Skyrocketing gold prices has made it really hard for individuals to buy gold, a very precious and valuable metal item that is considered to be the standard for the monetary policies of several economists from around the world.
This shiny, soft and extremely malleable metal can be found in several countries and is mined extensively for a variety of purposes apart from industrial use, including adornments, decorations and jewelry. And with at least 165,000 tons of it being mined around the world already, we take a look at the countries where gold mining it at its maximum.
1. China
China leads the list of gold mining countries with a total production of over 355 tons as of 2011 and has held this position from 2007. The country happens to break this record this year and has supposedly mined over 250 tons of gold by the second quarter itself (a staggering 10 percent increase from the previous year). Not surprisingly though, China also happens to be the largest gold consumer in the world as well.
Most of the gold production in China comes from the Shandong province, with the China National Gold Groups mines producing over a fifth of the total gold output in the country. And in addition to contributing nearly 1.7 percent to its foreign reserves with gold holdingsof up to1,054.1 tons, the country still holds somewhere around 1,900 tons of the metal in reserves.
2. Australia
Australia mined nearly 270 tons of gold in 2011 and has gold holdings of up to 80 tons, which in turn contributes to over 9.3 percent of the country’s foreign reserves. Most of the country’s gold is mined from the western region, near the Golden Mile which happens to be the biggest pit mine in the entire country.
Gold also happens to be one of the main exports of Australia, and contributes to nearly $14 billion to the country’s economy locally. And the country’s gold reserves reach up to 7400 tons annually.
3. United States
The USA happens to house the biggest gold holdings on the planet with up to 8133 tones which contributes to nearly 76 percent of the country’s foreign reserves, with another 3000 tons of gold in reserves.
Nevada is the major contributor of gold in the USA, with the recent reopening of several mines in Montana contributing more to the country’s gold production. All this brings the annual production of gold in the USA to nearly 237 tons.
4. Russia
With an annual gold production of nearly 200 tons, Russia also happens to be one of the top consumers of gold in the world market. And with over 5000 tons of the metal in reserves, most of which is mined in the Far East and Siberia, the country’s gold holdings stand at 936.7 tons(increased by nearly 57.6 tons since 2011) which contributes to nearly 10 percent of the country’s foreign services.
5. South Africa
South Africa was once considered as the biggest producer of gold in the world, thanks mainly to the 6000 tons or more of gold deposits located around the country. But that was way back in 2006.
Ever since then, regular strife and strikes in the labor sector have brought down the country’s gold production down by a great margin, with hardly any increases till date. However, the country still has gold holdings of up to 125 tons which contributes to nearly 13.5 percent of its foreign reserves.
6. Peru
Considered to be the second biggest golf producing country in Latin America, Peru produced a total of 150 tons of gold in 2011. And the county has around 2000 tons of gold in local reserves.
Peru also has up to 34.7 tons in gold holdings which contribute to nearly 3.5 percent of the country’s foreign reserves.
7. Ghana
With an annual production of over 100 tons of gold in 2011, Ghana beats other nations to be the second biggest gold producing country in the African continent. The country also has about 1400 tons of gold in reserves, and was once called as the ‘Gold Coast’ owing to the abundance of the metal in the region.
As of 2011, the country was said to have gold holdings of up to 8.7 tons which contributed to nearly 10 percent of its foreign reserves.
8. Indonesia
And last, but not the least! With more than 17000 islands located in the country, Indonesia reportedly produced a total of 100 tons of gold in 2011. Most of the gold comes from just a few places in the country, including Grasberg which happens to be the biggest gold mine on the planet.
And even though the country’s annual production of gold decreased by about 20 tons from the previous years, it still holds about 3000 tons of the metal in reserves. Not to forget mentioning the fact that its’ gold holdings stand at 73.1 tons which is equivalent to about 3.6 percent of the country’s foreign reserves.