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GOLD

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

Domestic Production and Use: Gold was produced by 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. 

Twenty-five mines yielded the majority of the gold produced in the United States. The value of 1997 mine production

was about $3.4 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. Jewelry manufacturing was principally centered in the New York, NY, and Providence, RI, areas with added

concentrations of these businesses occurring in California, Florida, and Texas.

Salient Statistics—United States: 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997e

Production: Mine 331 327 317 318 325

Refinery: Primary 243 241 ( ) ( ) ( )

2 2 2

Secondary 152 148 ( ) ( ) ( )

2 2 2

Imports 144 114 126 159 180 3

Exports 726 395 347 471 550 3

Consumption, reported 91 76 ( ) ( ) ( )

2 2 2

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

Price, dollars per ounce 361 385 386 389 325

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

Net import reliance as a percent of 6

apparent consumption E E E E E

Import Sources (1993-96): Canada, 63%; Mexico, 7%; Brazil, 6%; Chile, 6%; and other, 18%. 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.

Prepared by Earle B. Amey, (703) 648-4969 [Fax: (703) 648-7757].
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GOLD

Events, Trends, and Issues: Domestic gold mine production in 1997 was estimated at slightly below the record levels

of 1992 and 1993, 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 1996 and June 1997, 8 gold mines were closed,

10 new gold mines were opened, and 7 gold mines were expanded in the United States. At the same time, the average

output per mine has increased, resulting in a trend to fewer but larger gold mining operations in the United States. Most

of the larger companies are successfully replacing their annual production with new reserves, but smaller companies

are finding this more difficult. Projections by an industry association indicate that worldwide gold exploration

expenditures increased in 1997; however, the expenditures of U.S. gold producers fell in 1997 owing to the declining

gold price.

During the first 9 months of the year, the Engelhard Industries/London daily price of gold ranged from a low of about

$318 per troy ounce, in July, to nearly $368, in January. This price range was below $369, the low price reported for all

of 1996. The price drop was possibly associated with several countries central banks selling off significant shares of

their gold holdings and the weakening of the currency in Southeast and East Asian countries.

World Mine Production, Reserves, and Reserve Base:

Mine production Reserves Reserve base 7 7

1996 1997e

United States 318 325 5,600 6,000

Australia 289 290 4,000 4,700

Brazil 63 75 800 1,200

Canada 164 150 1,500 3,500

China 145 125 NA NA e

Russia 120 135 3,000 3,500

South Africa 498 490 18,500 38,000

Uzbekistan 72 65 2,000 3,000

Other countries 580 650 9,300 11,800

World total (may be rounded) 2,250 2,300 45,000 72,000 8 8

Of an estimated 123,000 tons of gold mined from historical times through 1997, about 15% is thought to have been lost,

used in dissipative industrial uses, or otherwise unrecoverable or unaccounted for. Of the remaining 105,000 tons, an

estimated 34,000 tons is official stocks held by central banks and about 71,000 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: 582.2 (1993), 216.6 (1994), 243.9 (1995),

and 373.0 (1996), and 162.0 (1997 estimated).

Publication discontinued after 1994 owing to insufficient response by industry to the voluntary survey for consumption data.. 4

Includes gold in Exchange Stabilization Fund. Stocks were valued at the official price of $42.22 per troy ounce. 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 1998