The world's largest gold deposits have been discovered in Hunan Province in China. Their value is estimated at over USD 80 billion

The breakthrough discovery in the Wangu mine in Pingjiang County was announced at the end of November by the Geological Institute of Hunan Province. According to researchers, at the level of over 2 thousand. meters below the surface of the earth, 40 gold veins were found, in which the highest ore density reaches 138 g per tonne, which will translate into a total of 300.2 tons of gold resources only in the main exploration area.

A gold vein is a geological formation in which gold is concentrated in a crack in underground rock. Veins are formed by hydrothermal processes in which hot, mineral-rich fluids move through cracks in the Earth's crust.

The Xinhua agency reported that experts agreed that the scale of deposits in the mine field is “very large” and, according to their estimates, the potential gold reserves up to 3,000 meters underground will exceed 1,000. tons, and their value is estimated at 600 billion yuan ($83 billion) at the current price of this metal.

The Wang mine is one of the most important mining centers in Chinawhich has invested almost 100 million yuan (over $13 million) in mineral exploration in the area.

The media point out that the announcement of research results using advanced 3D geological modeling technologies contributed to a further increase in the already rapidly growing gold pricesas the demand for this raw material continues to grow.

China is the world's largest gold producer, accounting for approximately 10%. global production in 2023, according to data from the World Gold Council.

Before its discovery in the PRC, the title The largest gold reserve in the world belonged to the South Deep mine in Gauteng province South Africawhere there are approximately 930 metric tons of ore.