By on May 5 2025Comments Off on A key player in moving Interior Alaska off fossil fuels hundreds of workers at Alaska’s biggest gold mine dig up crush and grind thousands of tons of ore each day The sprawling Fort Knox mine consumes $40 million worth of power every year — more than any other business in the state and some 16% of the power produced by Fairbanks’ electric utility It’s also a huge source of planet-warming greenhouse gases Power at Fort Knox costs more and accounts for more greenhouse gas emissions than each of the company’s other operations In other countries, Kinross and Northern Star, the Australian company that owns Pogo, have spent millions of dollars on solar and wind power to curb carbon emissions and costs at their mines at least for now: pushing the cooperatively owned utility that sells them electricity the two multinational gold mining companies have emerged as key players in the movement to get that utility their efforts have not fully succeeded: The utility has yet to commit to any large new wind or solar projects and it continues to generate most of its electricity by burning coal and oil But the miners’ push underscores how multibillion-dollar resource development corporations have turned into odd bedfellows with Alaska’s climate activists — both calling for the state’s utilities to limit their contributions to global warming have faced social and political pressure from shareholders and government regulators to reduce their environmental impacts They’ve also seen the cost of solar and wind power fall due to government subsidies and technological improvements making renewables more competitive with fossil fuels as the Trump administration promotes carbon-based fuels and threatens to claw back billions of dollars of clean energy funding The stakes are high not only for the mining corporations but also for Golden Valley Electric Association’s more than 36,000 members — including many residents of Fairbanks who pay less for electricity as a result of the utility’s massive power sales to the mines Renewable energy advocates say replacing fossil fuels with new wind and solar power could lower long-term costs for homes and businesses in Fairbanks and other towns in the Interior a looming shortage of natural gas in Cook Inlet is putting pressure on Golden Valley Electric Association “The gas crisis and the new administration have really changed how people are approaching this,” said Eleanor Gagnon who works on energy policy at the Fairbanks Climate Action Coalition “I think it has the potential to push us forward toward renewables and carbon neutrality — or push us deeper into our fossil fuel track.” with some board members worried that moving too quickly away from conventional energy sources like coal could drive up costs But if the utility doesn’t invest in new wind or solar and keeps burning large volumes of fossil fuels Kinross and Northern Star might be compelled to build their own That would have consequences across the region: Losing the utility’s two biggest customers could raise electricity costs for thousands of people in Fairbanks an energy historian at the University of Alaska Fairbanks who is also a GVEA member “If GVEA does not commit to building out the next generation of renewables the mines may go out and get alternative sources of lower-carbon power — and all GVEA ratepayers would be paying more,” Wight said  “This is the million dollar question,” Wight added “Why is GVEA not moving forward with building generation that utilities are pursuing because it’s cheaper?”  To separate valuable metals from plain rock mining companies crush and grind ore into tiny pieces — a heavy industrial process that uses loads of electricity That means energy is usually one of the top expenses for mining companies it’s also one of companies’ largest sources of planet-heating emissions Fort Knox’s 400,000 tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions in 2023 represent 20% more greenhouse gases per ounce of gold produced when compared to the company’s second highest-emitting mine The $40 million in yearly power consumption at Fort Knox represents a disproportionate financial expense The company’s high costs and emissions in Alaska put Fort Knox at a “disadvantage” in Kinross’s internal decisions about future investments “Kinross Alaska is always competing with other Kinross sites for investment,” she said The company has already been working to reduce energy consumption and climate impacts in Alaska as it seeks to eliminate or fully offset carbon pollution at its mines by 2050 Fort Knox has tweaked its ore grinding process to make it more efficient and shortened haul routes to cut down on diesel use Kinross isn’t developing any of its own large-scale clean energy projects in Alaska Building renewables at the mine “would be challenging due to Alaska’s expansive geography and extreme climate,” she said But Kinross might consider a “smaller scale” development, she said. She would not elaborate on how big of a project the company might build, or on what timeline, though the company spent $55 million on a solar farm at a huge mine in Mauritania Northern Star, which also has a goal of fully offsetting emissions at its mines by midcentury, has indicated that it might invest in wind power at the Pogo mine which is about 40 miles northeast of the Interior community of Delta Junction But the company hasn’t disclosed any concrete plans to do so In a corporate report published last year Northern Star suggested that it expects to develop a project at Pogo in 2025 that would move it toward a companywide goal of lowering emissions by 35% this decade A Northern Star spokesperson would not provide details about that project which is labeled simply in the report as “Pogo GRID 16 MW.” That figure appears to refer to 16 megawatts of power that Pogo draws from the grid No major operating mines in Alaska are powered by private solar or wind farms At the massive Red Dog zinc mine in Northwest Alaska, which runs on expensive, shipped-in diesel, Vancouver-based Teck Resources said last year that it would install a weather tower to study the potential for generating renewable power according to a company spokesperson who declined to comment further GVEA generated more than 80% of its power from fossil fuels — primarily coal The rest comes from a mix of existing wind That money would pay for two battery systems to store power from new wind and solar projects when it’s not sunny or windy It also would cover more than 60 miles of new transmission lines allowing the utility to tap into proposed wind farms in the Interior But boosters of renewables have grown frustrated that the utility still lacks firm plans to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels the federal funds for GVEA’s infrastructure upgrades are in limbo amid the Trump administration’s broad freeze on green energy spending Federal officials on March 25 gave funding recipients a month to propose project changes that align with President Donald Trump’s executive order on “unleashing American energy” and to “remove far-left climate features.” GVEA was given only 500 characters to outline those revisions GVEA’s board voted in 2022 to shut down one of its two big coal power plants — a step toward lowering emissions and moving to renewables But the utility reversed course last year citing the natural gas supply crunch and saying it would keep operating the coal plant until lower-cost alternatives became available Then, in August, it signed a new contract with Usibelli Coal Mine — the state’s only supplier of the fuel — to buy more feedstock for the plant which burns some 200,000 tons of coal each year While coal comes with high carbon emissions and utility leaders fear that replacing it with renewables could boost costs and reduce reliability for consumers If Golden Valley adds more wind and solar power it would need a way to store energy and consistently distribute it and “there’s a cost associated with that,” Bradish said “Our current battery can’t provide that regulation.”  