China Gold Reserves: China has reportedly discovered one of largest gold deposits ever found on the planet in Hunan province, estimated to contain over 1,000 metric tons of high-quality gold ore, worth a staggering $83 billion (600 billion yuan). As per Chinese state media, the remarkable discovery made in Pingjiang County in Hunan province, is the largest gold reserve ever discovered in recorded history, surpassing the previous record of 900 metric tons, held by the South Deep mine in South Africa.
Chinese media reports, citing geologists from the Geological Bureau of Hunan Province, said that over 40 distinct gold veins have been identified at depths of up to 2 kilometers, with preliminary assessments indicating that these veins alone could contain about 300 metric tons of gold, and more gold deposits could exist at greater depths, possibly reaching up to 3 kilometers, based on advanced 3D modeling of the area.
High-concentration of gold found in ores
According to the reports, extracted rock cores showed visible gold veins, indicating extremely high-grade mineralization, which is quite rare in geological surveys. A few core samples from one site in Wangu contained as much as 138 grams of gold per metric ton, which is extremely rare in large-scale deposits.
Chen Rulin, a senior prospector from the Hunan geological bureau said that visible gold was found inside drilled rock cores, and core samples suggest that every metric ton of ore could potentially yield around 138 grams of gold, which is exceptional as the ore from underground mines is typically classified as high-grade if it contains over 8 grams.
“Many drilled rock cores showed visible gold,” said Chen.
China’s gold dominance
Notably, China is already a dominant player in the global gold market, boasting reserves in excess of 2,000 tons, according to latest estimates. The discovery of the massive gold reserve is poised to further strengthen China’s gold industry which currently contributes around 10 percent of total gold production in the world.
How gold deposits are formed?
According to geologists, mineral-rich fluids move through cracks in the earth’s crust and accumulate gold from the surrounding rocks and deposit the gold in veins and cracks when the temperature or pressure changes. These geological processes take millions of years, making gold deposits a rarity.
Another process by which gold is formed is piezoelectricity that can lead to the formation of larger gold nuggets. Geological stress caused by earthquakes can activate piezoelectricity.
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