China discovers 1,000 tonnes of gold in new deposit worth $83 billion

A massive deposit of gold has been discovered in China with an estimated worth of over $80bn (£63bn).

It is reported to be the world’s largest known gold deposit. It was found at the Wangu goldfield in central China and according to the Geological Bureau of Hunan, it could yield more than 1,000 tonnes of gold.

The bureau announced it had detected 40 gold veins — long and narrow openings in rocks filled with the metal — around a mile deep in Pingjiang county in Hunan.

The rocks themselves may have 300 tonnes of gold, and there could be even more reserves in the deeper layers, geologists explained.

Chen Rulin, a geologist and ore prospector at the bureau, said: "Many drilled rock cores showed visible gold."

In the site’s peripheral areas test drills found even more gold, suggesting there’s even more of the precious stuff to be found in the deposit.

There could be more than 1,000 metric tonnes of gold at the site, which would make more than 600 billion yuan, which is roughly $83bn (£65bn).

The effect of the incredible discovery has already been felt, as gold prices rose globally after the news was announced. Wangu goldfield is one of China’s most critical mining hubs.

Demand for the precious metal has gone up in China due to global uncertainties. However the latest find could be “significant in helping safeguard the country’s resource security,” the Hunan Provincial Geological Institute said.

In other gold-related news, we recently told you about the largest gold nugget ever found, which weighed as much as an adult man.

During the Australian gold rush, on 5 February 1869, two Cornish miners named John Deason and Richard Oats were prospecting for gold in the region of Victoria, Australia.

They discovered a massive nugget that weighed 72 kilograms (11 stone) and measured 61 cm long, lodged in the roots of a tree. It was nicknamed the “Welcome Stranger” and was discovered, encased in quartz, on a slope called Bulldog Gully.

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