Where is Gold Found?

Where is Gold Found?Where is Gold Found? The Major Sources of Gold in the World
Gold is a universally known metal that influences all of our lives, but all of us have at some time or another wondered where gold is from. After all, It doesn't just magically appear as a ring on your finger, or as a bullon bar in a vault somewhere. Gold needs to be found and taken from the ground before it can be turned into such treasures.

The top source of gold in the world over the last 120 years has been The Witwatersrand basin in South Africa. Also known as "The Rand", it supplied 40% of the world's gold during that period. A large portion of the world's unmined gold is thought to remain there, with some scientists suggesting the portion is up to one third.

Where can gold be found? For the most part China, the US, South Africa, and Australia.Next after South Africa, the biggest gold-producing country has been the USA. Especially Nevada which is the biggest producing state, but also other states like California, Alaska, and Colorado.

Next after the USA is Australia, the third most prolific gold producer in the world. The initial discovery of gold was in New South Wales near the town of Ophir and today is primarily mined in the Goldfields-Esperance and Pilbara regions of Western Australia, and at Bendigo, Victoria. The largest open-air mine in Australia is the Super-Pit gold mine in Kalgoorie, a community in the Goldfields/Esperance region, and extends over eight square kilometers. It is an overwhelming sight to behold.

The above three countries have been the biggest gold producing nations over the last century. But if we only take into account the production levels of the last few years, China has been the largest gold-producing country, taking South Africa's number one status in 2007. Other nations like Australia, Canada, and the USA actually have more gold reserves than China does. However, the low cost of labor and production in China, as well as recent capital expansion and increase in foreign investment, have increased China's production rate to be greater than that of countries with more natural resources including gold reserves.