Earths precious commodities

It is estimated that only about 145,000 tonnes of gold has ever been mined in the world throughout human history. When you compare that to the annual figures of iron ore extraction it is a very small figure. Of course this planet can only supply so much in the way of raw materials and all resources are not endless. As i have stated in previous articles a commodity or resource is worth more when it is (i) needed (ii) rare or (iii) has a historical value. Gold is still the benchmark for value, so all that glistens is currently gold. At this moment in time Gold has become the must have resource as it is a guarantee of wealth. It is not just gold which has value, Silver and other precious metals have a global interest. The discovery and exploitation of these resources can make a poor economy become a rich economy.

The discovery of a new gold stream is something that all major gold miners are on the look out for. Some mining companies are like their oil exploration counterparts, looking up either Biblical or classical texts for clues to the location of old Gold and Silver mines. The old Gold mines may have become obsolete many centuries before now, due to problems extracting the ore. But with today's technical expertise and higher levels of technology the effort needed for quality results is cost efficient to the rewards. The ancient Gold mining area of Thrace is likely to be a target for the international Gold mines. Much of Europe has rich reserves of the Gold ore but extraction is cheaper in the new world of North and South America's and the continent of Africa. It is highly probable that the Antarctica has large mineral reserves under the snow, but due to international treaties full scale mining is not envisaged any time soon.

At this moment in time the biggest producers of gold are South Africa, Russia, China, Canada, USA, Chile and Australia. South Africa for the last decade has produced the most ore from its Gold mines, other area's in Africa with potential for Mass gold production include Sudan, Namibia and Ethiopia ( although the areas where potential mines could be placed are in remote and disputed areas, also Ethiopian Gold has been the subject of scandals in the past due to fake gold been traded).

In Europe the biggest producer of ore be it silver or gold is Russia, Russia has vast tracks of land and has plenty of raw materials. Russia has increased its production of raw ore as its technology has improved year on year. The former Soviet republics use Russian expertise to allow their raw materials to be mined. Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have both got vast supplies of natural resources waiting to be tapped. Kazakhstan is in the top ten for potential value of Silver, Gold, Uranium, Oil and Natural Gas. Sweden and Spain are large producers of gold in Western Europe, but their reserves are estimated a lot lower than the Russian level of resources.