The Gold Series
Presented By: VisualCapitalist.com and GOLDCORP
The Gold Series: The Most Sought After Metal on Earth (Part 1 of 5)
This infographic, part one in our 2014 Gold Series, introduces the yellow metal and tells the story of how it became the most sought after metal on earth.
Gold was one of the first metals discovered by ancient peoples and eventually gold grew to symbolize both wealth, royalty, and immortality. Gold began to be used as money by many cultures, but the Romans were the first to use it widespread. The rarity, malleability, durability, ease to identify, and intrinsic value of gold made it perfect for money.
While many civilizations throughout the world used gold for money, eventually its role would change with the coming of the gold standard system. In modern history, gold was shaped by events such as Roosevelt’s confiscation order in 1933 and President Nixon ending the direct convertibility of gold to US dollars in 1971. Although gold is no longer the basis of the modern monetary system, there is more gold demand today than ever before.
The Gold Series: Unearthing the World’s Supply (Part 2 of 5)
This infographic, part two in our 2014 Gold Series, covers the full supply picture behind the yellow metal.
Within the planet’s crust, there is only 1 gram of gold for every 250 tonnes (550,000 lbs) of earth. Gold’s rarity means that finding economic deposits is extremely difficult. To understand how gold mining and supply work, we must first unearth how deposits form.
Over time, gold dissolves in hot water deep in the crust under immense pressure. It is then transported and deposited upwards as the water travels up cracks and fissures towards the surface. Generally, the major deposit types include: placer, volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS), epithermal, porphyry, carlin-type, and orogenic deposits.
The Gold Series: The Eclipsing Demand of the East (Part 3 of 5)
This infographic, part three in our 2014 Gold Series, covers the rise of Asian demand for the yellow metal.
Lifted by a continued surge in Asian gold sales, consumer demand for gold reached an all-time high in 2013 at 3,893 tonnes. Amazingly, 54% of this demand came from two places: India and China.
However, it is only recently that the East has dominated global demand for the yellow metal. In this infographic, we look at India and China specifically to see why demand keeps expanding in the East.
The Gold Series: Five Reasons To Own Gold (Part 4 of 5)
1) Gold helps investors diversify their portfolios.
2) Gold is a great store of value.
3) Gold helps protect against inflation and other risks.
4) Gold demand is driven by a growing east, while grades are dropping and new discoveries are more scarce.
5) Gold stocks are as cheap as they have ever been, using the GDX as a proxy.
The Gold Series: 2014 Trends and Beyond (Part 5 of 5)
As it is often said in investing, “the trend is your friend.”
There are four major gold trends investors should be watching:
- Chinese Buying
- Indian Demographics
- Debt & Currency
- Gold Discovery Trends