In 20 years, the world may run out of minable gold
MarketWatch - Mar 30, 2015
In another two decades rare commodities may become seriously scarce.
According to Goldman Sachs, the world has about 20 years each of known minable reserves of gold GCJ5, +0.15% diamonds and zinc. Platinum PLJ5, +0.27% copper HGK5, +0.00% and nickel reserves only have about 40 years or less left.
“The combination of very low concentrations of metals in the Earth’s crust, and very few high-quality deposits, means some things are truly scarce,†Eugene King, European metals and mining analyst at Goldman Sachs, wrote in a recent research note.
“Gold has been used as a measure of wealth for more than 4,000 years, as the ancient Egyptians soon worked out that gold was not only shiny and heavy, but rare,†he said.
All told, their “relatively scarcity and the market’s belief that new discoveries will be limited, is what drives the price of these super rare commodities,†King said.
Making gold rarer still, production for gold may also hit their peak this year.
