All the gold in the world, just 60'^3? Really?

[Phil Thien]

In this quite-interesting video:

http://www.wimp.com/goldbullion/

They claim that all the gold ever mined in the world would only fill an area of 60-feet cubed (so sixty feet wide, deep, and high).

That just seems low, but what the heck do I know? Anyone know whether this figure is accurate?

I would have thought there would have been more, with all the jewelry and gold coins, etc., held by individuals. All gold use as plating in electronics. I'm not even counting all the gold in the Indiana Jones and National Treasure movies! :)

Come-on, that figure has to be way low.

[Peter Kelly]

Could be close actually, it's only around 171,300 tonnes in total.

http://www.gold.org/investment/why_how_and_where/faqs/#q022 (#22)

[Jason Roehl]

Fourth full paragraph:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold

They claim 20.4 cubic meters, which would be closer to 65 feet on a side, but, you know, what's a couple billion in bullion among friends?

[jason thigpen]

I have read before that there was enough to fill an area the size of a football field, but only 3" high.

[John Lanciani]

Fourth full paragraph:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold

They claim 20.4 cubic meters, which would be closer to 65 feet on a side, but, you know, what's a couple billion in bullion among friends?

Splitting hairs but the article states " in terms of volume, about 8500 m3, or a cube (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/wiki/Cube) 20.4 m on a side" which is much more than "20.4 cubic meters"

[Phil Thien]

Could be close actually, it's only around 171,300 tonnes in total.

http://www.gold.org/investment/why_how_and_where/faqs/#q022 (#22)

Interesting.

So 171,300 tonnes = 377,651,855 pounds = 6,042,429,680 ounces.

World population = 6,973,738,433.

So 6,042,429,680 / 6,973,738,433 = 0.866 ounces for every man, woman, and child on the planet.

[Jason Roehl]

Splitting hairs but the article states " in terms of volume, about 8500 m3, or a cube (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/wiki/Cube) 20.4 m on a side" which is much more than "20.4 cubic meters"

You are correct. I was THINKING the correct volume (as evidenced by the "closer to 65 feet on a side", which is about 20.4m), but those particular brain waves got lost in translation between the noggin and the fingers. I'll plead not enough coffee in the system yet at the time of my post. Besides, I have a lot of German in my blood, so you gotta go by what I mean, not what I say.

[Kevin Bourque]

I don't buy it at all. People have been mining the stuff for centuries. I'll bet the actual number is 10x higher.

[Mel Fulks]

They have been melting it down a long time ,too. I would say that anything of gold is almost guaranteed to be melted down if stolen.

[John Lanciani]

You are correct. I was THINKING the correct volume (as evidenced by the "closer to 65 feet on a side", which is about 20.4m), but those particular brain waves got lost in translation between the noggin and the fingers. I'll plead not enough coffee in the system yet at the time of my post. Besides, I have a lot of German in my blood, so you gotta go by what I mean, not what I say.

10-4, I completely understand on the not enough coffee.

Being Italian, I'd just use my hands to indicate the quantity ;). I was mostly just clarifying for any other readers.

[Bill Edwards(2)]

At current rate = $10,341,799,670,210.40

[Eric DeSilva]

Football field = 160' x 360' (including end zones), so a football field sized area 3" (or 0.25') tall is 14,400 ft^3.

2.54 cm/inch = 0.0254 m/inch = 0.3048 m/ft, so 0.028317 m^3/ft^3, so 14,400 f^3 = 407.7626 m^3.

If 20.4 m per side is true, that is 8500 m^3, so I'm thinking it would have to be more like a football sized area 63" tall.

Gold weighs 19,300 kg/m^3, so 8500 m^3 of gold weighs 164,050,000 kg, so 164,050 tonnes. Which is pretty close to the 171,300 tonnes cited.

According to WP, a single gram of gold can be beaten to a sheet 1 m^2, so 171,300 tonnes of gold could make a sheet 171,300,000,000 m^2--that's 171,300 km^2, or enough to cover the state of Wisconsin, with a little left over.