Good day, dear reader! If you have a habit of starting every new day by looking at exchange rates and increasing the dose of valerian, watching how your foreign currency savings are melting, calm down.
The gold standard, also known as the gold and foreign exchange reserve, also known as the country’s obligation to provide its imports with a reserve of gold and currency, although officially abolished, gold continues to be the most reliable and trustworthy reserve and means of accumulation.
Gold mining is booming, and leading gold mining countries are successfully building their economies on this hugely profitable industry. The financial crisis of 2008 stimulated many countries to replenish their depleted gold and foreign currency reserves.
Today, the IMF, the USA and Germany can boast of the richest gold reserves. A lot of gold is concentrated in the hands of private owners. By the way, by looking into your jewelry box, you can also discover your own gold reserves.
List of leading countries in gold mining in the world
Among all minerals, this rock is considered one of the most valuable, which explains its importance for state reserves - with the help of gold, the liquidity of the national currency is determined.
Indonesia
On average, about 110 tons of ore are mined per year. There are more prospects for production, but the country has an active tax amnesty program, which was introduced to attract investment, but in fact hinders gold mining companies within Indonesia.
Ganga
The state is located in northern Africa. Development here began in the 15th century by Europeans. The abundance of mines led to the fact that deep reserves were not used for many years - ore was collected on the surface.
Despite the fact that there are a large number of gold-bearing sources in the Ganges, they are not developed on an industrial scale, but by small private entrepreneurs with primitive mining methods. The gold is crushed along with other rocks and washed away.
However, such methods also yield at least 130 tons per year.
Mexico
The geological stop is extremely favorable. The subsoil of this territory gives residents not only gold, but also other precious metals and stones. Production does not fall below 120 tons, which is considered a very good indicator and allows the country to remain among the leaders in gold mining. This is due to the volcanic soil, rich in resources. Each ore (including lead, silver) is subjected to modern beneficiation technology, which makes production more cost-effective.
Canada
Annual production exceeds 160-170 tons. In 2021, a new gold-bearing source was developed, which gives the country certain prospects. Although the state is among the top ten in production, it is considered to have unfavorable economic policies. Canada's decision to sell its gold reserves caused widespread resonance. This move was explained by two factors:
- Gold does not earn interest.
- Storing large volumes of ore requires too much space.
South Africa
The country in southern Africa was so caught up in the gold rush that in 1970, under the leadership of the British Empire, a record amount of metal was mined here - more than 1,000 tons. But the results for 2021 give a disappointing picture: the results are 18% lower than 2017. The same statistics are provided by experts on other precious metals and rocks.
Peru
Most Peruvians are employed in industries where gold, copper and other resources are mined. This developed area is explained by the ease of extraction - gold particles are found in rivers and lakes on the west coast of South America. Due to the lack of modern technology, the level of gold production is not actually growing, which makes the country less competitive than other leaders.
USA
In the 19th century, one could talk about the undoubted primacy of the country, but gradually it began to lose to South America and Russia. Today, the United States occupies an honorable 4th place among the leaders. 230-240 tons is a stable production level. The government and economic representatives announce a policy of reducing gold mining in connection with maintaining its national currency, the dollar, at the same level. This leads to the closure of a number of mines.
Australia
Half of the state's exports are natural resources, but the gold mining system is not sufficiently funded by the state. Experts suggest Australia's position will worsen over the next 40 years. Already, the country is not increasing its rock production, but is limited to a stable figure of 288-289 tons.
This is explained by the fact that not all mines are state owned. The government gives the right to develop deposits to private individuals. Any person can get a license, even those without citizenship, that is, a tourist.
Russia
In the Russian Federation there are many deposits in 15 federal districts, the leaders among them are the Chukotka District, the Krasnodar Territory and the Amur Region. The country is heading towards increasing gold production, and the government’s interest in this program is understandable, since two-thirds of all raw materials are purchased by state-owned companies.
The breakthrough that raised Russia to the top positions of the ranking was made due to the discovery of new promising deposits in the Magadan region and Kamchatka. The cold climate makes gold mining difficult.
China
China's gold mining policy is multilateral. Various methods are actively used:
- A lot of gold is mined - about 450 tons per year, while the latest technologies are used, old mines are modernized and new ones are built.
- The country takes part in gold mining projects of other countries, including joint projects with Russia.
- On the gold market, representatives of China are buying bullions of the precious metal.
These steps are determined by the desire to strengthen the position of the yuan in the world.
