Fort Knox, in Kentucky 40 km southwest of Louisville hosts the main warehouse of gold reserves And monetary of the United States: they are located within it 4,582.69 tons of gold barseach of which measures 17.78 x 9.21 x 4.45 cm and weighs approx 12.4kg. Given the value of what it contains, it should not surprise us that it is one of the safest and most monitored structures in the world! But what is his story? And who can access it?
There Fort Knox base was born in the 1930s and the objective of the deposit was to secure the gold US from possible foreign attacks. Over the decades the quantity of ingots inside it has progressively increased, up to host just over half of the country’s gold reserves. The gold stored here is moved very rarely: the only periodic movements are those relating to small samples, sent to specialized laboratories to test the purity of the ingots.
Given the value of what it contains, the Fort Knox depot is one of the most heavily guarded areas in the country. Security systems include both physical barriers – such as fences and reinforced concrete walls – and advanced systems of video surveillance, although the technical specifications of these devices are clearly not public. Furthermore, to ensure constant monitoring, military and law enforcement forces are always present in and within the area.
Consider that over the years, with the exception of a few staff members, only very few people have received theauthorization to enter in the structure. Specifically, a first group of journalists and Congress delegates entered the 1974 and a second group of government officials in 2017.
