GOLD

         (Data in metric tons1/ of gold content, unless noted)

Domestic Production and Use:  Gold was produced by about 200 lode mines, a dozen or
more large placer mines (nearly all in Alaska), and numerous smaller placer mines,
mostly in Alaska and Western States.  In addition, a small amount of domestic gold
was recovered as a byproduct of processing base metals, chiefly copper.  Twenty-five
lode mines yielded the majority of the gold produced in the United States.  The value
of 1995 mine production was approximately $4.0 billion.  Commercial-grade refined
gold came from about 2 dozen producers.  A few dozen companies dominated the
fabrication of gold into commercial products.  Jewelry manufacturing was centered
principally in the New York, NY, and Providence, RI, areas; other concentrations of
these businesses were in California, Florida, and Texas.

Salient Statistics--United States:      1991      1992      1993      1994      1995e/
Production: Mine                         294       330       331       326       320
            Refinery: Primary            225       284       243       241       240
                      Secondary          153       163       152       148       150
Imports2/                                154       159       144       114       115
Exports2/                                220       308       726       395       365
Consumption, reported                    114       110        91        76        75
Stocks, yearend, Treasury3/            8,146     8,146     8,145     8,143     8,143
Price, dollars per ounce              363.29    344.97    360.91    385.41    385.00
Employment, mine and mille/           15,100    14,800    14,700    14,200    13,900
Net import reliance4/ as a percent of
 apparent consumption                      E         E         E         E         E

Recycling:  The U.S. Bureau of Mines estimates that approximately 150 metric tons of
gold was recovered from the total scrap recycled in the United States in 1995,
including both manufacturing (new) scrap and post-consumer (old) scrap.

Import Sources (1991-94):2/  Canada, 70%; Bolivia, 6%; Chile, 5%; Switzerland, 4%; and
other, 15%.

Tariff:  Most imports of unwrought gold, including bullion and dore, enter duty free.

Depletion Allowance:  15% (Domestic), 14% (Foreign).

Government Stockpile:  The U.S. Department of the Treasury maintains stocks of gold
(see salient statistics above) and the U.S. Department of Defense administers a
Government-wide secondary precious metals recovery program.

Events, Trends, and Issues:  Domestic gold mine production in 1995 was estimated at
slightly below the record levels of recent years, but at a high-enough amount to
maintain the U.S. position as the world's second largest gold-producing nation, after
South Africa.  Domestic output continued to be dominated by Nevada and California,
where combined production accounted for nearly 80% of the U.S. total.  The trend for
recent U.S. gold exploration activity, which appeared to have peaked in about 1988,
continued to decline in 1995 as North American exploration companies sought
opportunities in other regions of the world.  The principal focus of recent
exploration activity has been on several South American nations, where favorable
geological terrains, combined with recently liberalized mining regulations, hold the
promise of greater long-term success and reduced risk to the currently limited pool
of investment capital available for international mining ventures.  In addition,
exploration and mine development opportunities were actively pursued during the year
in the southwestern Pacific, western Africa, and the republics of the Former Soviet
Union. 

Prepared by Errol D. Sehnke, (703) 648-4981.

                                 GOLD

During the first 10 months of the year, the Engelhard Industries/London daily price
of gold ranged from a low of about $373 per troy ounce in January to nearly $397 in
April.  These extremes were nearly identical to the low and high reported for all of
1994.  This stagnation in gold prices was further reinforced during the 
September-through-mid-October period, when prices ranged narrowly from about $382 to 
nearly $387.

World Mine Production, Reserves, and Reserve Base:

                       Mine production        Reserves5/  Reserve base5/ 
                       1994       1995e/
United States           326        320          5,400            5,900
Australia               256        250          3,400            3,700
Brazil                   76         80            700            1,200
Canada                  146        145          1,300            3,300
Chinae                  160        160             NA               NA
Russia                  147        150          3,100            3,400
South Africa            580        530         18,000           29,000
Uzbekistan               75         80          3,000            3,300
Other countries         500        500          9,300           11,000
 World total 
  (rounded)           2,300      2,200      6/ 44,000        6/ 61,000

Of an estimated 119,000 tons of gold mined from historical times through 1995, about
15% is believed to have been lost, used in dissipative industrial uses, or otherwise
unrecoverable or unaccounted for.  Of the remaining 102,000 tons, an estimated 35,000
tons are official stocks held by central banks, and about 67,000 tons are privately
held as coin, bullion, and jewelry.

World Resources:  Total world resources of gold are estimated at 75,000 tons, of
which 15% to 20% are byproduct resources.  South Africa has about one-half of all
world resources, and Brazil and the United States have about 12% each.  Some of the
9,000-ton U.S. resource would be recovered as byproduct gold.

Substitutes:  Base metals clad with gold alloys are widely used in
electrical/electronic and jewelry products to economize on gold; many of these
products are continually redesigned to maintain high utility standards with lower
gold content.  Generally, palladium, platinum, and silver may substitute for gold.

e/Estimated.  E Net exporter.  NA Not available.
1/Metric ton (1,000 kg) = 32,150.7 troy ounces.
2/Refined bullion, dore, ores, concentrates, and precipitates.  Excludes:  (a) Waste
and scrap; (b) Official monetary gold; (c) Gold in fabricated items; 
(d) Gold in coins.  In 1991, the last year for which estimates are available, net
imports amounted to 3.5 metric tons; and (e) Net bullion flow (in metric tons) to
market from foreign stocks at the New York Federal Reserve Bank: 61.6 (1991), 136.4
(1992), 582.2 (1993), 216.6 (1994), and 300.0 (estimated, 1995).
3/Includes gold in Exchange Stabilization Fund.  Stocks were valued at the official
price  of $42.22 per troy ounce.
4/Defined as imports - exports + adjustments for Government and industry stock
changes.
5/See Appendix C for definitions.  
6/Excludes China and some other countries for which data were not available.

                              Mineral Commodity Summaries, January 1996