Gold prices have hit a record high in 2024. Gold supply is also on the up: the total supply of gold in Q1 2024 was 1,238 tonnes, 2.6% higher than it was across the same period of 2023.
It’s therefore no surprise that countries are keen to tap their natural gold resources to unearth a rich vein of income. Here’s the latest Top 10:
- China 370 Metric Tonnes (MT)
- Australia 310 MT
- Russia 310 MT
- Canada 200 MT
- United States 170 MT
- Kazakhstan 130 MT
- Mexico 120 MT
- Indonesia 110 MT
- South Africa 100 MT
- Uzbekistan 100 MT
China takes the gold 🥇
China is now responsible for 10% of global total gold production. Looking at figures from the US Geological Survey, the country was the world’s top gold mining country in 2023 🏆, digging out 370 metric tonnes (MT) - an increase of around +7% compared to 2022.
Australia and Russia provided 310 MT of gold during 2023 so were the joint second biggest producers.
Canada ranked fourth for countries producing gold, at 200 MT in 2023 - ahead of the United States, which produced 170 MT in 2023.
The Gold Rush: How Much is Left and Where to Find It
How much gold is left to mine in the world?
It’s a fact: gold is rare, and that’s exactly what makes it so valuable. But with hundreds, even thousands of tons being extracted each year, what’s left in the ground? If gold is so scarce, can we still find more? How much gold is in circulation? According to the World Gold Council, over 212,000 tons of gold have already been mined. Nearly 45% of this gold is in the form of jewelry, and 22% is held as investment gold.
Can we still find new gold deposits?
Unfortunately, most of the natural gold reserves have already been discovered. However, the US Geological Survey estimates that around 57,000 tons of gold are still waiting to be mined.
Largest producers of gold in 2024 ✨
Who have been the gold production winners and losers so far in 2024?
China is still churning out high volumes of gold. It was largely responsible for a 7% year-on-year production uplift across Asia in Q1 2024. Experts attribute this to high demand for gold bars and coins in China - but also the national government’s need to counteract the effect of trade sanctions by the United States and grow the economy in different ways.
Overall, Canada is taking the production plaudits at present: two of its major gold mines have ramped up work and output increased by 16% year-on-year in Q1 2024.
In contrast, 2023 top-five gold producer Australia’s output has dipped. Gold mine production fell by 4% in Q1 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. This was blamed in part on bad weather affecting mines.
Russia ramps up gold production ⛏
And what of Russia, the other big gold player according to 2023’s production stats?
Under sanctions of its own due its ongoing conflict with Ukraine, the country has already increased gold production since war broke out - and plans to do so by 4% each year until 2026. As the saying (repeated by the World Gold Council) goes, gold is the safest place to invest in times of conflict. Russia certainly thinks so, even pegging its national currency the ruble to gold.
Demand for gold will go on around the world, and it will be fascinating to find out how the ranking of countries that produce the most gold changes over time 🏅.
In 2024, can the world beat the 3,000-plus MT of gold produced in 2023? We’ll have to wait and see. 🤞
