided by the rising price.

Broadly speaking, however, the amount of known reserves has remained fairly constant over recent years since production from new sources has replaced those reserves that have been exploited.

so from whose weary, worn-out butt did that extra c. 9.2 million tonnes of gold, more than 50 times all the gold that's ever been mined, come?

and more importantly, what's gonna happen to the price of gold when the market realizes that there actually is that much gold out there?