In Australia this concentration of gold took place in the Earth hundreds of millions of years ago in the eastern states, and thousands of millions of years ago in Western Australia. As well as gold, the fluids can carry other dissolved minerals, such as quartz.
Edward Hammond Hargraves is credited with finding the first payable goldfields at Ophir, near Bathurst, New South Wales, on 12 February 1851. News of gold spread quickly around the world and in 1852 alone, 370,000 immigrants arrived in Australia.
Gold Discoveries. Gold had been found at several sites in Australia prior to 1851, mainly in New South Wales. Colonial governors had kept the discoveries quiet. New South Wales had been founded as a penal settlement, and the population still consisted mainly of convicts and ex-convicts.
Australia is estimated to have the world's largest gold reserves, with 9,500 tonnes or 17 per cent of the total world estimated gold reserves of 57,000 tonnes.
Even along highly active fault lines, it could take 100,000 years or more for minable deposits to form. So yes, gold deposits can replenish themselves. Unfortunately, it won't happen during our lifetime.
A group of experts have concluded that the current increased production rate will lead to the depletion of some finite resources, including gold. Just how scarce are our gold reserves? Well, a group of scientists have set a date for the disappearance of the rare metal, and that is just 27 years away, in 2050.
Scientists believe that there is still eight times more gold in and under the oceans than has ever been mined close to the planet's surface. Like the gold that is probably floating in the Earth's molten core, most of this supply of the precious metal is inaccessible or simply too expensive to mine.
In Australia this concentration of gold took place in the Earth hundreds of millions of years ago in the eastern states, and thousands of millions of years ago in Western Australia. As well as gold, the fluids can carry other dissolved minerals, such as quartz. This is why gold is often found with quartz.
Your finds
Minerals are the property of the Crown. If you discover gold or other minerals or gemstones on land not covered by a mining tenement, and the ground is Crown land (under the Mining Act 1978), then you are free to keep what you have found (as long as you hold a Miner's Right).
Being one of the world's leading gold producers, Australia is also estimated to have the largest gold reserves on the planet at more than 10,000 tonnes – almost one-fifth of total resources.
Chinese miners
There were over 11,000 Chinese on the New South Wales goldfields of Armidale, Bathurst, Binalong, Braidwood, Burrangong, Lambing Flat (Young), Carcoar, Lachlan, Mudgee, Tambaroora, Tamworth and Tumut.
Chinese miners arrived on the Australian gold fields around 1854. Often referred to in the contemporary literature as celestials (children of the sun), they were viewed by large sections of society with suspicion and racism because of their different language, dress, food and customs.
It was the increasing demand for cheap labour after convict transportation ceased in the 1840s that led to much larger numbers of Chinese men arriving as indentured labourers, to work as shepherds for private landowners and the Australian Agricultural Company.
Cadia Mine in New South Wales, was the largest gold-producing mine in Australia, producing approximately 764.9 thousand ounces of gold and an estimated 32.5 million metric tons per annum (mmtpa) of Run-of-Mine (ROM) in 2021.
An Australian man using a budget metal detector has hit the score of a lifetime – a giant gold nugget worth $160,000. The man, who did not want to be identified, made the life-changing discovery in the southern state of Victoria, the world's largest gold nugget was discovered in 1869.
Considered by most authorities to be the biggest gold nugget ever found, the Welcome Stranger was found at Moliagul, Victoria, Australia, in 1869 by John Deason and Richard Oates. It weighed gross, over 2,520 troy ounces (78 kg; 173 lb) and returned over 2,284 troy ounces (71.0 kg; 156.6 lb) net.
There is no restriction on the weight or value of precious metal. However, all Australian gold dealers must adhere to laws regarding the buying and selling of gold.
You can't buy, hold or sell gold unless it is a legitimate part of your trade or in the form of jewellery.
Australia and Russia hold the largest reserves of gold
Australia and Russia hold a large share of the world's gold mine reserves, accounting for 8,400 metric tons and 6,800 metric tons, respectively. Worldwide, the production of gold reached an estimated 3,100 metric tons in 2022.
About 244,000 metric tons of gold has been discovered to date (187,000 metric tons historically produced plus current underground reserves of 57,000 metric tons). Most of that gold has come from just three countries: China, Australia, and South Africa.
Leading markets for gold exports from Australia FY 2022
China was the leading export destination for Australian gold in terms of value.
Now fully owned by Newmont Goldcorp, the mine reopened in 2009 after a major expansion project that increased the throughput to become Australia's largest gold mine.
A 2009 NASA mission—in which a rocket slammed into the moon and a second spacecraft studied the blast—revealed that the lunar surface contains an array of compounds, including gold, silver, and mercury, according to PBS.
Did you know that gold is extraterrestrial? Instead of arising from our planet's rocky crust, it was actually cooked up in space and is present on Earth because of cataclysmic stellar explosions called supernovae. CERN Scientist David Lunney outlines the incredible journey of gold from space to Earth.