74

GOLD

(Data in metric tons of gold content, unless otherwise noted) 1

Domestic Production and Use: Gold was produced at about 70 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 about 90% of the gold produced in the United States. The value of 1998 mine production was

about $4 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, 55%; other industrial, 38%; electronics, 4%; and

dental, 3%. 

Salient Statistics—United States: 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998e

Production: Mine 327 317 326 360 350

Refinery: Primary 241 ( ) ( ) 270 260 2 2

Secondary (old scrap) 148 ( ) ( ) 100 100 2 2

Imports 114 126 159 209 340 3

Exports 395 347 471 477 460 3

Consumption, reported 76 ( ) ( ) 137 140 2 2

Stocks, yearend, Treasury 8,140 8,140 8,140 8,140 8,140 4

Price, dollars per ounce 385 386 389 332 300 5

Employment, mine and mill, number 14,100 14,700 16,900 16,300 16,000 e

Net import reliance as a percent of 6

 apparent consumption E E E E E

Recycling: 100 metric tons of old scrap was recycled in 1998 or 70% of the reported consumption as shown in the

Salient Statistics subsection. 

Import Sources (1994-97): Canada, 55%; Brazil, 11%; Mexico, 8%; Chile, 6%; Colombia, 6%; and other, 14%. 3

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 1998 was estimated at slightly below the record level

of 1997, 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 Nevada and California, where combined production

accounted for nearly 75% of the U.S. total. Between July 1997 and June 1998, six gold mines were closed, nine new

gold mines were opened, and one gold mine was expanded in the United States. During this 12-month period, the

average output per mine had increased, and companies merged creating fewer but larger gold mining operations in the

United States. Most of the larger companies were successfully replacing their 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 in 1998, with 1997 marking the peak of exploration spending for the 1990’s. The

expenditures of U.S. gold producers continued to fall in 1998 owing to the declining gold price.

During the first 9 months of the year, the Engelhard Industries daily price of gold ranged from a low of about $275 per

troy ounce, in August, to a high of nearly $315, in April. For most of 1998, this price range was below $298, the low

price reported for all of 1997. The traditional role of gold as a store of value was not able to lift the price of gold out of

its 18-year-low trading range. The market continued to be concerned about the future role of gold in the reserves of the

European Central Bank (ECB), which will commence operation on January 1, 1999. It appears that gold will account

for 10% to 15% of the Bank’s foreign reserves. This would leave significant quantities of gold with the European

Monetary Union (EMU) national central banks, and there is uncertainty about the degree of control those banks will

retain over their reserves. The final make-up of the ECB and the determination of its relationship to the national central

banks will influence the gold market far beyond the member countries of the EMU.

Prepared by Earle B. Amey [(703) 648-4969, eamey@usgs.gov, fax: (703) 648-7757]
75

GOLD

World Mine Production, Reserves, and Reserve Base:

Mine production Reserves Reserve base 7 7

1997 1998e

United States 360 350 5,600 6,000

Australia 311 320 4,000 4,700

Brazil 59 60 800 1,200

Canada 169 155 1,500 3,500

China 175 150 NA NA e

Russia 115 105 3,000 3,500

South Africa 492 465 18,500 38,000

Uzbekistan 75 100 2,000 3,000

Other countries 660 695 9,300 11,800

World total (may be rounded) 2,410 2,400 45,000 72,000 8 8

Of an estimated 125,000 tons of gold mined in historical times through 1998, about 15% is thought to have been lost,

used in dissipative industrial uses, or otherwise unrecoverable or unaccounted for. Of the remaining 106,000 tons, an

estimated 34,000 tons is official stocks held by central banks and about 72,000 tons is privately held as coin, bullion,

and jewelry.

World Resources: Total world resources of gold are estimated at 89,000 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 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.

Estimated. E Net exporter. NA Not available. e

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

Survey response not sufficiently complete for publication. 2

Refined bullion, doré, ores, concentrates, and precipitates. 3

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. 

e. Net bullion flow (in metric tons) to market from foreign stocks at the New York Federal Reserve Bank: 216.6 (1994), 243.9 (1995), 373.0 (1996),

142.8 (1997), and 215.3 (1998, estimated).

Includes gold in Exchange Stabilization Fund. Stocks were valued at the official price of $42.22 per troy ounce. 4

Englehard Industries average gold price quotation for the year. 5

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

See Appendix D for definitions. 7

Excludes China and some other countries for which reliable data were not available. 8

U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, January 1999