The United States has the largest
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.
As part of Australia's official reserve assets, the Reserve Bank holds an amount of gold.
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).
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.
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.
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.
The Boddington gold mine is a gold and copper mine located 13 km (8.1 mi) northwest of Boddington, Western Australia. Officially reopened on 3 February 2010, the mine has now become Australia's largest gold mine, eclipsing the Super Pit.
In 2022, the United States was estimated to have some 3,000 metric tons of gold reserves in mines. Thus, the U.S. was one of the leading countries based on mine reserves of gold. Australia is estimated to have the largest gold mine reserves worldwide.
Leading markets for gold exports from Australia FY 2022
China was the leading export destination for Australian gold in terms of value.
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.
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.
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.
Officially known as the Fimiston open pit mine, the Super Pit gold mine in Western Australia is the country's largest mine in terms of scale, covering 3.5km by 1.5km on the surface, and currently undergoing expansion work to extend to a depth of 700m.
Victoria's gold-bearing rocks are sandstones, siltstones and mudstones, deposited in deep marine conditions some 400 million years ago. Today they form a bedrock spine that runs east to west through Victoria, with the Great Divide running along the crest of Victoria's Western and Eastern Uplands.
Make sure you have permission to pan for gold, as no one would be happy to find you trespassing on their land. You'll need to pick up a Miner's Right Permit to do any prospecting in Australia. You can easily apply for one online or at some tourist centres. Then you need to find a good spot to settle down.
Victoria has produced over 2400 tonnes of gold which is 32 per cent of all the gold mined in Australia and almost 2 per cent of all the gold ever mined globally.
Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie are the famous gold mining centres in Australia. Gold is also available in certain parts of New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland.
Mount Whaleback Mine in Western Australia, was the largest mine in Australia, producing approximately 88.8 million metric tons per annum (mmtpa) of Run-of-Mine (ROM) in 2021. The Mount Whaleback Mine is owned by BHP;Mitsui & Co Ltd;Itochu Corp, and is due to operate until 2037.
Australia's mining industry is 86% foreign owned, Although many people think BHP and Rio Tinto as Australian companies, BHP is 76% foreign owned, and Rio Tinto is 83%. Between them they constitute 70% of listed mining company resources.
Within six months, gold was discovered in Clunes, and then Ballarat, Castlemaine and Bendigo. The Victorian rush would dwarf the finds in New South Wales, accounting for more than a third of the world's gold production in the 1850s.
Lucky Strike is not the biggest nugget found in Australia – that honour belongs to “the Welcome Stranger” found near Moliagul, Victoria, in 1869, which yielded 2,300 ounces of gold.