World gold reserves
Unfortunately, gold is a non-renewable natural resource and its reserves are limited. The largest reserves of this precious metal are concentrated in South Africa (19%), USA (13%), Australia (12%), Russia (7%), Indonesia (4%). At the same time, the wealth of reserves does not yet determine the intensity of their development.
If we rely on regional statistics, it shows that today the leading countries in gold production are Asian countries (26%); Africa is only in second place with its 19%, and in third are the Americas, where about 17% of gold is mined. In the structure of the gold processing industry, the volume of production is not always equal to the volume of production - scrap processing is also taken into account.
Since gold began to be mined by washing river sand several thousand years ago in ancient Sumer and Akkad, humanity has mined about 190 thousand tons of gold worth about 10 trillion dollars. Gold reserves accumulated by states account for no more than 1/5 of this volume, while more than half of the mined metal is jewelry.
Which country comes first?
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For several years now, the undoubted leader has been China. About 15% of all ore in the world is mined here. This is explained both by politics and the desire to strengthen the currency, and by favorable rock development, new mines. Experts predict the country’s leading position for at least another 15 years.
Gold reserves of various countries
The largest reserves of the precious metal belong to the IMF (International Monetary Fund), as well as Germany and the United States.
The total reserve reserves of European countries are greater than those of the United States, despite the fact that the United States has the highest gold reserves among other countries. Iran also has a large reserve of gold (for 2012-2013, how much is currently unknown), which is estimated from 340 to 900 tons. At the same time, it actively uses the yellow metal for payments in trade with other countries.
But the largest reserves of gold in the world belong to private individuals. The most striking example is that according to 2021 statistics, Indian citizens owned more than 20 thousand tons of yellow metal. Residents of Germany own 4 thousand tons in the form of gold bars and coins.
European Union
The reserve stock of gold in 2021 is more than 12 thousand tons , and this is the main factor in maintaining the stability of the euro currency. EU states such as Great Britain, Sweden, Romania, and Poland have considerable reserves of the precious metal.
US Gold Reserve
America's gold reserves were created during the crisis years of the Great Depression in 1933. According to the state decree on the nationalization of the precious metal, the entire population handed over their yellow metal to the state at a cost of $20.66 per 1 ounce. After this, the price of gold rose to $35 per ounce. From 1941 to 1945, the gold reserve reached its maximum - more than 20 thousand tons. Subsequently, the United States often used the precious metal to stabilize the national currency, which reduced the gold reserves several times.
The United States holds the gold reserves of about sixty other countries. The volume of these reserves is not made public.
French gold reserve
Since 1944, France has joined many other countries in the Bretton Woods Agreement. As a result, the exchange rate was stabilized and gold became pegged to the US dollar. In the sixties, the head of government, General de Gaulle, decided to exchange dollar reserves for gold. As a result, the share of the precious metal in the country's reserves increased by 13% and reached 4,400 tons by 1965.
China gold reserve
Since 2009, the People's Bank of China has not made public the size of its gold reserves. In recent years, China has been buying up the yellow metal en masse. In 2013, 622 tons of gold were purchased, making this country the largest consumer of the precious metal in the world. Since 2007, the country has taken a leading position in the world in terms of trading volume on the Shanghai Gold Exchange and gold production. As of 2020, China is the absolute leader in gold reserves.
Gold reserve of Russia
By the beginning of 2021, Russia ranked fifth in the world in reserve reserves of the precious metal. Russia's gold reserves amounted to 1,550 tons. 2/3 of it is kept in the Central Bank of Russia in Moscow.
Source of infographics Arguments and Facts.
General trends and prospects
Over the past 175 years, the production of this precious metal in the world has increased almost 100 times. Behind such impressive figures is the desire of developed countries to replenish their gold reserves on the eve of the complete depletion of this natural resource. In addition, the dollar-centric world economy could at any time abandon the universality of the American currency. And in such a situation, it is gold that will become a measure of the economic strength and financial prospects of all states.
The predicted gold production by country in 2021 is about 3,300 tons, which can be increased due to the intensive development of the industry in Russia, India and some Western European countries. But such favorites of the past as South Africa, Peru and Ghana may lose their positions due to the low technological equipment of production processes.
All the world's gold mining leaders understand the importance of using advanced technologies in the extraction and purification of gold ore. Therefore, various studies and experiments are constantly being conducted in this area. Thus, in Russia, a unique method of ammonia-cyanide leaching was invented relatively recently, which makes it possible to reduce the purification time of precious metals by 5-8 times.
