Gold mining is a global business with operations on every continent, except Antarctica, and gold is extracted from mines of widely varying types and scale. At a country level, China was the largest producer in the world in 2021 and accounted for around 9 per cent of total global production.
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. Geoscience Australia estimates that 60 per cent of Australia's gold reserves are in Western Australia.
In 2021, Russia produced some 39.12 million carats of diamonds, thus making Russia by far the world's largest diamond mining country. At that time, Botswana and Canada ranked second and third, with a production of 22.9 and 17.6 million carats of diamonds, respectively.
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.
The biggest gold investor in the world
The largest single owner of gold on the planet is the U.S. government. At last count, Uncle Sam had 8,133.5 tons of gold (260 million ounces) stashed in vaults around the country like Fort Knox, which holds 147.3 million ounces.
Dahlonega has the purest gold in the world, which is 98.7 percent pure. This makes our gold over 23KT gold. Since we are still in operation today we do not allow any tours of the mine itself due to insurance purposes.
There are both open-cut and underground gold mines in Australia but most of Australia's gold production comes from open-cut mines. Earth-moving equipment is used to remove waste rock from above the ore body and then to mine the ore.
The other nations that do not hold reserves in gold include Nicaragua, Cameroon, Armenia, Gabon, Turkmenistan, Congo, Chad and Eritrea. Disclaimer: Based on World Gold Council Annual Figures for 2021.
India is a country of many wonders and unsolved mysteries! One such mystery flows through the unexplored terrains of Jharkhand, known as the Subarnarekha River. You'll be amazed to know that the river has pure gold in its water! The river flows through regions of Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha.
Indian Families
Collectively, Indian households have the largest amount of gold in the world – roughly 24,000 metric tons. Most of it is in the form of jewelry which is used for Diwali festival and weddings.
Gold Buyer Statistics By Race
The most common ethnicity among gold buyers is White, which makes up 67.5% of all gold buyers.
Do I have to report my gold coin purchases to the Government ? No, there is no branch of federal, state, or local government that is interested in how much gold you might own.
As part of Australia's official reserve assets, the Reserve Bank holds an amount of gold. Including gold that is on loan, the RBA's holdings amount to 80 tonnes, with the full value of these holdings recorded as an asset on the RBA's balance sheet.
Demand for Australian gold was largely dominated by India and the United Kingdom in 2010, accounting for 36.8 per cent and 35.9 per cent of total gold exports respectively. India is a fast-growing market for Australian gold, as the country's increasing wealth means more Indians can afford gold jewellery.
Australia has plentiful supplies of natural resources, including the second largest accessible reserves of iron ore in the world, the fifth largest reserves of coal and significant gas resources.
Diamonds have funded brutal wars in countries such as Angola, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, resulting in the death and displacement of millions of people. There is a reason they are dubbed 'Blood Diamonds'.
The magnificent Cullinan Diamond – the largest diamond ever found- is incorporated into the Crown Jewels. The stone was discovered near Pretoria in South Africa in 1905, and is named after the chairman of the mining company, Thomas Cullinan.
Learn about five of the country's most unique gems. There are three famed diamond mines in Australia: Argyle, Ellendale and Merlin.
Diamonds were reported from numerous places across India, but most of the diamond mining took place by placer mining in the drainages of the Pannar River and Krishna River in modern Andhra Pradesh state. Placer mining took place along the Krishna River for 300 km below Sangram.