Gold is well-known and treasured mineral that touches all of our lives, but most of us at some point wonder where gold is found. After all, it doesn't just appear in ring form wrapped nearby finger or in bullion form locked in a vault somewhere. Gold has to be mined before it can be processed and turned into such objects.
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 has been the source of 40% of the gold found while this time period. A large measure of the world's unmined gold is concept to remain there, with some scientists suggesting the measure is up to one third.
After South Africa, the second biggest gold producing country is the United States. In single Nevada, but also other states like Alaska, California, and Colorado have a gold mining output.
After the United States, the third biggest gold producing country is Australia. Gold was first discovered there near Ophir, New South Wales, 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 town in the Goldfields-Esperance region, and extends 8 quadrate kilometers. It is an extraordinary sight to behold.
The above three countries have been the biggest gold producing nations over the last century. But if we measure only the current year's production, China has come to be the world's largest producer of gold, overtaking South Africa's top position in 2007. Other countries such as the United States, Canada, and Australia unquestionably have more comprehensive gold reserves than China. However, the low cost of labor and output in China, as well as modern capital expansion and growth in foreign investment, have propelled China's output rate ahead of the other more naturally abundant countries.
