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GOLD

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

Domestic Production and Use: Gold was produced at about 55 major lode mines, a dozen or more large placer

mines (nearly all in Alaska), and numerous smaller placer mines (mostly in Alaska and in the Western States). In

addition, a small amount of domestic gold was recovered as a byproduct of processing base metals, chiefly copper. 

Thirty mines yielded more than 98% of the gold produced in the United States. In 2001, the value of mine production

was more than $3 billion. Commercial-grade refined gold came from about two dozen producers. A few dozen

companies, out of several thousand companies and artisans, dominated the fabrication of gold into commercial

products. U.S. jewelry manufacturing was heavily concentrated in the New York, NY, and Providence, RI, areas with

lesser concentrations in California, Florida, and Texas. Estimated uses were: jewelry and arts, 89%; dental, 7%; and

electrical and electronics, 4%.

Salient Statistics—United States: 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001e

Production:

Mine 362 366 341 353 350

Refinery:

Primary 270 277 265 197 220

Secondary (new and old scrap) 100 163 143 82 100

Imports2 209 278 221 223 185

Exports2 477 522 523 547 580

Consumption, reported 137 219 245 183 200

Stocks, yearend, Treasury3 8,140 8,130 8,170 8,140 8,130

Price, dollars per ounce4 332 295 280 280 280

Employment, mine and mill, number5 16,300 13,400 10,300 10,400 9,800

Net import reliance6 as a percentage of

apparent consumption E E E E E

Recycling: 100 metric tons of new and old scrap, equal to 50% of reported consumption, was recycled in 2001. 

Import Sources (1997-2000):

2

 Canada, 44%; Brazil, 15%; Peru, 8%; Australia, 7%; and other, 26%.

Tariff: Most imports of unwrought gold, including bullion and doré, 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 2001 was estimated at about the same as the level of

2000, but high enough to maintain the United States’ position as the world’s second largest gold-producing nation, after

South Africa. Domestic output continued to be dominated by California and Nevada, where combined production

accounted for more than 80% of the U.S. total. Between July 2000 and June 2001, seven gold mines were closed in

the United States. During this 12-month period, the average output per mine had increased, companies merged, and

the size of gold mining operations increased. Most of the larger companies were successfully replacing annual

production with new reserves, but smaller companies were finding this more difficult. Estimates by an industry

association indicate that worldwide gold exploration expenditures decreased for the fourth consecutive year, with 1997

marking the peak of exploration spending for the 1990s. The expenditures of U.S. gold producers continued to fall in

2001 owing to the low gold price.

Prepared by Earle B. Amey [(703) 648-4969, eamey@usgs.gov, fax: (703) 648-7757]
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GOLD

During the first 9 months of the year, the Engelhard Corporation’s daily price of gold ranged from a low of about $257

per troy ounce in April to a high of almost $294 in September. For most of the year, this price range was below $270. 

The traditional role of gold as a store of value was able to lift the price of gold out of its low trading range when terrorists

attacked the United States in September. In 2001, the Swiss National Bank continued selling 1,300 tons of gold (onehalf its reserves), and the United Kingdom government completed its drive to sell 415 tons of gold from British gold

reserves. Concerns about the true situation on central bank gold sales, prospects for more consolidations within the

gold mining sector, and lack of renewed investor interest in gold kept gold prices depressed until the middle of

September.

World Mine Production, Reserves, and Reserve Base:

Mine production Reserves7 Reserve base7

2000 2001e

United States 353 350 5,600 6,000

Australia 296 290 5,000 6,000

Canada 154 160 1,500 3,500

Chinae 180 185 1,000 4,300

Indonesia 125 120 1,800 2,800

Peru 133 140 200 650

Russia 126 155 3,000 3,500

South Africa 431 400 19,000 36,000

Other countries 735 725 13,000 16,000

World total (may be rounded) 2,550 2,530 50,000 78,000

Of an estimated 140,000 tons of all gold ever mined, about 15% is thought to have been lost, used in dissipative

industrial uses, or otherwise unrecoverable or unaccounted for. Of the remaining 120,000 tons, an estimated 33,000

tons are official stocks held by central banks and about 87,000 tons is privately held as coin, bullion, and jewelry.

World Resources: Total world resources of gold are estimated at 100,000 tons, of which 15% to 20% is byproduct

resources. South Africa has about one-half of all world resources, and Brazil and the United States have about 9%

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.

eEstimated. E Net exporter. NA Not available.

1Metric ton (1,000 kilograms) = 32,150.7 troy ounces.

2Refined bullion, doré, 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 tons.

e. Net bullion flow (in tons) to market from foreign stocks at the New York Federal Reserve Bank: 142.8 (1997), 309.9 (1998), 302.7 (1999), 355.8

(2000), and 516.6 (2001, estimated).

3

Includes gold in Exchange Stabilization Fund. Stocks were valued at the official price of $42.22 per troy ounce.

4Englehard Corporation’s average gold price quotation for the year.

5Data from Mine Safety and Health Administration.

6Defined as imports - exports + adjustments for Government and industry stock changes.

7See Appendix C for definitions.

U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, January 2002