Gold is a finite resource. How much of it is left in the world?

If the video player is not working, you can watch the video from this alternative link.
Did you know that gold is in all of the technology we use every day? Computers, phones, and televisions all need at least some of this precious metal in their manufacturing processes and it was recently found in the shape of a large cube in the middle of New York's Central Park.

But despite its popularity, gold is actually a finite scarce resource. In the mining industry, if you manage to extract a twenty-eighth of an ounce (1 gram) of gold from 1 ton of earth then you can consider yourself lucky. 

So the question becomes: just how much gold is left in the world? First, one must understand the difference between gold reserves and gold resources.

Gold reserves are the deposits that are profitable to mine at current gold prices while gold resources require more effort or specialized technology to access since they have much less of the metal in them.

Currently, geological experts estimate that there are roughly 50,000 metric tons of gold reserves underground that can still be mined which account for 20% of the planet’s initial raw gold supply.

How much does it cost to mine this scarce resource? How popular and productive are gold recycling facilities? What happens if we run out of gold? This video answers all these questions and more.