World's Largest Gold Deposit Found, Worth Over Us$80 Billion
World's Largest Gold Deposit Found, Worth Over Us$80 Billion
Mike McRae Thu, November 28, 2024
A deposit of high-quality gold ore containing around 1,000 metric tons (1,100 US tons) of the precious metal has been discovered in central China, according to Chinese state media.
Valued at approximately 600 billion yuan or US$83 billion, the discovery could be considered the largest and most lucrative reservoir of gold ever uncovered, surpassing the 900 metric tons estimated to lie within the mother of all gold reserves, South Deep mine in South Africa.
This photo taken on 20 November 2024 shows drilled rock samples from the Wangu gold field in Pingjiang County, central China's Hunan Province. (Xinhua/Dai Bin)
The Geological Bureau of Hunan Province announced the detection of 40 gold veins within a depth of 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) in the northeast Hunan county of Pingjiang.
These alone were thought to contain 300 metric tons of gold, with 3D modeling suggesting additional reserves may be found to a depth of 3 kilometers.
"Many drilled rock cores showed visible gold," says bureau prospector Chen Rulin.
Core samples suggest every metric ton of ore could contain as much as 138 grams (nearly 5 ounces) of gold – an extraordinary level of quality considering ore excavated from underground mines is considered high grade if it contains more than 8 grams.
China already dominates the world's gold market with reserves considered to be in excess of 2,000 tons earlier in 2024, its mining industry contributing around 10 percent of the global output.
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