New gold deposits that could potentially hold up to 1,000 tonnes of the precious metal have been recently discovered in China.
At current rates, the gold would be worth roughly $83 billion.
The find was revealed by the Geological Bureau of Hunan Province recently. Interestingly, the over 40 gold veins (long and narrow mineralized zones within the rock where gold is concentrated) that were discovered are less than 2,000 meters underground, experts said.
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Data obtained after the initial drilling indicates the presence of over 300 tonnes of gold at that depth. However, 3D modelling has suggested that an additional 700 tonnes of gold are present at a depth of 3,000 meters.
“Many drilled rock cores showed visible gold,” said Chen Rulin, an expert at the bureau, adding that a tonne of ore in the 2,000-meter range contained a maximum of 138 grams of the precious metal.
World’s largest gold reserves
According to the World Gold Council, the world’s largest gold reserves are held by the U.S. at 8,133.46 tonnes, followed by Germany (3,351.53 tonnes), Italy (2,451.84 tonnes), France (2,436.97 tonnes), Russia (2,335.85 tonnes), China (2,264.32 tonnes), Japan (845.97 tonnes), India (840.76 tonnes), Netherlands (612.45 tonnes) and Turkey (584.93 tonnes).
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Record demand
The World Gold Council’s Q3 2024 ‘Gold Demand Trends’ report reveals that total gold demand increased 5 percent year-on-year to 1,313 tonnes, a record third quarter. Total demand exceeded $100 billion for the first time on record, supported by strong investment in a record-high price environment.
Global investment demand more than doubled year-on-year to 364 tonnes, driven by a shift in demand for gold ETFs primarily from Western investors. Globally, ETFs added 95 tonnes, marking the first positive quarter since Q1’22. Bar and coin demand fell 9 percent, but the year-to-date total remains strong at 859 tonnes compared to the 10-year average of 774 tonnes.
“Q3 saw increased investment and over-the-counter activity prop up global gold demand and drive price performance. While the higher gold price dampened demand in the majority of consumer markets, the import duty cut in India kept jewellery and bar and coin demand remarkably high in a record-breaking price environment,” said Louise Street, senior markets analyst at the WGC.
