Money
More than 80 billion dollars underground? This is what is known about the possible biggest gold discovery in history
Gold prices have surged this year as investors seek a safe harbor for their money. Well, soon there could be a lot more of the precious metal on the market.
There could be a lot more gold on the world market, or at least in the Chinese government’s vaults in the near future with a new gold strike, possibly the biggest ever in the world. The Geological Bureau of Hunan claims that it has struck several veins of the precious metal in Pingjiang County in southeast China.
China accounted for roughly 10% of the world’s gold output last year, over 370 metric tons in 2023, making the leading global producer. The Wangu goldfield, which has been deemed “Massive,” is estimated to contain at least three quarters of that amount, and possibly much, much more.
More than 80 billion dollars underground? This is what is known about the possible biggest gold discovery in history
The gold strike at the Wangu goldfield, in Hunan province, is spread across 40 veins, in which core samples have revealed a high concentration of the precious metal. According to an ore-prospecting expert at the bureau, Chen Rulin, “many drilled rock cores showed visible gold.”
He told Xinhua that every metric ton of ore may contain 138 grams (nearly 5 ounces) of gold. That is significant, as in order to be considered high grade, ore samples from underground must contain over 8 grams, or roughly 5% of what geologists have found in cores from the Wangu goldfield.
The estimated more than 300 tons of gold is within a depth of about 6,500 feet (2 km) in the northeast Hunan County of Pingjiang. However, 3D modeling suggests that there may be additional reserves deeper down at a little more than 9,800 feet deep (3 km). The total could be over 1,000 tons worth $83 billion. Furthermore, core samples around the periphery also contained gold that could make the find even bigger.
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