The utility has not released an analysis showing how rates would change if it were to replace fossil fuel-fired power with renewables “That’s part of what we’re studying,” Bradish said Some advocates, like Gagnon with Fairbanks Climate Action Coalition, say there’s also a cost associated with continuing to burn fossil fuels. GVEA is paying some $14 million to build two storage tanks at the Fairbanks-area oil refinery that it buys fuel from “The mines’ support of renewables is evidence for the cost-effectiveness of renewables,” said Gagnon Kinross and Pogo — whose mines collectively account for about 30% of the utility’s energy sales — haven’t said how long they’ll wait on GVEA before building their own wind or solar farms said her company wants to see GVEA take steps “soon,” but she would not elaborate “It is not our role to specify to GVEA as to its generation and power supply portfolio,” Riedel said “What we need from our provider is electricity that is reliable low cost and the least environmental impact possible It is up to the provider to determine how to get there.”  GVEA communicates closely with Kinross and Northern Star about their emissions reduction targets Losing them as customers “absolutely would have an impact on our membership,” she added “It’s something that is definitely thought about when we’re moving forward.” Nathaniel Herz welcomes tips at natherz@gmail.com or (907) 793-0312. This article was originally published in Northern Journal, a newsletter from Herz. Subscribe at this link Alaska Beacon is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Alaska Beacon maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Andrew Kitchenman for questions: info@alaskabeacon.com   , , , , Article By: Clark Leonard A team of University of North Georgia (UNG) cadets finished fifth overall and won four out of nine events in the Spartan Ranger Challenge held Feb The competition included almost 24 hours straight of physical challenges at one point UNG's black team earned event victories in one-rope bridge Micah Dell, a junior from Newnan, Georgia, pursuing a degree in strategic and security studies with a specialization in Chinese language was competing at Spartan Ranger Challenge for the second time "I was really proud of how we worked together." "They really impressed me with how tough and resilient they were," Dunn said "And I'm really looking forward to taking this team to the next competition." Lucien Buettner, a senior from Brentwood, Tennessee, pursuing a degree in kinesiology with a concentration in health and fitness likewise is excited for what his younger teammates can accomplish "We're going to be winning some more next year © 2025 The University System of Georgia and the University of North Georgia UNG follows the section 508 Standards and WCAG 2.1 for web accessibility. If you require this content in another format, please send an email to the ADA Coordinator. Use of military-themed imagery does not constitute endorsement by the U.S we deeply value and uphold the cherished right of every American to freely express themselves As a distinguished Senior Military College we take great pride in our role of cultivating leaders who tirelessly defend these fundamental freedoms for all citizens.  The legacy of our graduates in this regard is second to none our primary responsibility is to cultivate an academic environment that ensures this exchange of ideas and the safety of our community we are committed to fostering a welcoming atmosphere where individuals feel empowered to freely express themselves and engage in exploration and learning it is essential that these rights are exercised in a manner that upholds our academic mission and is in accordance with our institutional policies and other criminal acts will not be tolerated at the University of North Georgia and civility as we equip our students to walk toward their purpose This is just Elon throwing up a conspiracy theory to distract us from him & DOGE You would think moving that much gold would be a major undertaking and would draw serious attention Elon's believability has taken a serious hit since hitching his wagon to Donald \"Republicans who want Musk to have \"a lot of influence\" currently stands at 26 percent down from 47 percent in a previous poll conducted soon after President Donald Trump's victory.\" question is is it safe to allow a potential\" casing\" of the secure area knowing what Musk and his Muskateers are already doing. very concerning hearing this rhetoric seeming to go unchecked. who has grown up pants on to start saying a firm NO to this man and his unqualified team? Bad idea to let Trump anywhere near the gold reserves….🤔 I've been to the confines of true love of the people and worked at the backbone of human existence never in my years have I met this phenomenon and dance with his tune!!!The world needs MAGA and ULTRA FUTURISTIC INNOVATIONS of this BILLIONAIRE ELON MUSK to the quitecential pursuit of the \"multiplanetary\" abode! There is nothing they won't do to fleece the government of all its treasures No matter how much treasure you have fleeced from the people here and abroad Eonmusk he's robbing you USA cash ;he's a nobody ,just using the old Mafia boring ,before alcohol was legal 2025 orient year of snake I'm sticking to sword peace making Wanting my little one Nana big family of children safe government’s gold reserve at Fort Knox over the last two weeks as Trump vowed to take a rare look inside the tightly guarded facility "We're actually going to Fort Knox to see if the gold is there. Because maybe somebody stole the gold. Tons of gold,” Trump said Monday afternoon at the White House There’s no evidence to support theories about missing gold and the Trump-appointed official nominally in charge of the gold but the state of the reserve is tightly sealed With gold trading at more than $2,960 per troy ounce on the open market Monday that means the Fort Knox gold has a market value of $436 billion more than the market value of Europe’s most valuable public company the government denotes the value of this gold at Fort Knox as just $6 billion based on the government-set book value for gold of $42.22 per troy ounce Bessent threw cold water on Trump and Musk’s Fort Knox doubt Thursday in an interview with Bloomberg I can tell the American...all the gold is there,” Bessent said referring to an audit conducted in September “If President Trump wants it to be audited, that’s obviously something that can be easily done,” Mnuchin told CNBC on Thursday “The gold was there when I visited it and I hope nobody’s moved it I’m sure they haven’t,” the former Treasury chief added but we’re going to go to Fort Knox...to make sure the gold is there.” Trump added last week: “If the gold isn’t there Many Voices. Create a free account to share your thoughts.  Forbes Community GuidelinesOur community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations We want our readers to share their views and exchange ideas and facts in a safe space In order to do so, please follow the posting rules in our site's Terms of Service.  