All the Gold Ever Mined Would Fit in One Building
Gold is a dense yellow metal. Its total quantity is smaller than most people assume.
Gold is a dense, soft, bright yellow metal, valued since prehistory. All the gold ever mined in human history is estimated at around 200,000 tonnes, which as a solid cube would measure roughly 22 metres on each side — small enough to sit inside many buildings. It is also almost entirely still in existence, because gold does not corrode and is rarely discarded. Its chemical symbol Au comes from Latin *aurum*, not from the English word.
- A precious metal. *Solid gold.*
- The colour. *Gold paint.*
- First place. *A gold medal.*
- Aurum — its Latin name. *Au.*
- Old English — *gold*. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | gold | Gold. |
| Adjective | golden | Golden. |
| Compound | goldsmith | A goldsmith. |
| Symbol | Au | Au. |
| Latin | aurum | Gold. |
- The ring is solid gold.Metal.
- She won gold in the final.Sport.
- Au comes from aurum.Chemistry.
Properties that made gold valuable
- It does not corrode, so it survives indefinitely
- It is rare but not impossibly so
- It is soft enough to work without advanced tools
- It is found as metal in nature, needing no smelting
- Its colour is unmistakable, unlike most metals
Old English *gold*, of Germanic origin, from a root meaning yellow, related to *yellow* itself.
How much gold has ever been mined?
Around 200,000 tonnes, which as a solid cube would be roughly 22 metres on each side.
Why is gold's symbol Au?
From Latin aurum. Chemical symbols often come from Latin names rather than English ones, as with iron and lead.