Top 5 Gold Producing Countries in the World

Posted on 30 October 2015. Tags: Countries, Gold, Producing, World

For centuries gold has been an ongoing commodity sought after by those rich and poor. Throughout history the metal has been synonymous with power, wealth, beauty and accomplishment; constant leader in the precious metals industry, setting the bar for the investment purposes and a contributing factor to a country’s economy. The element is presently mined on every continent with the exception of Antarctica, for which mining is illegal. In total there are 95 gold mining countries around the world with 15 mining companies extracting slightly over half of the total production.

With gold being used in everything from jewelry, electronics, medicinal purposes, bullion, coins, and bathroom fixtures (to name a few), it’s easy to understand why there is a high demand even in the modern world.

Below are the Top 5 Gold Producing Countries to date….

#5 Peru

Recently knocking South Africa out of the top 5, Peru is the only other country from the Americas on the list. Currently Peru is producing 169.3 tonnes, slightly higher than South Africa who is now producing around 164.5 tonnes. Peruvian gold is some of the most difficult to reach due to many of the mines being located high on the mountain tops of the Amazon. Intense labor and disruption of the surrounding Amazon, have added to the difficultly until recently.

#4 USA

The second of the leaders from the Americas saw a 12% decrease taking them out of their #3 position. Many US mines are scattered across the full length of the country with the most productive being in Nevada, ironically just outside of Las Vegas, Montana, Arizona and California. In total the USA produced about 200.4 tonnes in 2014 alone.

#3 Australia

Australia has been sitting cozy within the top 3 for some years now and doesn’t appear to be going anywhere anytime soon. While they have only experience a 1% increase, their output saw 269.7 tonnes in 2014. Mines tend to be concentrated in Western Australia, specifically near Perth, with the largest open mine affectionately named Golden Mile.

#2 Russia

Taking a giant leap from the #4 spot to #2, Russia experienced a 9% increase in output, bringing their grand total to 272 tonnes. Occupying 1/6 of the earth’s landmass, Russia still has quite a bit of exploration to do within its own country in terms of gold. Most of the region believed to be chalk-full of the natural treasure lies beneath the frozen tundra of Siberia.

#1 China

Taking the #1 spot is China. They have seen substantial year after year growth and in this past year alone experienced a 6% increase, bringing their output to whopping 465.7 tonnes. Gold mining has made a significant impact on the country’s wealth and bringing even just a small percentage of the population out of poverty. The major gold region is the midpoint between Beijing and Shanghai in the Shandong Province.

Gold will forever be the most cherished, sought after of all the precious metals due to its various uses and through the years it will be interesting to see which country fluctuates, rises or holds their ground for the Top 5 from around the world.

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