We've summarized some of those key rules below Your post will be rejected if we notice that it seems to contain: User accounts will be blocked if we notice or believe that users are engaged in: Thanks for reading our community guidelines. Please read the full list of posting rules found in our site's Terms of Service. You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience The bad news: You've hit your limit of free articles.The good news: You can receive full access below.WORLDteen | Ages 11-14 | $35.88 per year President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March establishing a government reserve of Bitcoin That’s the oldest and most popular cryptocurrency government will keep the estimated 200,000 Bitcoin it’s already seized in criminal and civil proceedings according to presidential advisor David Sacks “it will be kept as a store of value,” Sacks says “The reserve is like a digital Fort Knox for the cryptocurrency often called ‘digital gold.’” government sold off about 195,000 Bitcoin units over the last decade for about $366 million He says they would be worth about $17 billion today An anonymous person or group created Bitcoin in 2008 cryptocurrency has blossomed from an experiment into a financial asset It hasn’t taken off as a means of paying for everyday things like groceries But Bitcoin is popular as a store of value that’s not controlled by banks or governments Bitcoin’s supply is capped at 21 million coins Supporters claim that built-in scarcity makes it a hedge against inflation But it’s so far defied naysayers with remarkable price increases Digital Asset Stockpile” for holding seized cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin If the Bitcoin reserve is a digital Fort Knox Does the United States need a stash of real gold The United States hasn’t been on the gold standard (with gold backing paper money) for decades Treasury holds quite a bit of the precious metal About half of it—147.3 million ounces—is at Fort Knox Many other countries also hold gold and U.S Some are considering cryptocurrency reserves to additionally build trust in their currencies can increase citizen and investor confidence Governments also maintain such resources to use in emergencies Ecclesiastes 7:12 acknowledges a need for both monetary resources and wisdom: “For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money.” The United States Bullion Depository at Fort Knox has stored gold reserves for the United States since 1937 its name is synonymous for secure and well protected No one person knows all the procedures to open the heavily guarded vault Mint says only tiny quantities have been removed for testing during regular audits no gold has been transferred to or from the depository for many years Governments keep strategic reserves to back up their currencies or prepare for emergencies Bitcoin reserve shows how the cryptocurrency is moving toward wider acceptance © 2024 WORLDteen | 828-435-2982 | memberservices@wng.org NOTE: First time signing on? Please register your purchase Here.** This registration is only required on your first login Powering Fort Knox generates more greenhouse gas emissions and costs more than at each of the other mines operated by owner Kinross "Let's look back at some of our history together." Let us know what you're seeing and hearing around the community there are no recent results for popular collections Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: Western Kentucky University Regional Locations Get started today! Military & Veteran Services Learn More etown-ftknox@wku.edu WKU in Elizabethtown610 College Street RoadElizabethtown We offer Regional Degree Programs that fit the workforce needs of this region WKU also has numerous online degree options so you can enroll in an online program and utilize the support and services we provide at WKU in Elizabethtown View all News Information about accreditation can be found through the Office of the Provost Some of the links on this page may require additional software to view This work, Motorcycle ride from Fort Knox to sexual trauma recovery center highlights sexual assault awareness, prevention, by Fonda Bock, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright This work, Fort Knox-based ARAC supports active-duty missions – even during Army Reserve birthday, by Eric Pilgrim, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright This work, Fort Knox Middle High School ‘purples up’ for Month of the Military Child, by Savannah Baird, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright his words do not diminish my scorn for this dangerous boondoggle A sovereign wealth fund for the U.S., which President Trump has also begun planning, is inappropriate, unneeded, likely harmful, and potentially quite corrupt. But a strategic cryptocurrency reserve looks at a “normal” sovereign wealth fund and says, “Hold my beer,” as we are going to plaid A sovereign wealth fund for the U.S., which President Trump has also begun planning, is inappropriate, unneeded, likely harmful, and potentially quite corrupt. But a strategic cryptocurrency reserve looks at a \u201Cnormal\u201D sovereign wealth fund and says, \u201CHold my beer,\u201D as we are going to plaid President Donald Trump says Elon Musk will be looking at Fort Knox the legendary depository in Kentucky for American gold reserves The United States Depository for gold reserves stands in Fort Knox An armed officer stands guard outside the United States Depository for gold reserves as the Director of the Mint gives members of Congress a tour in Fort Knox A soldier stands on the firing range at the U.S Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says there is an audit every year and that “all the gold is present and accounted for.” The United States Bullion Depository at Fort Knox has stored precious metal bullion reserves for the United States since 1937 and has become synonymous for secure and well protected Fort Knox is currently also used as the Army’s human resources command center and it hosts the Army’s largest annual training event each summer We’re going to inspect Fort Knox,” Trump said in a speech to Republican governors Thursday evening “I don’t want to open it and the cupboards are bare,” he added reports that President Donald Trump wants Elon Musk to check to make sure that America’s gold reserves are still at Fort Knox in Kentucky The Army post is about 35 miles south of Louisville and encompasses 109,000 acres in three Kentucky counties — Bullitt Camp Knox was established during World War I and became an artillery training center It was made a permanent installation in 1932 and has been known since then as Fort Knox The first gold arrived at Fort Knox in 1937 with the 1st Cavalry Regiment called on to guard the shipment With the outbreak of World War II in Europe the Army created the Armored Force at Fort Knox and thousands of soldiers were ordered there and introduced to the tank the post was known as the “Home of Cavalry and Armor.” the Army decided to move the Armor Center and School to Fort Benning and the Human Resource Command Center of Excellence was established at Fort Knox ROTC Cadet Summer Training was consolidated at Fort Knox The post hosts the Army’s largest annual training event each summer current gold holdings at the US Bullion Depository at Fort Knox are 147.3 million ounces About half of the Treasury’s stored gold is kept at Fort Knox The Mint says only very small quantities have been removed to test the purity of the gold during regularly scheduled audits The actual structure and content of the facility is known by only a few and no one person knows all the procedures to open the vault What is known publicly is that the facility was built in 1936 using 16,000 cubic feet of granite 750 tons of reinforcing steel and 670 tons of structural steel The facility is heavily guarded and has broken its strict policy of not allowing visitors only three times the US Mint opened the vaults to a group of journalists and a congressional delegation so they could see the gold reserves The Treasury secretary allowed the visit after persistent rumors that the gold had been removed the only person other than authorized personnel to access the vaults was President Franklin D the vaults have been opened one other time: In 2017 Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin visited with Kentucky