Part commodity, part monetary asset: only two-fifths of demand is jewellery, and the rest is investment and reserves.
Gold is mined at about 3,300 tonnes a year, but unlike most metals it is not mainly consumed: it is held. USGS estimates that global consumption in 2025 (excluding exchange-traded funds) was about 40% jewellery, 24% physical bars, 21% central banks and other institutions, 7% coins and medals and 7% electronics. That split explains why gold behaves differently from industrial metals. Its price is driven as much by investment demand, central-bank buying and market uncertainty as by mining supply, and in 2025 the average price rose 38% to a record annual high. Gold is also a "3TG" mineral, so origin and due diligence are part of the trade.
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Designations are indicative equivalents. Always confirm the exact standard, edition and temper or form on the purchase order and the mill certificate.
Gold mining is geographically spread: the top five countries (China, Russia, Australia, Canada and the United States) together mine only about 41% of the world's output, and "other countries" account for roughly 30%. World mine output was about 3,300 t in 2025, against 3,280 t in 2024, so supply is close to flat. Source: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026.
USGS puts world gold reserves at about 66,000 tonnes, roughly 20 years of mine output at current rates. Australia (about 13,000 t, or 4,500 t on the stricter JORC reporting basis) and Russia (12,000 t) hold the most, followed by South Africa (5,000 t), Indonesia (3,600 t), Canada and China (3,200 t each) and the United States (3,000 t). The World Gold Council estimates that roughly 215,000 tonnes of gold has been mined in all of history and still exists above ground, so annual mine supply adds only a small fraction to the existing stock.
Doré and concentrate are refined to 99.5%-99.99% bars. The leading refining centre is Switzerland, which houses several of the world's largest refiners, and the global wholesale market trades through London (over the counter, on LBMA standards), Zurich, the Shanghai Gold Exchange and COMEX futures in New York. Refiners are accredited by the LBMA's Good Delivery List, and the bar's pedigree (refiner, assay, serial number and chain of custody) is what makes it acceptable to banks and vaults. USGS counts about 16 refiners producing commercial-grade gold in the United States.
Scrap is a significant part of supply. In the United States about 90 t of gold was recycled in 2025, equal to about 60% of reported consumption, and the World Gold Council puts recycled gold at roughly a quarter of global supply in recent years, mostly old jewellery. Recycling responds to price: when the price rises, more jewellery is sold for scrap, which dampens price spikes.
USGS reports that the average gold price rose 38% in 2025 to about $3,300 per troy ounce, a record for any year (2024 averaged about $2,388). The pattern of demand is revealing. In the first nine months of 2025, physical bar consumption rose 18% and investment through gold-based exchange-traded funds reached 619 t (more than 25 times the same period of 2024), while jewellery consumption fell 20% and coin and medal consumption fell 11%. In other words, investment demand pushed the price up while high prices pushed jewellery buyers away. For a buyer, the practical effect is that gold's price now depends more on financial flows than on mining, and mine supply (flat at about 3,300 t) has little room to respond.
Gold is priced per troy ounce. The benchmark is the LBMA Gold Price, set in twice-daily auctions in London, and futures trade on COMEX. Spot trades settle in two business days, and physical products sell at a premium to spot that depends on size and form: a wholesale bar carries a small premium, while coins and small bars carry a larger one. Dealers quote a buy and a sell price, and the gap between them is the spread.
Ore and concentrate are bought on assay: the buyer pays for a percentage of the contained gold, less treatment and refining charges and any penalties, after the lot is sampled and assayed by agreed laboratories. Because gold is high-value and easily moved, due diligence matters: trade needs verified origin, refiner accreditation, and anti-money-laundering and know-your-customer checks, and responsible-sourcing standards such as the LBMA's Responsible Gold Guidance apply to refiners on its list.
For gold, define the form (bar, doré, concentrate, jewellery alloy), the fineness and the assay method before discussing price, and confirm the refiner and chain of custody. Compare offers on contained fine ounces and on the premium to spot, not on the headline price alone.
Talk to a SpecialistProduction and reserve figures are USGS estimates for 2025 unless stated. Figures are rounded and change with each annual revision.