(Mike Maharrey, Money Metals News Service) Where do we get our gold?
Last year, mines globally produced an estimated 3,661 tonnes of gold. It was a new record, but only 3 tonnes higher than the previous record set in 2018.
Between 1970 and 2019, gold production generally increased year after year. There was a drop in production in 2008, but it was something of an anomaly, as it occurred at the onset of the 2008 financial crisis.
After slowing for several preceding years, gold mine output fell by 1 percent in 2019.
The return to 2018 mine output levels is encouraging. However, it’s too early to say that we have returned to an era of increasing mine output, and some industry insiders believe the plateau in recent years signals that we’re close to peak gold.
Peak gold is the point at which the amount of gold dug from the earth begins to shrink every year.
This is because the easier-to-access gold close to the Earth’s surface is quickly running out, leaving deeper veins of gold that are more difficult and expensive to mine. It’s hard to determine when we will hit peak gold due to technological developments that help find new deposits and make extracting gold less difficult.
But as long as gold is valuable, people will be digging it out of the ground.
So, where does all of this gold come from?
Here are the top 10 gold producers in 2024:
- China – 380.2 tonnes: China has led the world in gold mine production for many years. Mine output was up modestly by 2 tonnes.
- Russia – 330.0 tonnes: Russian gold production was up 2.5 percent over last year. Russia has historically produced much of the gold consumed in Europe, but the Russian government is the biggest buyer of Russian gold. Sanctions in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine stopped the flow of Russian gold into Europe. The country has sought alternative markets, particularly in the BRICS bloc.
- Australia – 284.0 tonnes: Australian mine output dropped 4.1 percent from 2023’s totals. Last year, the Aussies were tied with Russia for the number two spot in the rankings. Australia has the highest level of known gold reserves, estimated to be about 12,000 tons.
- Canada – 202.1 tonnes: Canadian gold production was up 5.4 percent over 2023. Canada leapfrogged the U.S. to grab the #4 spot in 2021. Gold ranks as the nation’s most valuable mined commodity, with domestic exports reaching C$22.34 billion.
- The United States – 158.0 tonnes: U.S mine production decreased by 7.1 percent last year. U.S. mine output has fallen consistently since 2017.
- Ghana – 140.6 tonnes: Ghana reported a 7.7 percent increase in mine output. The country now ranks as the biggest gold producer in Africa.
- Mexico – 140.3 tonnes: After basically flatlining for three years, Mexico saw a strong rebound in mine production in 2024, with mine output rising by 16.7 percent.
- Indonesia – 140.1 tonnes: Indonesia also saw a healthy increase in mine output, with gold production rising 27.3 percent. In 2019, the country mined less than 100 tonnes of gold. Mining is one of the country’s most important economic sectors.
- Peru – 136.9 tonnes: Mine production was up about 6.3 percent year-on-year.
- Uzbekistan – 129.1 tonnes: Uzbek gold production increased by about 10 tonnes last year. Much of the country’s gold is consumed domestically. The Uzbek central bank buys a substantial amount of domestic gold.
South Africa is notably missing from the top 10 gold producers. The country ranked first in the world for many years. Last year, the country produced 98.9 tonnes of gold, putting it behind Mali in African gold mine output.
In December 2017, a study came out saying South Africa could run out of gold within four decades. Analysts said that at current production levels, the country only had 39 years of accessible gold reserves remaining.
Mike Maharrey is a journalist and market analyst for Money Metals with over a decade of experience in precious metals. He holds a BS in accounting from the University of Kentucky and a BA in journalism from the University of South Florida.