Gov Matt Bevin and congressional representatives Current Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said he would happily arrange an inspection for any senator who is interested in seeing the vaults The gold depository at Fort Knox has a reputation for being impenetrable which has gained it a place in popular culture a Looney Tunes cartoon featured Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam digging for gold Fort Knox Fort Knox has also been featured in the plot of movies such as the 1964 James Bond spy thriller “Goldfinger” and the 1981 comedy “Stripes,” which was partially filmed at the post Correction: A graphic in this segment misspelled the word “isn’t.” We regret the error President Trump and Elon Musk have cast doubt on whether the U.S gold reserves stored at Fort Knox still exist Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent insists the gold is safe The conversation led our digital anchor Deema Zein to dig deeper with economics correspondent Paul Solman Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy Trump's Treasury secretary insists that the gold is safe But the conversation led our digital anchor to dig a little deeper with economics correspondent Paul Solman there's been a lot of suspicion about Fort Knox as we have seen in President Trump and Elon Musk's comments Why do you think they want to audit the gold anybody who's ever played the game telephone by the time you get to the end of the circle no one has come forth with evidence that somebody Uncle Harry has a gold bar in his freezer and it says Fort Knox on it one possibility is they're trying to satisfy the conspiracy theorists here we are worried about the debt ceiling and how we don't have enough money to pay our debts unless Congress raises the debt ceiling And so we don't have to worry about the debt ceiling And that then could be prelude to some maneuvers by what's called monetizing the gold which is to say claiming it for ourselves at its true value You mark it up to the current market price He did it in order to lower the value of the dollar in order to stimulate the economy by putting more money into the economy and The New Deal Social Security and all the things that were introduced under the Roosevelt administration in the 1930s to get us out of the Great Depression It wasn't anything at this sort of magnitude It was not for the purpose of avoiding the debt ceiling If we actually wanted to try to monetize the assets of the United States government so I can imagine the psychological effect would be — might be substantial scared of what's happening politically in the United States All repositories of value are only as valuable as people think they are It's because enough people believe in it as a repository of value So it's all a question of just what you agree to believe and how many people believe it and how much they believe it For somebody to be blowing the whistle on that that seems like that would be awfully hard to pull off Deema Zein is an associate producer of digital video She produces and hosts PBS Newshour's new digital series Five Stories Paul Solman has been a correspondent for the PBS News Hour since 1985 © 1996 - 2025 NewsHour Productions LLC PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization Subscribe to Here's the Deal with Lisa Desjardins Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker This work, Youths represent Fort Knox at Governor-hosted Month of the Military Child event, by Savannah Baird, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright This work, Fort Knox community gathers for sexual assault awareness month ribbon lighting, proclamation signing, by Eric Pilgrim, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright Bullion Depository at Fort Knox “to see if the gold is there,” it will be the first time the vault has been opened for visitors since 2017 when a small delegation that included prominent Kentucky Republicans went inside on a tightly controlled tour Brett Guthrie joined then-Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin for a tour of the depository which is located about 40 miles south of Louisville that gold had been improperly removed from the vaults Now, nearly eight years after the last visit, unsubstantiated claims that Fort Knox’s gold could be missing have been amplified by the president and Musk the powerful aide tasked with running the newly created Department of Government Efficiency “We’re actually going to Fort Knox to see if the gold is there. Because maybe somebody stole the gold. Tons of gold,” Trump said on Monday. As Musk and Trump continue talking about visiting Kentucky to check on the secretive facility’s bullion a review of details from the 2017 trip sheds light on the stringent security protocols aimed at safeguarding Fort Knox’s $400 billion in gold as well as what future vault guests might encounter In 2018, CNN published a 107-page cache of documents related to the delegation’s visit to Fort Knox obtained by the network under the Freedom of Information Act Among those documents was a heavily redacted "run of show" sent out by a Treasury Department official ahead of the visit describing how members of the delegation would go through repeated security checks at the depository discussed “restrictions on sharing any information related to the facility’s security.” The security checks occurred both before and after the VIPs visited the vault the VIPs and their entourages underwent a “general security screening.” Then VIPs went through additional security processing in order to enter a sealed compartment where gold was stored That secondary screening was also required for the deputy director of the U.S as well as the chief of Mint Police and the Mint's top depository official While commonly referred to as “Fort Knox,” the depository is on Treasury-owned land adjacent to the U.S More: DOGE, MAHA and more: How legislators are pushing Trump's agenda in Kentucky “To comply with security and audit requirements no bars of gold may be removed from the compartment,” the document said each VIP will be given ample opportunity to see and handle the gold while inside the compartment.” Once inside a vault where “deep storage” gold was kept visitors were provided with gloves and allowed to hold one bar of gold and pose for photos standing in front of “25,000+ more bars of gold directly behind them.” Mint Police “to prevent compromise of security,” the document said “members of the Department’s Office of Inspector General (IG) as well as designated representatives of the Director of the Mint must be present when any compartment containing gold is opened.” all visitors had to go through another screening procedure all VIPs and their entourages were to go through a final security screening prior to departing the facility One of the restrictions placed on the visitors could potentially complicate ambitions Musk has voiced about livestreaming from inside Fort Knox: None of the visitors were allowed to bring phones or other electronic devices inside a Mnuchin staffer said all visitors — including VIPs visiting the vault — would be required to leave their phones and other electronics in their vehicles “They are not allowed into the facility whatsoever,” the email read Musk has repeatedly made posts on X, which he owns, teasing the possibility of broadcasting live video footage from inside the depository. In a post responding to conspiracy theorist Alex Jones on X last week, Musk wrote: “It would be cool to do a live video walkthrough of Fort Knox!” Appearing on Fox Business on Monday, Bevin Bullion Depository and expressed confidence that Fort Knox’s gold was secure “It is so ridiculously secured that it is not possible to sneak anything out of there,” he said and they know to the nanogram what you weigh going in and what you weigh going out … nobody’s