Gold Supply
Mine production accounts for the largest part of global gold supply – typically, 75% each year. However, annual demand requires more gold than is newly mined and the shortfall is made up from recycling.
Mine production does not respond to price changes quickly. There is usually a long lead time between exploring for – and finding – new gold deposits and a mine entering into production.
As it is virtually indestructible, nearly all of the gold ever mined is theoretically still accessible in one form or another and potentially available for recycling.
Recycling is the source of gold supply that is most immediately responsive to the gold price and economic shocks. The majority of recycled gold – at least 90% - comes from jewellery, with gold extracted from technology providing the remainder.
Of course, for gold to be of a guaranteed quality, it needs to be processed and refined
