Russia reports significant increase in proven gold reserves in 2025

Russia’s proven gold reserves are growing, according to official data released against the backdrop of continuously rising prices of the precious metal on global markets.

Besides deposits of the safe-haven asset, the Russian state has been able to increase the recoverable volume of other resources, including oil and natural gas, the government in Moscow unveiled.

Russia bumps its known gold reserves in 2025

Proven gold reserves of the Russian Federation increased by 614 metric tons last year, according to figures announced by the head of its Ministry of Natural Resources.

On Thursday, Minister Alexander Kozlov emphasized that the upward trend is valid for other minerals as well. Quoted by the official TASS news agency, he detailed:

“Positive momentum in reserve growth in 2025 was recorded for most types of raw materials. The total increase in proven reserves amounted to 614 tons of gold, 3 million tons of copper, 938.1 million tons of coal, 984.2 million tons of iron ore,” the official detailed.

Russia’s known deposits of some rare or difficult-to-extract metals also grew, by 17.3 million tons in the case of titanium, and 5,500 tons of tungsten.

Last year brought a significant increase in Russia’s energy reserves, too. Those of oil and condensate grew by 640 million tons and gas reserves jumped by 670 billion cubic meters.

Russian gold reserves grew by over 804 tons in 2024, the ministry previously reported, noting that the figure included additional exploration of already discovered sites.

Proven reserves are the quantities of raw materials, such as precious metals, energy resources and minerals, deemed technically and economically recoverable.

Global gold demand and prices hit all-time highs

Demand for gold reached a record-high level of over 5,000 tons last year, according to the World Gold Council (WGC), also quoted by TASS.

The organization estimates its value at $555 billion, 45% up over the previous year, explaining the significant increase in monetary terms with current price dynamics.

In 2025, gold prices hit new all-time highs more than 50 times, while investments in physical gold amounted to a record $154 billion before the year was over.

National gold reserves grow amid uncertainty

Gold prices spiked last year amid geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainties, as more and more investors turned to the safe-haven asset.

The price of the precious metal increased by about 65% in 2025, reaching $4,300 on global markets. The rally continued into 2026.

Gold just reached a new all-time high of over $5,600 per ounce, up 10% in a week, while the U.S. currency has been depreciating.

The WGC reports strong demand from central banks throughout 2025, when it reached 863 tons.

While India and China accounted for a significant portion of it, countries like Poland and Brazil were also among the buyers. Kazakhstan’s central bank, adding more than 30 tons to its reserves last year, is another example.

As of late 2025, Russia held approximately 2,330 tons of gold, ranking fifth in the world, according to data compiled by Trading Economics.

The platform shows the United States topping the chart with 8,133 tons. Germany (3,350 tons), Italy (2,452), and France (2,437) are also in the top five.

The latest announcement from Moscow comes after a recent report revealed that gold holdings in Russia’s banking sector nearly doubled during the same period, largely due to high customer demand.

According to an article by the daily Izvestia, quoting official stats from the central bank in Moscow, investments in precious metals and gemstones saw an almost two-fold increase in 2025.

The total value of these two categories rose to 607 billion rubles ($8 billion) while physical gold held by the Russian financial institutions exceeded six tons.

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