One of the world's largest gold deposits has been discovered in China's Hunan province. The find, containing over 1,000 tons of gold, marks a milestone for the country's mining industry.
In China's Hunan province, the country's largest ever gold deposit has been discovered. The find, estimated to contain over 1 000 tons of gold worth with an estimated worth of $83 billion, is located in the so-called Wangu gold field in Pingjiang county. This makes it one of the world's largest gold deposits in modern times.
The deposit consists of more than 40 veins of gold ore at depths of between 2 000 and 3 000 meters below the surface.
– Many drilled rock cores showed visible gold, says Chen Rulin, an expert in ore exploration, pointing out that one ton of ore from the 2 000-meter level contained up to 138 grams of gold – an exceptionally high concentration. By comparison, the gold concentration in most commercial deposits is usually in the range of 1-5 grams per ton, while deposits with 10 grams per ton are considered high-grade and highly profitable.
The discovery was made using advanced 3D geological modeling, a technique used to create detailed three-dimensional maps of ore veins by combining data from drill samples and geophysical surveys. This makes it possible to identify hidden deposits and plan extraction more efficiently.
The world's largest gold producer
China is the world's largest gold producer, with an annual production volume of 368.3 tons, representing 11% of global production. Despite this, China is a net consumer of gold, with demand exceeding domestic production. This demand is mainly driven by the jewelry industry, industrial use in the electronics sector and strategic investments by the People's Bank of China. The recent discovery of a gold deposit in Hunan province, with over 1 000 tons of gold, is expected to help meet this massive demand and strengthen China's role as a key global player in the gold market.
The discovery is seen as significant not only from an economic perspective but also from a technical one. The advanced techniques used, such as 3D geological modeling, have not only enabled the identification of the deposit but also offer hope of uncovering even larger reserves. Geologists point out that drill samples and mapping indicate that the veins discovered so far represent only a fraction of the total resources in the area. Future exploration is planned especially around the periphery of the field and at deeper levels, where large amounts of gold are expected to be found.