The bursting of the “bubble” of leading cryptocurrencies forced investors to once again turn their attention to the main precious metal of the planet. And those who took money out of metal accounts in 2021 to buy rapidly growing Bitcoin are now returning their investments to gold again. Accordingly, investments into gold mining enterprises, which currently operate mainly on domestic markets, are growing. The planet is feverishly stocking up on gold - this obvious fact is becoming a powerful incentive for the development of global gold mining in all directions.
The richest gold deposits
1 - Shandong (China) - reserves of about 400 tons, distributed in a surface vein 2 km long and 67 cm thick.
2 - Boddington (Western Australia) - annual production is about 28 tons.
3 - Kalin and Cortez (Nevada USA) - about 75% of all American gold is mined in this state. The total potential of the two deposits is about 60 tons each year.
4 - Yanacocha (Andes, Peru, Latin America) - this mountain mine produces about 29 tons every year.
5 - Natalkinskoye (Magadan region) - currently this richest deposit is just getting ready for development. However, according to geological exploration data, the mine hides 1,500 tons of gold in its depths.
The listed main gold mining sites in the world are constantly replenished with new explored gold veins and deposits of gold ore. Our country does not have the richest reserves. Moreover, most gold mines are located in areas with a difficult climate. This state of affairs significantly affects the cost of production processes and the overall complexity of production. However, the rapid growth of gold and foreign exchange reserves over the past five years allows the Russian economy to look confidently into the future.
How are the world's gold reserves estimated?
Such calculations are carried out by Thomson Reuters GFMS. This organization publishes annual reviews of the world gold market. According to her information, reserves of “solar” metal amount to 171,300 tons. But there are other calculations. According to various sources, there are from 155 thousand to 2.5 million tons of gold on our planet. Why such a spread? Naturally, no scrupulous records were kept for centuries during the entire mining of the precious metal. In general, such information often related to state or personal secrets.
For example, some researchers suggest that before Columbus’s famous voyage to the shores of America (that is, before 1492), people washed about 13 thousand tons, while others claim that only about 300 tons. Thus, researcher James Turk explains this figure by the fact that mining was very primitive until the Middle Ages. Searching for, developing and extracting precious metals was a difficult, slow and dangerous task. Therefore, such a large volume is simply impossible to obtain. Another researcher, Jen Skoyles from the investment company The Real Asset Company, estimated that Tutankhamun's coffin alone was made of one and a half tons of gold. But we know from school textbooks how the burials of kings and leaders, the tombs of the pharaohs were robbed. So it's not hard to imagine how much gold disappeared before archaeologists got to them.
But even with modern reserves, not everything is in order in terms of valuation. The difference in calculations is striking both in tons and in cost. Many analysts argue that the world's gold reserves are significantly underestimated. Who knows, perhaps the reason for this is conspiracy theories and secret conspiracies, or maybe this is really so... It is likely that the whole point is again in accounting. For example, it is not known exactly how much gold China produces. And in some countries, in particular Colombia, there is a huge black market for precious metals. Of course, unaccounted for.
No one can give an exact figure of how much sun-colored metal there is in the world.
But analysts and researchers say (and this is good news) that it will last us all for a long time. According to US geological monitoring, about 52 thousand tons of “solar metal” are stored in the bowels of the Earth. In general, the amount of gold in the countries of the world is something of a mysterious thing. And not very much is known reliably about this, although there is a huge amount of varied information.
All the gold that has ever been extracted from the earth is still in circulation. This is an amazing fact. After all, just imagine that the wedding ring you are wearing is made of gold mined a thousand years ago...
Recently, there has been a tendency to abandon the reuse of “solar” metal. This is due to the fact that modern industry uses gold for such small parts that the extraction and processing of milligrams of the precious metal in the future seems either impossible or economically unprofitable. According to Geological Monitoring of the British Kingdom, about 12% is “thrown away” in this way.
When will there be a shortage?
Experts give different estimates on the size of precious metal deposits that exist on the planet today. The fact is that only those deposits that are currently operating are considered; their reserves are estimated approximately. When predicting a particular outcome, experts often disagree. Some say that gold will last for 20 years, while others claim that for II
–
In the 3rd century
, humanity will not know what a deficiency of the yellow metal is.
