Physical gold is mined on every continent other than Antartica.
On Earth, the largest amounts of gold ore are spread about and found in the various oceans - but extracting gold under and from seawater is not yet profitable or feasible.
The following gold mining data covers total tonnes of gold mined per country in 2016. One tonne of gold is equivalent to 32,150.7 troy ounces of gold.
Current estimates are that the world has just over 190,000 tonnes of above ground physical gold.
That is just about 0.8 troy ounces of physical gold for every human being alive today.
In terms of national gold mining outputs, China was the largest producer of gold in the world in 2016 (and has been the largest miner of gold for many years in a row now). Chinese gold mining accounted for around 14% of total global physical gold production for the year 2016.
This interactive gold mining map provides a breakdown of the top gold producing countries in the world, which demonstrates the wide geographical dispersion of gold mining operations (more pervasive than palladium or platinum mining operations).
Largest Gold Mining Nations in the Year 2016
- China 463.7 tonnes
- Australia 287.3 tonnes
- Russia 274.4 tonnes
- United States 225.7 tonnes
- Peru 166.0 tonnes
- South Africa 165.6 tonnes
- Canada 162.1 tonnes
- Mexico 128.4 tonnes
- Indonesia 107.9 tonnes
- Brazil 96.8 tonnes
- Ghana 95.6 tonnes
- Uzbekistan 86.7 tonnes
- Papua New Guinea 60.4 tonnes
- Argentina 59.6 tonnes
- Tanzania 55.3 tonnes
- Kazakhstan 52.6 tonnes
- Colombia 51.8 tonnes
- Mali 50.1 tonnes
- Burkina Faso 41.6 tonnes
- Chile 40.7 tonnes
- Philippines 40.2 tonnes
- Dem. Rep. of the Congo 38.4 tonnes
- Dominican Republic 38.0 tonnes
- Sudan 37.2 tonnes
- Zimbabwe 27.4 tonnes
- Côte d'Ivoire 24.7 tonnes
- Turkey 24.6 tonnes
- Guyana 24.2 tonnes
- Guinea 23.8 tonnes
- Venezuela 23.0 tonnes
- Suriname 21.2 tonnes
- Mongolia 21.0 tonnes
- Kyrgyz Republic 20.6 tonnes
- Egypt 17.1 tonnes
- Ecuador 12.2 tonnes
- Ethiopia 11.2 tonnes
- Iran 11.0 tonnes
- New Zealand 8.8 tonnes
- Finland 8.4 tonnes
- Nicaragua 8.1 tonnes
- Senegal 7.5 tonnes
- Mauritania 7.4 tonnes
- Sweden 6.5 tonnes
Where is Gold Mined?
Ecuador is but one important Gold Mining Exploration Nation:
Currently world gold mining adds some 2,500 to 3,000 tonnes to the overall above-ground stock of new line physical gold year on year.
While gold production has shown an upward trend in recent years, this upward trend is likely to level off soon as gold exploration and mine discoveries have slowed.
Where is Gold Found and How Much is Left for the Future?
Below is a forecast based on year 2010 AD, it calculated known profitably attainable reserves in the ground based on commodity price points at the time.
Of course if commodity prices rise and other discoveries are made either here on Earth or perhaps in out space, this map may become fallacious with time.
Of additional note is how many precious metal reserves remain in South America.
Specifically Venezuela is but one example of a nation who has yet to tap the vast reserves of oil and gold within it's land. Perhaps this is but one reason why the United States has so much interest in seeing the Maduro regime getting overun by a more pro-US regime.
Yearly Gold Mined since Gold Starved Chris Colombus Arrived
See today's available Gold Bullion Products here at SD Bullion
Where is Gold Found?
See gold's scientific origin, to finished gold products today...
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