A high-quality gold deposit containing nearly 1,100 tons (1,100 US tons) of the precious metal has been found in central China, according to Chinese media.
Valued at 600 billion yuan or US$83 billion, this discovery can be considered the largest and most profitable deposit of undiscovered gold, more than 900 metric tons estimated to be within the entire gold mine, South Deep in South Africa.
The Geological Bureau of Hunan Province announced the discovery of 40 gold veins within a radius of 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) northeast of Hunan in Pingjiang province.
These alone were estimated to contain 300 tonnes of gold, with a 300D model showing further deposits could be found up to a depth of 3km.
“Most of the mined rocks showed visible gold,” says Bureau prospector Chen Rulin.
Core samples show that every metric ton of ore can contain 138 grams (about five ounces) of gold – a remarkably high quality level considering metal mined from underground mines is considered high grade if it contains more than 8 grams.
China already dominates the global gold market with reserves estimated to exceed 2,000 tonnes as early as 2024, with its mining industry accounting for 10% of global output.
The resource announcements sent gold prices soaring as demand for the resource continues to rise amid global uncertainty.
It is unclear how many undiscovered gem bonanzas remain in the world, with experts divided on whether we have reached peak gold.
Formed in the furnace of a star long before the Earth was formed, our planet’s veins glow as a finite substance that takes many years to condense into an easily mined form.
Based on these recent findings, we may be a long way from exhausting the money supply.
Samples taken from around the Hunan site indicate that the deposit may expand beyond initial predictions, making the lake beneath its surface a dragon’s draw.