Our planet is rich in various elements and most of them are not found on the surface of the earth, but in its depths. Au was no exception; the 79th element of D.I. Mendeleev’s table is hidden from human eyes under tons of rock.
Geologists unanimously claim that deposits of the precious metal are located deep in the earth, they are in close proximity to the core of the planet. From an economic point of view, developing such deposits is unprofitable. But the situation may change radically.
All skeptics should cite the example of the Soviet Union, on whose territory they searched for and developed only alluvial deposits, and did not develop indigenous ones at all. The reason for this was the reluctance of the authorities to develop the industry and spend money on equipment and specialists.
But sooner or later there will be a shortage, and then what? Today, scientists have three options for the development of events:
- Mining precious metals from space.
- Recycle recyclable materials.
- Filter the water of the seas and oceans.
How much gold is mined and how much remains in the bowels of the earth does not matter, since it all came to us from space. Au came to Earth from the space of the Universe. And there is a chance to mine the precious metal on the territory of not only our planet, but also other celestial bodies. For example, quartz deposits were recently discovered on Mars, and quartz is the main satellite of gold.
Already today, the recycling industry is thriving, with citizens taking broken jewelry to pawn shops. They are melted down and new, very beautiful products are made from the resulting material.
Au is present in sea water; this discovery did not strike the world only because experts have not yet found a single method that would allow extracting the element from the depths of the seas and oceans. Today, experts are working on the problem of extracting Au from water and are ready to offer a new, alternative extraction method using bacteria that combine precious metal ions.
And about 10-11% of gold is destroyed during storage, subject to mechanical damage and one way or another ends up in nature again.
International reserves of countries
January 2021
X countries
Country ↑↓ | Gold and foreign exchange reserves million dollars | Foreign currency reserves, million dollars. | Gold million dollars * | Gold tons |
Australia | 41916,77 | 31088,39 | 3224,66 | 53,81 |
Austria | 29801,40 | 9222,71 | 16825,39 | 279,93 |
Albania | 4814,32 | 4366,98 | 167,09 | 2,80 |
Argentina | 39515,18 | 33903,06 | 3673,15 | 61,58 |
Armenia | 2615,49 | 2606,62 | 0,00 | 0,00 |
Belarus | 7203,41 | 2746,45 | 2995,94 | 50,08 |
Belgium | 32700,45 | 10582,59 | 13665,14 | 227,37 |
Bulgaria | 34548,04 | 31078,23 | 2444,19 | 40,75 |
Bolivia | 5578,06 | 2724,07 | 2582,12 | 42,61 |
Brazil | 354759,35 | 334430,40 | 4023,61 | 67,49 |
Great Britain | 213456,00 | 145034,00 | 18533,00 | 310,41 |
Hungary | 40349,77 | 38020,51 | 1878,29 | 31,41 |
Guatemala | 18463,50 | 17792,70 | 419,10 | 6,84 |
Germany | 266822,22 | 37852,27 | 202057,02 | 3362,60 |
Honduras | 8138,46 | 7967,99 | 41,84 | 0,62 |
Hong Kong | 493165,00 | 476804,00 | 124,00 | 2,18 |
Greece | 11738,00 | 4049,00 | 6845,00 | 113,84 |
Georgia | 4101,62 | 3891,27 | 0,00 | 0,00 |
Denmark | 72294,98 | 51099,67 | 3987,83 | 66,56 |
Dominican Republic | 10751,67 | 10622,77 | 34,54 | 0,62 |
