The sturdiness of the world’s largest gold vaults is enough to destroy any intention of thieves.
Fort Knox bunker, USA. In operation since 1937, Fort Knox is considered one of the safest gold reserves in the world, according to Metal Floss. The Fort Knox gold warehouse, owned by the US National Gold Reserve, is located on a military base in Kentucky. This warehouse contains about 4,582 tons of gold, as of April 2016. Pictures of this gold warehouse are very few. In 1974, the country’s officials only allowed a special group of people, including senators and reporters, to visit the gold warehouse. This photo was taken at that time.
The basement is made from 5,000 m3 of granite, nearly 4,000 m3 of concrete, 750 tons of reinforcing steel and 670 tons of structural steel. The bunker is protected by a door weighing 22 tons. Outside the bunker there are four fences, two of which are electric fences. In addition, the Fort Knox bunker is also protected by a standard alarm system and surveillance cameras combined with 30,000 armed soldiers and a patrol helicopter. The cellar door only opens when enough key holders are gathered.
Gold warehouse of the Federal Reserve Bank (FED) in New York, USA: The world’s largest gold warehouse contains about 540,000 gold bars, each weighing about 12.7 kg. This amount of gold accounts for about 25% of the world’s gold reserves, worth nearly 200 billion USD. This gold is owned by 48 foreign central banks and 12 international organizations, only 5% of which is owned by the US.
This gold warehouse was built in 1921 and completed in 1924, located at a depth of 9 meters under the city’s subway system, inside the Federal Reserve Bank (FED) in New York City, USA. . The Fed’s gold vault is the size of a football field. The gold warehouse is located about 25 m underground and is surrounded by solid stone blocks. The security forces guarding the basement are marksmen. In addition, the basement is also protected by a 90-ton steel door.
Bank of England gold vault. This is the largest gold vault in England and the second largest in the world. This place stores more than 5,152 tons of gold.
The basement is protected by bomb-proof doors with a voice recognition locking system. In addition, the extra key to the cellar is nearly a meter long and cannot be copied. The bank does not disclose the weight of the vault door or the depth of the vault. The total floor area of the basement is estimated to be larger than the Tower of London.
Svalbard Seed Vault, Norway. In addition to gold, solid vaults are also used to store other valuable assets. The Svalbard seed vault is located at a depth of nearly 120 m below a mountain in Northern Europe, containing more than 500,000 seeds of plant species around the world.
The bunker is protected by thousands of kilometers of sea and polar bears. The deep underground location makes the bunker resistant to nuclear explosions and severe earthquakes. The Svalbard tunnel is located 130 m above sea level and separated from the outside by 4 layers of heavy steel doors.
