Geologists found a 'supergiant' high-grade gold deposit that may be the largest on Earth

Miners in China reported a major gold discovery. The volume of the deposit, if confirmed, would be the largest ever recorded on Earth.

The conservative estimate given thus far is 1,100 short tons (about 998 metric tons), valued at approximately US$83 billion.

The discovery occurred in Hunan Province, and the reported figures have drawn intense interest across the mining industry.

Large new gold discoveries are increasingly rare, and most near-surface, high-grade targets were exhausted years ago.

Wangu gold field

Consider this: 40 separate gold-bearing veins in solid rock about 1.2 miles underground. If you have never seen a gold vein, imagine streaks running through marble cake – the “streaks” are gold within ancient rock.

The Wangu gold field was initially estimated at about 300 metric tons. New assessments suggest that estimate was far too low. Chen Rulin, a prospector with the Geological Bureau of Hunan Province, has examined rock samples.

“Many drilled rock cores showed visible gold,” he said.

Visible gold in core samples typically indicates a high-grade deposit. Notably, computer models indicate there may be additional mineralization deeper, around 1.9 miles down.

Record-breaking discovery

Most gold ore grades are low. Miners consider 8 grams of gold per metric ton a strong grade. That’s roughly a paperclip’s mass of gold in a small car’s mass of rock.

By contrast, this deposit is reported at 138 grams per ton. That is nearly 5 ounces – approximately the weight of a baseball.

South Africa’s South Deep mine has about 900 metric tons of gold; this new find appears to surpass it. China already produces about 10 percent of the world’s gold; this discovery would add substantially to that base.

Fewer places to explore

To date, humans have extracted about 53,000 metric tons of gold. Scientists estimate there may be another 50,000 metric tons left to discover.

The challenge is that it is buried deep, dispersed in other rocks, or located in areas that are costly to access.

Mining was once simpler: find an ore-rich mountain, blast it, and extract the gold. Today, environmental regulations restrict practices that pollute rivers or destroy forests.

Moreover, most easy-to-access deposits are depleted; what remains requires significant capital and technology.

Some analysts suggest we are approaching “peak gold” – a decline in new discoveries – while others argue that finds like this indicate substantial resources may remain.

How gold pockets form

Gold does not appear in rocks by chance; geological processes concentrate it. For years, the prevailing model held that hot, gold-bearing fluids flowed through rock fractures and, as the fluids cooled, gold precipitated along quartz veins.

However, the picture is more complex. Chris Voisey, a geologist at Monash University, points out a problem.

“While this theory is widely accepted, it doesn’t fully explain the formation of large gold nuggets, especially considering that the concentration of gold in these fluids is extremely low,” Voisey explained.

Researchers from Monash University, CSIRO, and the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) propose that earthquakes may play a role.

They published research in Nature Geoscience suggesting that seismic shaking and pressure changes can concentrate gold into pockets.

Scientists find this plausible because earthquakes fracture rocks and rapidly change pressure, potentially causing dissolved gold to precipitate quickly.

Wangu gold and “goldene”

While miners pursue conventional ore, scientists are exploring unusual properties of gold in laboratories. In April 2024, researchers produced a one-atom-thick form of gold known as “goldene,” which behaves differently from bulk gold.

“If you make a material extremely thin, something extraordinary happens – as with graphene,” says Shun Kashiwaya from Linköping University in Sweden.

“The same thing happens with gold. As you know, gold is usually a metal, but if single-atom-layer thick, the gold can become a semiconductor instead.”

This suggests ultra-thin gold could have novel electronic applications. However, that topic is separate from mining.

Next steps for the Wangu gold field

China holds more than 2,000 tons of gold reserves, and this discovery would greatly strengthen that position. Gold prices rose when news of the discovery broke. However, the resource still requires verification.

The Hunan government says drilling is well underway: 55 holes totaling about 65 km, with several deep hits. They’re aiming to add roughly 55 tons of gold resources by the end of 2025 and more than 110 tons during the current five-year plan.

A newly merged state group, Hunan Mineral Resources Group, is running an “integrated exploration” program. These are targets, not certified reserves.

A discovery of this scale raises questions about what remains undiscovered. Perhaps “peak gold” is farther off than some expect – or perhaps this is one of the last major finds.

Core samples from the periphery suggest the deposit may extend beyond initial boundaries; if so, it could exceed current estimates.

Either way, if these figures are confirmed, this could be the largest gold discovery in recorded history. Such events are exceptionally rare.

The initial report was published by the Chinese State Media.

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