Home >> Science & Nature >> Rocks & Minerals

In What Countries Is Gold Mined?

Gold is a rare precious metal used in making jewelry and the manufacture of computer chips, dental filings, car exhaust parts and sensitive scientific machinery. Current world production of gold is estimated at 3.4 billion troy ounces each year and is mined in many countries, some of which use the revenues from gold production to reduce their budget deficits.

China
- Chinese gold mines are located in the provinces of Shandong, Henan, Fujian and Liaoning, as well as Guizhou and Yunnan. Over the last decade, China was able to increase extraction levels and become the world's top gold producer by benefiting from the exploration techniques developed by American geologists for work on the Carlin-type of deposits found in Nevada.
Africa
- Nearly half of the gold in circulation came from the Witwatersrand district of South Africa. Today, although South Africa is still producing nearly a third of the world's gold in areas like the Free State, North West and Gauteng Provinces, factors such as older mines, as well as high labor and production costs mean South Africa will not increase production rates in the foreseeable future. Other African countries that also produce gold from their mines include Ghana, Tanzania, Burkina Faso, Cote de Ivoire and Zimbabwe.
Australia
- Western Australia leads its country's gold production by mining two-thirds of the total output. Other contributing regions are New South Wales and Queensland. The largest Australian mines include the Telfer operation, Super Pit at Kalgoorlie, and Sunrise Dam. Exploration shows promising deposits in many areas such as Yilgarn Craton.
United States
- Most gold mining in the U.S. takes place in the states of Alaska, Utah, Nevada and Colorado, although smaller projects and exploration are present in Arizona, Idaho, California, Montana, Washington, New Mexico and South Dakota. Mines in the state of Nevada produce the most gold; the state placed fourth in the ranks of world production, after China, South Africa and Australia. America's most productive gold mine is the Homestake at Lead in South Dakota. This 8,000 feet deep mine has accounted for 10% of all U.S. gold production since the mine's opening in 1876. Some U.S. mines that are not predominantly gold-producing also make contributions to the country's overall gold production figures. Mines extracting other minerals produce low amounts of gold per ton of rock mined, but they process such large amounts of rock that these small amounts of gold recovered during the search for other resources add up to a significant amount. An example of this is the porphyry deposit at Bingham Canyon, Utah. Since opening in 1906, Bingham Canyon Mine has produced an estimated 18 million troy ounces of gold.

Rocks & Minerals