sneaking anything out of there.” Bevin also mused that Musk, who has a net worth estimated at more than $400 billion by some might want to see what his net worth physically looks like “There are very few people  on planet Earth — he’s the only one — who could conceivably walk into a room and see the value of his personal net worth in a single location It is almost equivalent to how much his net worth is Despite pushing back against theories that gold had been stolen from Fort Knox — which he said were being discussed “to such a degree of absurdity in some measures" — Bevin said he did not have concerns about DOGE’s overall federal cutbacks likening them to actions he took as governor slashing regulations and state payroll in Kentucky Mnuchin has also talked about the 2017 visit to Fort Knox in recent days “The gold was there when I visited. I hope nobody’s moved it. I’m sure they haven’t,” a smiling Mnuchin said on Feb. 20 “I was the first Treasury Secretary to go there in There’s very serious security protocols in place to protect the gold that I can’t talk about and if President Trump wants it to be audited that’s obviously something that can be easily done.” In a post on X on Feb. 21 Rand Paul shared a letter addressed to Scott Bessent requesting “an audit of the Mint’s holdings including testing of the gold” as well as “in-person inspection” of the Fort Knox depository by the senator and his staff Paul called the 2017 visit “a good first step” but said the Mint “must commit itself to be subject to regular oversight procedures.” Appearing on Fox & Friends earlier this month, Paul said he had been approved to visit Fort Knox on the 2017 trip, but had to cancel when, according to Paul, Mnuchin changed the date of the trip to line up with the solar eclipse, when Paul was unavailable voiced opposition to the DOGE plan to come to Kentucky in a recent interview with The Courier Journal “Elon Musk is going through everyone’s personal data right now,” he said “I’m not sure he’s who we should let in the vault at Fort Knox.” has said no gold is missing from Fort Knox and that the gold is audited annually "All the gold is there," he said on Bloomberg Television on Feb. 20 adding that any senator who wanted to see the gold could arrange a visit through his office Fort Knox opened its vault to a congressional delegation and more than 100 journalists there were unsubstantiated rumors that gold had been improperly removed from the depository those rumors were from an attorney named Peter Beter who charged the gold was removed sent first to the Rockefellers and ultimately overseas the James Bond film “Goldfinger” featured an international gold magnate villain who hatched an elaborate plan to break into Fort Knox and irradiate its bullion rendering it worthless and boosting the value of his own holdings The Treasury Department denied the 1974 rumors the gold was gone The Courier Journal quoted a congressional subcommittee aide as saying: “It’s a real shocker when someone says there’s no gold at [Fort] Knox I suppose the nearest equivalent is someone saying God is dead.” The aide made their remarks as plans were being set up for a Congressional visit to Fort Knox the next month seven congressmen and a crowd of more than 100 journalists visited the depository “After an orgy of gaping and groping — stimulated in this election year by the heat of klieg lights and the whirl of television cameras — the seven emerged from the vault to maintain with straight faces that they are sound and all there,” The Courier Journal reported the following day the gold vault required two different people to enter its combination and then three guards to open a 20-ton door The Courier Journal described Fort Knox’s vault as having 13 gold compartments spread across two floors Roosevelt was previously the sole person outside of authorized personnel to visit the vault After that 1974 tour, the director of the U.S. Mint said “we’ve never done this before and we’ll probably never do it again” according to reporting from The New York Times at the time. Here's more to know about Fort Knox and the bullion depository: Army base located approximately 40 miles south of downtown Louisville “Fort Knox” is also commonly used as shorthand to refer to the U.S Treasury facility that holds about half of the Treasury Department’s gold Bullion Depository is off-limits to the general public the depository can be seen from Highway 31W and Bullion Boulevard Members of the general public can request access to the U.S The base is home to the General George Patton Museum visitors can now access the museum without a base pass How much gold is at Fort Knox?According to U.S there are 147.3 million ounces of gold at Fort Knox The depository holds about half of all of the Treasury Department’s gold the gold at Fort Knox is worth in excess of $400 billion The Fort Knox depository has stored a number of valuable items besides gold since it opened in 1936 as well as the Declaration of Independence opium and morphine was stored at the facility during the Cold War Reach reporter Josh Wood at jwood@courier-journal.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @JWoodJourno This work, Shawnee Navy Cadets Tour Fort Knox, Explores National Guard Opportunities, by Milt Spalding, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright Your version of Internet Explorer is out of date It has known security flaws and can cause issues displaying content on this page Learn how to update your browser Fort Knox has several spooky treats lined up for this Halloween season featuring a wide array of events that will run throughout of the rest of October 31 with on-post trick-or-treating from 6-8 p.m (Directorate of Family, Morale, Welfare and Recreation) - The Halloween Bash and Dash 5K The event is free for children five and under with a $15 registration fee for ages six and older second and third place finishing males and females Individuals under the age of 18 must have a legal guardian present (DFMWR) - Beginning at 11 a.m., Barr Memorial Library will be hosting a free showing of “The Addams Family Movie.” (DFMWR) - On Oct. 20 the Anderson Aquatics Center will host a Splashing Pumpkin Patch event at Anderson Aquatics Center The event will feature a poolside pumpkin patch Anderson Aquatic Center mascot Sharkey will also be in attendance for a family fun photo opportunity For military affiliated attendees the event will cost $8 and $10 for non-military affiliated attendees Those who have an Anderson Aquatics Center pool pass will receive half-off admission prices (DFMWR) – Zoinks! The Scooby Doo Jinkies event will back for another year at Barr Memorial Library on Oct The event is free of charge and will feature a spooky story walk (ACS) – The Army Community Service New Parent Support and Exceptional Family Member Programs will host their annual Trick-or-Treat event from 10 a.m The is event is free and open to all Fort Knox parents with children (DFMWR) – For those who need a little Zen with their fright, DFMWR will be hosting a Pumpkins & Poses  yoga and wine event at Camp Carlson from 6p.m Participants must be 21 years of age or older to sample wine (DFMWR) – Fort Knox Youth Sports and Fitness has a few tricks up their sleeve for a family-friendly event as well. On Oct. 25, from 6-9 p.m. the annual Balloween Trunk-or-Treat event will be held at Caruso Sports Complex The event is free and open to active-duty and reserve Soldiers retirees and DoD civilians and their Families (DFMWR) – Beginning at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26 DFMWR will be hosting a Spooktacular Spin class at Gammon Fitness Center Spinners must be 18 and up and the event will cost $5 per person To register contact Gammon Fitness at 502-624-8180 (Army and Air Force Exchange Service) – The Fort Knox Exchange will also be a hosting