How is gold formed and where does it come from?

There is only a limited amount of gold available on Earth, making it one of the most valuable raw materials in the world. Gold is an element that humans cannot reproduce—it actually comes from space. For gold owners, this is a reassuring thought, as their investment cannot suddenly lose value due to an increase in supply.
 

What is Gold Made Of? 

Gold consists of a specific type of atoms—gold atoms. Gold is a basic element, which means it cannot be artificially created through a chemical reaction. Gold atoms can only be formed under extremely high pressure. This kind of pressure cannot be produced by humans and only occurs naturally in space.
 

How is gold formed?

Scientists have long theorized that gold is created during a nuclear reaction involving a massive celestial body. This body must be of considerable size—our Sun, for example, is too small. In 2017, with the help of new equipment, scientists were able to measure gravitational waves. These measurements revealed that around 130 million years ago, two neutron stars—extremely dense stars—collided. The energy released during this collision was so immense that particles fused together, forming elements such as gold and platinum. Thanks to these findings, scientists now have more certainty that gold has been forming for billions of years due to the pressure generated by such star collisions.
 

How did gold end up on Earth

Since gold originates in space, the question remains: how did it end up on Earth? Scientists believe that when a stellar explosion or implosion occurs, gas clouds carrying particles from stars—including gold—are released. Gold formed in space could have arrived on Earth during a meteor shower that lasted approximately 200 million years, depositing around 20 billion tons of material on our planet. However, much of this material has been absorbed into Earth's core, making it inaccessible to us.
 

Where is gold mined?

Gold is always found in areas with fault lines in the Earth's crust. Gold can precipitate during earthquakes, but this does not happen in every earthquake-prone region, as gold is not evenly distributed across the Earth's crust. As a result, gold is scarce in some locations. It is most commonly found in land-based regions and former mountain ranges. The most well-known gold mines are located in the United States, South Africa, Indonesia, Australia, and Peru.
 

Is the gold supply finite?

Yes, the chances of Earth being struck by another meteor shower that deposits a significant amount of gold are slim. Additionally, not all the gold present on Earth can be mined, as some of it lies too deep within the crust to be extracted.
 
Disclaimer: The Silver Mountain does not provide investment advice, and this article should not be considered as such. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.