These Rare Commodities Might Be Gone Soon

In about 20 years, a few rare commodities could be gone. According to Goldman Sachs there is only enough gold, diamond, and zinc left for the next two decades. Platinum, copper, and nickel, might last us a little longer in the investment bank’s view: 40 years or less.

The combination of very low concentrations of metals in the earth’s crust and the very low quality of the deposits are making that some commodities are becoming really rare, Goldman Sachs’ metal analyst explains. Gold has been used for over 4000 years as a measure of wealth, after the Egyptians found out that it is not just shiny, but also very rare.

Rare Commodities

The result of the relative scarcity of different commodities on our planet and the belief of the market that new discoveries will be limited, is that the prices of these super rare commodities will go up.

Despite the fact that gold is only getting more scarce, production of gold could reach a new peak this year. A slide from Goldcorp (GG) of last year showed a prediction for the gold mining industry for 2015. Based on a lot of analysis, the point was that the mining industry would peak this year.

Peak Gold

A peak for gold is not a strange idea in the eyes of Peter Grant, precious metals analyst at USAGold. He explains that mining output has been stable for years and new gold discoveries have not only been limited, but also significantly decreasing in numbers. The analyst expects that a peak will happen for the gold market in the short term, which he expects to support the gold price for years to come.