Where Does Gold Come From?
A good portion of global gold is mined in China and Russia.
In recent years, annual global gold mining production has supplied about 66% of current gold demand each year. The remaining gold comes from recycled gold. As gold mining reserves become depleted, recycled gold is expected to make up a larger portion of overall annual supply. In addition to mined gold and recycled gold, there is a larger amount of existing gold bars and coins that are traded each year in their original forms that satisfies investment demand.
According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), China is the world’s largest gold mining producing country with 450 tons mined in 2015. China exports virtually none of its annual global gold mining production and imports hundreds of tons of gold annually through Hong Kong and Shanghai.
The second largest gold mining country is Australia.
Russia is the third largest gold producing nation with about 250 tons of gold mined annually. The Central Bank of Russia has added the most gold of any central bank over the past few years, even more than the People’s Bank of China. The Russian Central Bank has added about 65% of its annual gold mining supply to its foreign reserves. A Russian bank has recently announced an agreement to provide about 100 tons of gold a year to China.
Thus, the two of the three largest gold mining countries export little of their gold for the rest of the world and retain it for their own domestic use either as reserve or investment assets.
In addition to China’s domestic production, Chinese entities also own substantial gold mining interests across Asia and Africa.
The Americas are well represented in gold mining production with the United States, Canada, Mexico, Peru and Brazil all represented in the top eleven mining countries.
While there are substantial gold deposits in Africa, only South Africa and Ghana are represented in the top ten gold mining countries. Africa is expected to provide a greater percentage of global gold mining supply as it develops further its gold deposits.
Set forth below are the top eleven gold mining countries in the world, according to the USGS:
This article by BGASC is not, and should not be regarded as, investment advice or as a recommendation regarding any particular course of action.