a trunk-or-treat with a trunk decorating contest on Saturday Contestants will have a chance to win one of three Exchange gift cards – 1st place; $100 Those interested in participating in the contest can decorate their trunk however they like (DFMWR) – The Fort Knox Education Center will host an Education Center Boo Fest running from 2:30-4:30 p.m The event will be held at the Education Center Building located on the corner of S (DFMWR) – Join fellow dungeon raiders at Balcombe Recreation Center on Wednesday, Oct. 30 for pumpkin carving and a game of Dungeons and Dragons from 6-9 p.m. during the Pumpkins and Dragons event The event is free of charge and party members are invited to wear their costumes (DFMWR) – For the last day of spooktacular events Barr Memorial Library will host a Spooky Stacks event from 4:30-6 p.m. This event will take attendees on a path through the non-fiction section of Barr Memorial trick-or-treaters will be free to hunt for treats between the hours of 6-8 p.m The beginning and end of trick-or-treating hours will be announced via the loud voice system on the installation Visit Fort Knox News at www.army.mil/knox for all of Central Kentucky's latest military news and information by JACKSON WALKER | The National News Desk (TNND) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday promised to investigate a stash of gold reserves at U.S He claimed the roughly 147.3 million troy ounces of gold stored within the base is not reviewed annually Trump promised to hold the base accountable if the gold was found to be improperly kept Musk on Monday also cast doubt on Fort Knox’s gold stores writing via X “who is confirming that gold wasn’t stolen from Fort Knox?” "That gold is owned by the American public We want to know if it’s still there." Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on a Wisconsin radio station Wednesday the gold is still at Fort Knox claimed earlier this week he has been barred from the base in the past senator I’ve tried repeatedly to get into Fort Knox,” he wrote via X “Fort Knox: ‘You can’t come to Fort Knox.’ Me: ‘Why?’ Fort Knox: ‘It’s a military installation.’ Me: ‘I’m a senator; I go to military bases all the time.’ Fort Knox: “You still can’t come also raised concerns with Fort Knox in 2011 "No one from Congress has been allowed to view the gold at Fort Knox in nearly 40 years recent photographs of the gold holdings seem to be hard to come by and the Mint's and Inspector General's audit statements contain only the bare minimum of information," the former congressman said at the time "Because the government has for so long refused to provide substantive information on its gold holdings it is not surprising that so much confusion abounds both within and without the government." Follow Jackson Walker on X at @_jlwalker_ for the latest trending national news. Have a news tip? Send it to jacwalker@sbgtv.com. Wind gusts of 30+ mph along with afternoon and evening blowing dust, could reduce visibility. Live Weather CamerasWeather MapsRand Paul urges Elon Musk's DOGE to audit gold reserves at Fort Knoxby KRISTINA WATROBSKI | The National News Desk on Sunday urged the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to probe a stash of gold reserves at a U.S Paul responded to an exchange on X between Musk and another user The user had posted "it would be great if [Musk] could take a look inside Fort Knox just to make sure the 4,580 tons of US gold is there." There is approximately 147.3 million troy ounces of gold stored at Fort Knox, according to the U.S. Mint. The agency notes on its website roughly half of the U.S Treasury's stored gold is kept at the military base Mint says the book value of the gold is $42.22 per ounce With the exception of small amounts used to test purity no gold has been transferred to or from the depository at Fort Knox in "many years," according to the agency's website Paul doubled down on his call during an appearance on "Fox & Friends" Monday The senator declared "the more sunlight it brings attention to the fact that gold still has value and implicitly gold still gives value to the dollar," he said Paul's father pressed government officials on the gold reserves at Fort Knox while serving as a congressman in Texas led a congressional hearing about audits of U.S During the hearing, former Rep. Paul specifically raised concerns with Fort Knox, a statement for the record shared by the U.S. House shows. 1);}}@media screen and (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce){.css-wjxay9-SquareButton{transition-property:background-color;transition-duration:0ms;transition-timing-function:cubic-bezier(0 1);}}@media screen and (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce){.css-152q15n-SquareButton{transition-property:background-color;transition-duration:0ms;transition-timing-function:cubic-bezier(0 1);}}.css-x340e0-SquareButton{margin:0;padding:0;display:inline-grid;-webkit-column-gap:8px;column-gap:8px;grid-template-columns:repeat(3 1);}}@media screen and (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce){.css-x340e0-SquareButton{transition-property:background-color;transition-duration:0ms;transition-timing-function:cubic-bezier(0 1);}}.css-v6oqvx{margin:0;font-family:Lato,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:12px;line-height:20px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0px;font-style:normal;text-transform:none;font-stretch:normal;padding:0.5px 0px;}.css-v6oqvx::before{content:'';margin-bottom:-0.4973em;display:block;}.css-v6oqvx::after{content:'';margin-top:-0.4463em;display:block;}Listen “We’re going to go into Fort Knox to make sure the gold is still there,” he said in response to a question about possible Pentagon cuts. “We hope everything is fine with Fort Knox, the fabled Fort Knox, but we’re going to go to Fort Knox and make sure the gold is still there,” he said. with a particular focus on global macro and commodities by | Feb 25 While President Trump says he personally plans to check on the nation’s massive gold stockpile at Fort Knox Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says other ranking government officials have verified the supply of precious metal is indeed there and safe Grassley sent a Tweet on Sunday to correct reports that indicated it’s been decades since outside sources confirmed the gold’s presence in the Kentucky stronghold “I read that a group had gone there in ’74,” Grassley says “and then the president was going to go and you got the assumption that nobody had been to Fort Knox since ’74 and I wanted them to know that I had visited there in ’76.” Grassley says his visit to Fort Knox in the nation’s bicentennial year had nothing to do with conspiracy theories He recalls seeing the vast hoard of gold with his own eyes you could view the piles of gold,” Grassley says “There were separate sections of the vault and each separate section had a door that was locked and you saw the stacks of gold brick there.” The military installation is legendary for its high level of security, though Trump’s post on X Monday said “…maybe somebody stole the gold Tons of gold.” Grassley says he heard over the weekend how very recent tours of Fort Knox confirm the many thousands of gold bars housed there are safe and sound “The new Secretary of Treasury said something like on September 30th there was an inventory taken at that particular time,” Grassley says “I suppose that’s the end of the fiscal year and maybe that’s something they do annually ‘I can assure you that the gold’s there.'” During a conference call with Iowa reporters Grassley was asked about the gold’s relevance since President Nixon took the U-S off the so-called gold standard in 1971 which had linked the country’s currency directly to gold “I suppose it’d be one penny on the dollar that we have gold backing our business,” Grassley