# gold **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 5, 2013, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold/665417 "2013-08-05T18:15:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![poisonivy1069](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e274bd/32.png) [@poisonivy1069](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/poisonivy1069)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold/665417/1 "2013-08-05T18:15:05Z")
If all the gold ever found was in just one place how much gold would there be? ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold/665417/2 "2013-08-05T18:19:20Z")
> **[How much gold is there in the world?](https://money.howstuffworks.com/question213.htm)** > > How much would all the money in the world weigh and how much would it be worth? Find out what "all the money in the world" really means. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold/665417/3 "2013-08-05T18:32:13Z")
And, all that gold is now thought to have been produced when two Neutron stars [collided](http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/351795/description/Gold_seen_in_neutron_star_collision_debris). Oh, and it was deposited on Earth by bombardment by [meteors](http://news.discovery.com/space/astronomy/earth-meteorites-gold-metals-110907.htm). ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold/665417/4 "2013-08-05T21:49:26Z")
Huh, fascinating. I’d never heard that before. Oh, sure, it’s easy enough to say that a neutron star collision would produce some gold (and other heavy elements), but this is the first I heard that it might account for the vast majority of it. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold/665417/5 "2013-08-06T03:47:36Z")
This was a \*Jeopardy! \*clue, several years ago. People were amazed that it would fit into such a relatively small cube. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold/665417/6 "2013-08-06T03:54:35Z")
Back in the 1970s, the estimate was 50,000 tonnes since ancient times. Beginning in the 1980s, gold production levels leaped ahead, producing more than 500 tonnes a year (to the present 1,200+.) Of course, we’re just talking about mineable gold near the surface of the crust. No reason why you should have more gold in the mantle and around the core. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold/665417/7 "2013-08-06T04:22:56Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > And, all that gold is now thought to have been produced when two Neutron stars [collided](http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/351795/description/Gold_seen_in_neutron_star_collision_debris). > > Oh, and it was deposited on Earth by bombardment by [meteors](http://news.discovery.com/space/astronomy/earth-meteorites-gold-metals-110907.htm). The supernova creation of heavier elements would have required 7 cycles to product enough of the heavier atoms as seen in earth’s profile. For earth to have been from so many supernova, the zone would have had to have been relatively dense with matter and so the zone could easily produce neutron stars too. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold/665417/8 "2013-08-06T04:27:31Z")
Don’t forget the [gold in the ocean](http://goldfever.com/gold_sea.htm): > [@](#): > > Seawater contains vast quantities of dissolved gold, perhaps as much as 10 trillion dollars (US) worth, though in dilute concentrations. Recent evidence suggests that much of the earths continental gold deposits have biological origins. Certain bacteria are believed to have been involved in the precipitation of gold out of dilute hydrothermal solutions. He seems to be suggesting another source of gold on Earth, but the research is ~20 years old, so take it with a grain of salt. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold/665417/9 "2013-08-06T10:28:42Z")
> [@the\_diego](#): > > Of course, we’re just talking about mineable gold near the surface of the crust. No reason why you should have more gold in the mantle and around the core. Sure, there is. Gold is dense. That’s why our core is iron and nickel. ---
**Author:** ![Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47c2d/32.png) [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hershele_Ostropoler)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold/665417/10 "2013-08-06T15:56:42Z")
By “found” do you mean “located” or “recovered”? ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gold/665417/11 "2013-08-06T16:04:41Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > Don’t forget the [gold in the ocean](http://goldfever.com/gold_sea.htm): > > He seems to be suggesting another source of gold on Earth, but the research is ~20 years old, so take it with a grain of salt. Or an entire oceanful…