Egypt | 38223,40 | 22450,00 | 4535,50 | 79,94 |
Israel | 179666,97 | 177380,75 | 0,00 | 0,00 |
India | 590321,45 | 547153,88 | 36491,93 | 676,50 |
Indonesia | 138004,88 | 129904,00 | 4656,44 | 78,69 |
Jordan | 16959,70 | 12414,73 | 3732,03 | 61,27 |
Ireland | 7715,34 | 5206,59 | 362,02 | 5,91 |
Iceland | 6258,59 | 5876,48 | 117,87 | 1,87 |
Spain | 81268,90 | 56764,96 | 16921,91 | 281,49 |
Italy | 211014,22 | 46591,60 | 149341,16 | 2451,89 |
Kazakhstan | 35562,65 | 11490,69 | 23272,40 | 390,66 |
Canada | 89107,00 | 75673,00 | 0,00 | 0,00 |
Cyprus | 1225,47 | 176,60 | 835,83 | 14,00 |
Kyrgyzstan | 2859,39 | 1424,40 | 1008,58 | 16,80 |
China | 3349305,00 | 3210671,00 | 116755,00 | 1948,32 |
Colombia | 58471,30 | 56593,68 | 246,35 | 4,04 |
Costa Rica | 7272,66 | 7045,14 | 0,00 | 0,00 |
Latvia | 5419,94 | 4847,12 | 399,27 | 0,00 |
Lithuania | 5289,84 | 4618,72 | 350,12 | 5,91 |
Luxembourg | 1223,68 | 263,72 | 133,73 | 2,18 |
Mauritius | 7763,33 | 6846,57 | 737,01 | 12,44 |
Macedonia | 4048,26 | 3637,08 | 410,41 | 6,84 |
Malaysia | 108633,76 | 100406,59 | 2355,83 | 38,88 |
Malta | 897,38 | 699,08 | 10,29 | 0,31 |
Morocco | 36023,66 | 33695,45 | 1346,40 | 22,08 |
Mexico | 203185,81 | 188491,54 | 7189,01 | 120,06 |
Moldova | 3763,78 | 3753,72 | 4,40 | 0,00 |
Mongolia | 4367,57 | 3827,77 | 485,88 | 8,09 |
Namibia | 2251,08 | 2249,03 | 0,00 | 0,00 |
Netherlands | 53281,00 | 5820,00 | 36482,00 | 612,43 |
Nicaragua | 3211,90 | 3116,04 | 0,00 | 0,00 |
New Zealand | 13747,19 | 11589,06 | 0,00 | 0,00 |
Norway | 74332,87 | 66669,81 | 0,00 | 0,00 |
Paraguay | 9200,87 | 8440,45 | 496,62 | 8,09 |
Peru | 74784,00 | 70909,00 | 2113,00 | 34,52 |
Poland | 157298,51 | 141816,66 | 13620,58 | 228,61 |
Portugal | 28160,91 | 3696,63 | 22988,23 | 382,57 |
The Republic of Korea | 442727,71 | 428921,00 | 4794,76 | 104,51 |
Russia | 595774,10 | 438082,00 | 138754,40 | 2298,55 |
Romania | 51649,54 | 44026,32 | 6195,57 | 103,57 |
USA | 144771,47 | 44385,00 | 11041,06 | 8133,56 |
Salvador | 3049,86 | 2733,49 | 82,20 | 1,24 |
Saudi Arabia | 456961,25 | 444907,06 | 432,93 | 323,17 |
Seychelles | 537,45 | 527,78 | 0,00 | 0,00 |
Singapore | 370073,80 | 366685,00 | 211,70 | 127,52 |
Slovakia | 9567,29 | 6852,71 | 1904,26 | 31,73 |
Slovenia | 1329,80 | 643,33 | 191,05 | 3,11 |
Thailand | 256838,63 | 244270,39 | 9133,55 | 153,96 |
Türkiye | 95675,00 | 51938,00 | 42169,00 | 712,89 |
Ukraine | 28820,91 | 27194,22 | 1548,34 | 26,13 |
Uruguay | 16519,48 | 16052,88 | 5,84 | 0,00 |
Philippines | 110117,43 | 84410,15 | 11605,35 | 188,80 |
Finland | 13254,87 | 7828,06 | 2946,54 | 49,14 |
France | 221538,08 | 54229,57 | 146396,95 | 2436,34 |
Croatia | 23944,44 | 20672,53 | 0,00 | 0,00 |
Czech | 164648,31 | 147676,83 | 564,88 | 9,33 |
Chile | 38998,90 | 37632,23 | 14,62 | 0,31 |
Switzerland | 1078791,07 | 1009444,88 | 62347,11 | 1040,10 |
Sweden | 58265,00 | 45425,00 | 7510,00 | 125,66 |
Sri Lanka | 4841,86 | 4365,34 | 397,97 | 6,84 |
Ecuador | 7133,46 | 5162,65 | 1897,53 | 22,08 |
Estonia | 2144,17 | 2022,54 | 15,23 | 0,31 |
South Africa | 55012,00 | 44270,00 | 7626,00 | 124,41 |
Japan | 1392058,00 | 1310208,00 | 45854,00 | 765,15 |
A country | Gold and foreign exchange reserves million dollars | Foreign currency reserves, million dollars. | Gold million dollars * | Gold tons |
* including gold deposits and gold swaps.
Gold mining in countries around the world.