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.
About 60% of Australia's gold resources occur in Western Australia, with the remainder in all other States and the Northern Territory. Virtually all resources occur in primary deposits, many of which have undergone some degree of weathering.
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).
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.
Some of the veins produce up to one quarter of an ounce of gold per ton of rock. What makes Dahlonega gold so different from other gold found around the world is the purity. Dahlonega has the purest gold in the world, which is 98.7 percent pure.
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.
It is perfectly legal to sell and buy gold in Australia. You can sell a kilo of gold bars, a wedding ring or an old coin. The Australian government has set guidelines for the sale of precious metals. There is no restriction on the weight or value of precious metal.
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.
Leading markets for gold exports from Australia FY 2022
China was the leading export destination for Australian gold in terms of value.
China has recently considerably ramped up its gold imports, in an effort to diversify the People's Bank of China's (PBOC) holdings, as well as reduce their reliance on the US dollar (DXY).
China may invade Taiwan, or it may not. Either way, there is financial uncertainty. Precious metals are the counterbalance to that uncertainty. Russia, China, Brazil, Egypt, India, Turkey, Qatar, and many other countries are stockpiling gold to overthrow the Dollar and ensure sovereignty.
As part of Australia's official reserve assets, the Reserve Bank holds an amount of gold.
The quality of gold from Australia is so high because of its high-grade deposits. For example, the Fosterville mine in Victoria is one of the highest-grade gold mines in the world and has produced gold with an average grade of 15.5 grams per ton.
Investors can purchase gold, in bar or coin form, set at the international standard of '999.9', meaning 99.99% pure gold.
Holtermann 'Nugget': 10,229oz. While the Welcome Stranger is the largest gold nugget ever discovered, the single biggest gold specimen ever found is the Holtermann. Dug up in October 1872 by German miner Bernhardt Holtermann at Hill End in New South Wales, it was crushed, and the gold extracted.
The United States has the largest gold reserve, with more than 8,000 metric tons of gold. This was more than twice the gold reserves of Germany and more than three times the gold reserves of Italy and France.
The largest buyer of gold from 2017 to 2022 is, by far, the central bank of Russia (though data for Russia is actually only until the end of 2021.
The records show the biggest handler of Russian gold exports to the UAE was Temis Luxury Middle East, a Dubai subsidiary of French logistics provider Temis Luxury, which participated in the import of 15.6 tonnes valued at $863 million between Feb. 24, 2022 and March 3 this year.
Total stockpiles now sit at about 2,076 tons, after the nation increased reserves by about 120 tons in the five months through March. Central banks have purchased large amounts of gold in the past year to diversify assets, as well as to protect reserves from the impact of a weakening dollar and rampant inflation.
Overall, Russian gold exports to China soared by 67.3% in physical terms and by 63.3% in monetary terms from 2021. However, Russia's share in Chinese gold purchases remains small. The main supplier of gold to China is Switzerland, with sales in 2021 totaling over US$34 billion.
Central banks bought close to 535 tonnes of gold in 2012, the most since 1964.
Australian Property Law
Under this body of law it is absolutely illegal, on both a State and Federal level, for the government to confiscate someone's private property without due process.
Australia's gold reserves were estimated to total at over 10,000 metric tonnes in December 2020 by the US Geological Survey. Runners up were Russia with 7,500 tonnes and the United States far behind with 3,000 tonnes.