IN SUMMARY
Gold is a dense, yellow metal that is conductive, non-corrosive and highly malleable, valued throughout history for its chemical stability and appeal. Its uses span finance, jewellery, electronics, medicine and dentistry, and increasingly new-generation photovoltaics. Gold is scarce in the Earth's crust and accumulates in placer and lode deposits, with South Africa, Australia, the US and Russia among the major producers, and like platinum group metals it is often mined alongside copper and silver. That scarcity means a large processing effort per kilogram, and a correspondingly high environmental footprint. This guide, part of Minviro's "Explore the Elements" series, introduces gold's deposits, extraction routes, market structure and the role of LCA.
Gold is more than an investment metal. Alongside jewellery (around 52% of demand) and bar, coin and central-bank investment, its conductivity, tarnish resistance and malleability make it valuable in electronics (connectors, switches, circuit boards), medicine, dentistry and photovoltaics.
A quarter of supply is already recycled. Over a recent ten-year average, total annual gold supply was about 4,653 tonnes, of which roughly 75% came from mining and 25% from recycled gold.
Rarity drives a high footprint. Because gold is so scarce in the crust, far more energy, chemicals and consumables are needed per kilogram than for more abundant metals, which is why LCA, and process efficiency, matter so much.
What makes gold valuable, then and now
Gold (symbol Au, atomic number 79) is a dense, yellow metal that is conductive, non-corrosive and highly malleable, and its chemical stability and aesthetic appeal have made it prized across human history, with records of Egyptians enriching gold from the Nile as early as the 5th millennium BC. In the ancient world the primary source was alluvial deposits worked by gravity separation, a principle still used today, where eroded gold settles and is captured in traps; hard-rock cyanide leaching for gold, silver and copper emerged in the late 19th century. Today gold's rarity and intrinsic value make it both a secure investment asset and a sought-after jewellery material, while its conductivity and resistance to tarnish make it ideal for electronics, where it appears in connectors, switches and printed circuit boards. Its malleability and softness allow it to be shaped for many uses, and it is also widely used in medicine, dentistry and new-generation photovoltaic cells.
Market structure and supply chain
Gold has a complex supply chain, often tied to other metal sources, and is driven by a mix of jewellery, investment and technology demand. Over a recent ten-year average, total annual demand was around 4,653 tonnes, with jewellery the largest share at about 52% (roughly 2,222 tonnes), bar and coin at 26%, central banks at 13%, technology at 8%, and ETFs and similar products at 2%. Supply over the same period averaged 4,653 tonnes a year, split about 75% from mining and 25% from recycled gold, a recycling share that already stands out among metals. The market is influenced heavily by global economic conditions such as inflation and geopolitical dynamics, and because production is geographically concentrated in regions including China and Russia, the industry faces ongoing pricing and security challenges. The supply chain runs from exploration and mining through refining, bullion trade and financial products to fabrication, distribution, use and recycling.