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Where is Gold Found?

We all know the monetary value of gold in today's time. It is in fact one of the most precious natural resources found in several parts of the world. Let us explore more about where it is found.
Kundan Pandey
Gold, one of the most precious metals has been hailed as a symbol of prosperity since thousands of years.
Gold coins have been used since a long time in monetary exchanges in many civilizations.
It has been used as jewelry and in metal arts since time immemorial.
Gold is found in rocks and mines and it takes a long process to recover pure gold from the rocks and grains embedded in the deep valleys and mines.

Existence of Gold in the World

The Mecca of gold production and mining, i.e. South Africa is the leading producer of crude gold in the world. Since 1886, South Africa has been leading the production race by an unimaginable margin.
During the peak production of 1970s, South Africa contributed nearly 80% of the world gold supplies! For decades, it has been at the top in terms of total gold production after North America and Australia, however, it has diminished its production owing to the discovery of mines and reserves in US and Australia.
In Australia, the third biggest gold producing country, gold is produced in New South Wales, Goldfields-Esperance and Western Australia. The Super-Pit gold mine in Kalgoorie, an 8 km area with gold mines is the most spectacular sights, and it produces 850,000 ounces of gold every year.

Presence of Gold in the US

In the United States, gold is found in many parts of California. The most abundant gold reserves in California are found in the northern and central parts of the Sierra Nevada.
The Sierra Nevada foothills are believed to be the birthplace of gold where it was first discovered on January 24, 1848 at Sutter's Mill (north of Placerville) by James Marshal. Geological explorations were carried out by the state and Sierra Nevada was found to have rich sources of gold.
The streams of the Klamath-Trinity River system in Klamath Mountains is the second most productive area in the US known for a rich source of gold. Some other places in California where gold has been dominantly found are the Basin Ranges, Mojave Desert and transverse and Peninsular Ranges in southern California.
Gold in the US as such is not restricted to one specific state, instead it is found in minute quantities in almost all the states. States like Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin are some of the places where gold is found in abundance.
Gold has been found in the dry river stream places and cervices and valleys. The reason behind this is that gold is an element that is six to seven times heavier than various other sediments and so it takes relatively more time to flow off and gets deposited in the cervices and stream beds.
South Africa, US, and Australia have dominated the world global gold production since decades. However, in a major global shift, within the last two years, China has become the top producer of gold in the world, pushing South Africa to the second position, for the first time in the history since 1905.