Ever wondered why the sudden rise of Brisbane gold buyers and people offering good money for your gold? For millennia, people have been fascinated by gold. Because of its scarcity and its beauty, gold has been a coveted precious metal considered as a universal symbol of wealth and a physical manifestation of status and power. Even though the yellow metal is no longer part of the monetary system, it is still considered to be a safer bet than fiat currencies. This is because gold has always maintained its intrinsic value over millennia even as the global economy changes and the financial systems evolve. It remains a desirable and reliable alternative for spreading financial risk. Gold is valuable as jewellery but it can also be bought in other forms like coins and bars.
Gold is used to make jewellery. It is typically alloyed with other metals to produce different quality of gold ranging from 14karats to 18karats. 14 karat gold is made up of 58% gold and 42% other metals (usually silver, copper or nickel). 18Karat gold is made up of 75% pure gold and 25% other metals. Gold coins and gold bars are typically 90-99% pure gold.
Gold in itself does not provide any income stream but it can come in handy when you need to sell to get quick cash. In some cultures, people are encouraged to buy and keep gold be it as jewellery or other forms for “rainy days”. People can sell gold jewellery to Brisbane gold buyers for quick cash.
Gold is a naturally occurring material. It cannot be synthesized which means that there is a finite amount of gold available in the world. Gold is primarily used in the jewellery industry, technology and it is also bought by private investors and central banks. Whiles supply may be limited, the diversity of demand across different sectors rises to various points in the world’s economic cycle making gold a robust investment asset.
The mining of gold has been going on for over 6,000 years and since then, 190,000 tons of gold are estimated to have been mined. This is estimated to be 77% of all the recoverable gold that is in the world. About 50% of this gold was recovered since 1967. This means that about there is about 54,000 tons of gold that can be mined at a reasonable cost. Currently, the global recovery rate is 3,100 tons per year. At this rate, the global recoverable gold will be depleted by 2040.
Supply of gold today
Gold is primarily sourced from mining however, mining production has been dwindling over the last three decades. Take mining in South Africa: the Witwatersrand Basin which has been mined since the 1880s is responsible for over 40% of the gold mined in the entire history of gold mining. In the 70s miners extracted over 1,000 tons of gold making South Africa the biggest gold producer in the world. This is no longer the case. In 2016, South Africa managed to produce just 167.1 tons of gold – a whopping 83% drop from what it produced in the 70s. Goldfields like South Africa’s Witwatersrand Basin, the Australian Super Pit and the Carlin Trend in Nevada are all close to the end of the lifecycles. The demand for gold, on the other hand, has not abated and it is because of this that focus has shifted towards gold recycling and why there are so many gold buying businesses.