says “It’s hard for me to say the role that gold pays but if somebody was demanding payment in gold we’d have to have a supply to pay them President Trump said Monday he intends to visit Fort Knox soon to make sure the gold is still there He’d be the first president to do so since Franklin D Reports say the depository contains more than 147-million troy ounces of gold which would peg its value around $436-billion RadioIowa is a division of LEARFIELD © Learfield News & Ag, LLC. All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy  | Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information Elon Musk urged U.S officials to audit how much gold is at the Fort Knox military base in Kentucky addressing decades-old conspiracies that the U.S where the Utah representative said his repeated attempts to enter the base have been denied without a valid explanation "Who is confirming that gold wasn’t stolen from Fort Knox?" Musk wrote on Monday replying to Lee's comment USA TODAY has reached out to representatives at the Fort Knox base for comment Musk's comments come as the White House said on Tuesday that Musk is not actually overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) despite Trump previously announcing him as head of the new agency White House Office of Administration Director Joshua Fisher said in a declaration filed in the U.S District Court that Musk is a "senior advisor to the president." Politics: Judge won't block Musk's records access because states couldn't show 'irreparable harm' Fort Knox is a Kentucky military installation about 40 miles south of Louisville known for holding more than 147 million ounces of the U.S.' gold reserves The base has previously also stored several historic rarities, from the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution to Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg address The Kentucky depository spans 108,955 acres across Hardin There is no evidence to suggest gold is missing from Fort Knox base though access to the military base is tightly limited to authorized personnel only who was president at the time of the visit "The Congressional inspection adheres to the new open door policy of the government announced by President Ford," then Director of the Mint Mary Brooks said in a news release "By also inviting the press to witness the Congressional inspection the Mint is clearing away cobwebs and re-assuring the public that their gold is intact and safe." Mint states that there are 147.4 million ounces of gold at the Fort Knox depository The U.S. owns 8,133.46 metric tons of gold more than any other nation and holds more than twice of Germany's stash Trump and Musk say the precious metals might be missing Fort Knox has long been home to the U.S. government's gold reserves. It has also suddenly become an object of keen interest to President Donald Trump "We're actually going to Fort Knox to see if the gold is there Because maybe somebody stole the gold," Trump said to reporters Fort Knox has "stringent security protocols" to safeguard the reserve Officials at the base "know to the nanogram what you weigh going in and what you weigh going out," said former Kentucky Gov The gold vaults at Fort Knox were built in 1937 and the gold shipped in "on a special nine-car train manned by machine gunners," said CBS From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox How will the Fed manage Trump's economy? Markets slide amid recession fears, Trump tariffs Trump doesn't rule out recession as tariffs bite the precious metal has been "pretty much off limits" to the public and most officials America once linked the value of the dollar to its gold holdings The gold at Fort Knox is now "an asset on the Federal Reserve's balance sheet the Treasury secretary during the first Trump administration cast doubt on the notion that gold had disappeared from the fort and I hope nobody's moved it," Mnuchin said A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com Joel Mathis, The Week USSocial Links NavigationJoel Mathis is a writer with 30 years of newspaper and online journalism experience His work also regularly appears in National Geographic and The Kansas City Star His awards include best online commentary at the Online News Association and (twice) at the City and Regional Magazine Association.  President Donald Trump said he's going to check on the country's supply of gold stored at the famously secure Fort Knox depository in what would be an unusual glimpse into the vault not typically accessed by presidents or the public "If the gold isn't there, we're going to be very upset," Trump said, as his adviser tech billionaire Elon Musk has stoked theories claiming the gold may have been taken is a huge vault at the military base in Fort Knox Mint says it holds about half of the country's gold and has only allowed a handful of visits from outsiders like politicians and journalists over its history Fort Knox is home to nearly 150 million troy ounces (or 5,000 tons) of gold, according to the U.S. Mint the value could be in the hundreds of billions of dollars Theories of thievery at Fort Knox are nothing new. When members of the media and lawmakers got their first glimpse at the gold stores in 1974, a New York Times headline read: "Visitors Get a Peek at Fort Knox Gold—It's There." "In recent years there have been repeated rumors that some of the gold was missing," the Times then reported The Mint is aware that some people have been skeptical of a secretive inaccessible location storing vast amounts of gold High-profile visits have been orchestrated before to address the public's concerns "The Treasury Secretary allows the visit when rumors persist that all the gold had been removed from the vaults," it said of a 1974 visit An old question returns: Is the gold still in Fort Knox?Sen Rand Paul of Kentucky is among those calling for an audit saying in a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that a "formal audit" hasn't happened since 1974 "We do an audit every year," Bessent told Bloomberg TV Trump's call for a public audit comes amid skepticism about about the vault from one of his most public advisers: Elon Musk "Who is confirming that gold wasn’t stolen from Fort Knox? Maybe it’s there, maybe it’s not. That gold is owned by the American public! We want to know if it’s still there," Musk said in a post to his social media platform X last week The Department of Government Efficiency, which Musk does not officially lead but has acted out his objectives has been orchestrating a campaign to drastically cut the federal workforce and budget How much gold is supposed to be at Fort Knox?Fort Knox doesn't have all the U.S. gold. There are 147.3 million ounces of gold stored there, about half of all the Treasury's gold, according to the U.S. Mint Fort Knox has also held historical artifacts for other government agencies including President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address Constitution and Bill of Rights during World War II for safe keeping The vault was built in 1936 with 16,000 cubic feet of granite Fort Knox received the first gold in its depository in 1937 Small amounts of gold do leave the vault to be tested for purity "during regularly scheduled audits," according to the U.S no gold has been transferred to or from the Depository for many years," the Mint's website says the structure and content of the vault is only known by a few people and no one person has all the information needed to open it Former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin, who got to see inside the vault in 2017, said in a radio interview then that it took “quite a bit of time” to access it, the Associated Press reported “All I will say is that it is freakishly well secured,” Bevin said The Fort Knox Bullion Depository is not open to the public Only thrice since the