70

GOLD

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

Domestic Production and Use: Gold was produced at about 60 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 92% of the gold produced in the United States. The value of mine production in 2000

was about $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, 85%; electrical and

electronics, 7%; dental, 3%; and other, 5%. 

Salient Statistics—United States: 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000e

Production: Mine 326 362 366 341 330

Refinery: Primary (

2

) 270 277 265 265

Secondary (new and old scrap) (

2

) 100 163 143 140

Imports3159 209 278 221 240

Exports3471 477 522 523 720

Consumption, reported (

2

) 137 219 245 250

Stocks, yearend, Treasury48,140 8,140 8,130 8,170 8,140

Price, dollars per ounce5389 332 295 280 280

Employment, mine and mill, numbere16,900 16,300 13,400 10,300 9,800

Net import reliance6 as a percent of

 apparent consumption E E E E E

Recycling: 140 metric tons of new and old scrap, equal to 56% of reported consumption, was recycled in 2000. 

Import Sources (1996-99):

3

 Canada, 43%; Brazil, 13%; Australia, 8%; Peru, 7%; and other, 29%.

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.

Prepared by Earle B. Amey [(703) 648-4969, eamey@usgs.gov, fax: (703) 648-7757]
71

GOLD

Events, Trends, and Issues: Domestic gold mine production in 2000 was estimated at below the level of 1999, 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 80% of the U.S. total. Between July 1999 and June 2000, nine gold mines were closed, and two were

reopened in the United States. During this 12-month period, the average output per mine 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 third consecutive year, with 1997

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

2000, owing to the low price of gold.

During the first 8 months of the year, the Engelhard Corporation’s daily price of gold ranged from a low of about $272

per troy ounce, in May, to a high of almost $314, in February. For most of the year, this price was below $280, the

average price for 1999. The traditional role of gold as a store of value was not able to lift the price out of its low

trading range. In 2000, the Swiss National Bank embarked on selling 1,300 tons of gold (half its reserves), and the UK

government continued its drive to sell 415 tons of gold from British gold reserves. Concerns about central bank gold

sales, prospects for more consolidation within the gold-mining sector, and lack of investor interest kept gold prices

depressed.

World Mine Production, Reserves, and Reserve Base:

Mine production Reserves7 Reserve base7

1999 2000e

United States 341 330 5,600 6,000

Australia 303 300 4,000 4,700

Canada 158 150 1,500 3,500

Chinae170 170 NA NA

Indonesia 130 120 1,800 2,800

Peru 128 140 200 650

Russia 104 105 3,000 3,500

South Africa 449 440 19,000 40,000

Other countries 735 665 13,000 16,000

World total (may be rounded) 2,540 2,445 848,000 877,000

Of an estimated 130,000 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 110,000 tons, an estimated 33,300

tons are official stocks held by central banks and about 77,200 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.

2Survey response not sufficient for publication. 

3Refined 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: 373.0 (1996),142.8 (1997), 309.9 (1998), 

302.7 (1999), and 362.7 (2000, estimated).

4

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

5Englehard Corporation’s average gold price quotation for the year.

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

7See Appendix C for definitions.

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

U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, January 2001