Where does gold come from?

Where does gold come from?

02.07.2021

We have already told you many times about what gold is, how it has influenced historical processes, and how it affects our lives today. But there is one aspect we want to explore in more detail, and the question is where gold is mined today.

The main deposits of gold in the past

It is not a secret that gold played a huge role in the economy of ancient kingdoms. Moreover up to the last century it remained the main regulator of economic flows until it was substituted by more convenient fiat money.

Ancient gold mining was mainly carried out by gold sand reclamation in river beds. The exception was ancient India and Egypt, where gold mines existed according to archeologists' discoveries. In South American and Australian cultures, on the other hand, gold was of great value until the Middle Ages. Read more about how gold was mined in ancient times in a recent article which you can find here.

The largest gold mining countries of today

Today gold is recognized as a very valuable resource, and not only for investment purposes. This metal is indispensable in industry, jewelry, healthcare, at last. Who is today in the top 10 countries for gold mining?

  1. The leader in gold mining is China. Even though China has been reducing the amount of gold produced over the last few years, it still accounts for about 12% of all gold mined in the world.
  2. In contrast, the Australians, having long been unable to quote the metal, which was literally lying at their feet, increased their gold production rapidly in the 21st century. Now they mine more than 300 tons of gold a year in Australia.
  3. The Russian Federation retains its third place in the gold mining leadership race. Its annual production is slightly less than Australia's.
  4. The United States is also in the top ten gold miners thanks to the huge deposits in Nevada, which is the state that accounts for the lion's share of gold production, and the U.S. produces 212 tons of gold per year.
  5. After the discovery of the largest gold deposit in northern British Columbia in 2017, Canada rapidly broke into the top ranks of gold-producing countries. Its production volume is about 183 tons per year.
  6. Another "gold" country in the world is Peru. It is there, in the region of La Pampa, they extract 158 tons of gold.
  7. The island country of Indonesia - a real gold mine. In the mid 2010's the gold mining was growing intensively and today the annual output of the metal from the Indonesian depths exceeds 136 tons.
  8. Ghana is a poor African state. However, 130 tons of gold are mined here per year. By the way, it is one-fifth of all exports of this state.
  9. Another African cradle of gold is South Africa. This country has long been considered the leader of gold mining on the continent. Currently, South Africa mines a few tons less gold than Ghana and, therefore, it is only in ninth place.
  10. Mexico is at the bottom of the top ten. Gold mining here has ancient origins but in recent years it has only been producing 115 tons per year.

Where Golden Way mines gold

As for our company, we focus on deposits in one of the oldest gold mining areas, Africa. Thanks to our modern technology, we can provide our bullion that meets the standards of the LBMA, to our partners all over the world. Do you want to invest in gold? Then join our worldwide network of partners!