depository was established have outsiders entered the vault The last time was during Trump's first term as president Bevin and Congressional lawmakers paid the first visit inside since 1974 The Sept. 23, 1974, trip was the result of theories similar to the ones circulating today It was the first and only time members of the media were allowed inside Photos taken for the Louisville Courier-Journal show the inside of a vault stacked with gold bars Roosevelt inspected the depository on April 28 No president since Roosevelt has gone inside SearchAccountCart0Shop AllShop U.S Gold Bureau Precious Metals The Ed Moy Signature SeriesLearn More About This ExclusiveDo you also have metals you'd like to sell Do you also have metals you'd like to sell How to use your retirement to invest in precious metals View Our Retirement PageLearn MoreRetirement guidance is just a page turn away Leverage your retirement account to grow your savings Resources & Assistance for Investing in Precious Metals Precious Metals News & InsightsVisit the blog >>Our Precious Metals Experts are only a phone call away We've been helping investors for more than two decades Learn More About Ed MoyThe committee was comprised of auditors from the GAO, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of the Secretary and Bureau of Government Financial Operations, the U.S. Mint (which includes assayers), and the U.S. Customs Service.  The gold was then placed back into each compartment and sealed. Now, Elon Musk is much smarter than I am, so I hope he can find a better, faster way to do it, but I am not optimistic. Copyright © 2025 USGB, LLC. All rights reserved. All calls may be monitored for quality assurance. Notifications can be managed in browser preferences. In FocusTrump, Fort Knox and the curious case of billions of dollars worth of ‘missing’ goldTogether with Elon Musk, the president of the United States is on a mission to inspect Fort Knox to check that half of the country’s gold reserves held there haven’t been stolen. Another one of Trump’s crazy conspiracy theories? Guy Walters examines the basis for such wild claims The only person who has come close to stealing the bullion was a certain Latvian called Auric Goldfinger in 1959 but then he was the figment of the imagination of one Ian Fleming whose novel Goldfinger would be turned into the third James Bond film Fort Knox was used to store the Declaration of Independence Fort Knox was inspected by outsiders in 2017 when no less a figure than Treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin visited the vaults accompanied by Kentucky governor Matt Bevin as well as various other Congressional representatives The visitors were the first outsiders allowed access since 1974 – they were photographed handling the gold which certainly looked very shiny and gold-like But while the US Treasury and the Federal Reserve carry out regular inspections nobody has apparently sat down and analysed the contents of the legendary vault for over 70 years giving rise to one small niggling question that some people are asking with increasing frequency It’s all well and good to assume that it is While £330bn of bullion may sound like it would take up a lot of room it occupies less space than you might think – about the size of three and a half standard 40ft shipping containers or around one-tenth of an Olympic swimming pool Such a question sounds like something from the wilder shores of internet conspiracy websites, which unsurprisingly means that it is now being posed by the president of the United States and his stooge, Elon Musk “We have found hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of fraud,” said Donald Trump recently We’re actually going to Fort Knox to see if the gold is there Musk is also what might be called a “bullion denier” as exemplified by a post he put on X last month: “Who is confirming that gold wasn’t stolen from Fort Knox What fuels the suspicions of people like Trump and Musk is that there has not been an independent audit of the gold at Fort Knox in several decades four main conspiracy theories have emerged The first claims that the gold has been secretly sold to foreign entities or private banks for the United States to secretly pay off some of its national debt The second claims that there has never been any gold at Fort Knox and that the whole facility is just some huge bluff to deceive the global markets The third theory advances the idea that the gold is not pure gold at all This theory gained some traction back in 2009 when the Chinese reported that some fake gold bars were emerging on the international market some of which supposedly originated from US reserves the fourth theory is the one put forward by Trump and Musk – that the gold has somehow been swiped The first two theories are easily scotched The notion that such a vast amount of gold can be sold secretly is farcical while £330bn might sound like it could be useful in paying off some debt it barely makes a dent in the side of America’s national debt What’s held at Fort Knox therefore represents just 1.17 per cent of what the United States owes Carrying out some form of deception or secret sale just doesn’t seem worth it The third theory can be dismantled in two ways there was that aforementioned independent inspection eight years ago “The gold was there when I visited it,” said Mnuchin two weeks ago that’s something that can easily be done.” Mnuchin is very wrong that the bullion can be easily audited auditing the gold would be a very lengthy and expensive business which is the reason why it hasn’t been carried out in decades According to the gold investment company JM Bullion the auditing process would take no less than 18 months to complete with roughly 44,400 man-hours of work to be done The company estimates that it would require 20 personnel With the scanners alone costing £25,000 a piece it’s clear that such a project would cost many millions – all at a time when Trump and Musk are seeking to cut budgets The only alternative would be to carry out a partial and selective audit by analysing just a random selection of the estimated 368,000 gold bars held in the vaults Then there is Trump’s notion that the gold could have been stolen it would not just be the heist of the century but the biggest in human history Even if one leaves aside the obvious problem of having to fence £330bn worth of bullion down the local boozer stealing the gold is essentially impossible While the precise nature of the security measures is naturally highly secret what is known is that to steal the gold you would have to somehow outwit the US Mint Police – a highly specialised and well-trained force – as well as the local army units The vault itself consists of 13 separately sealed compartments which would involve busting open a 20-tonne door Blowing it up is simply not an option; the vault also has multiple forms of access which means that no single person on the planet can gain access to the vault Like so much else spouted by Trump and Musk the idea that there is no gold at Fort Knox is pure nonsense But if either of them were allowed a guided tour of the vaults in Kentucky More aboutGoldDonald TrumpElon MuskJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies govt and politics"},{"score":0.736377,"label":"/finance/financial news"},{"score":0.72304,"label":"/finance/bank"},{"score":0.678786,"label":"/business and industrial/business operations/business plans"},{"score":0.63363,"label":"/law Fort Knox and the curious case of billions of dollars worth of ‘missing’ gold","description":"Together with Elon Musk the president of the United States is on a mission to inspect Fort Knox to check that half of the country’s gold reserves held there haven’t been stolen Another one of Trump’s crazy conspiracy theories Guy Walters examines the basis for such wild claims