A “supergiant” deposit of high-quality gold ore, containing approximately 1000 tons of precious metal, was discovered in central China at the end of 2024, according to the Chinese news agency Xinhua.
The value is estimated at around 600 billion yuan, or 83 billion dollars, and the discovery could be one of the largest and most profitable gold deposits ever found, surpassing the 900 tons estimated at the South Dip mine in South Africa.
Some experts remain unconvinced about the extent of the reserves and the possibility of mining, but if confirmed, it would be a significant success for China, according to the Science Alert portal.
The Hunan Provincial Geological Bureau announced that 40 gold veins were discovered at a depth of two kilometers in the northeastern Pingjiang County.
These veins alone were believed to contain 300 tons of gold, although 3D modeling suggests that additional reserves could be found up to three kilometers deep.
“Many of the rock cores drilled contained visible gold,” said Chen Rulin, a researcher at the bureau, at the time of the discovery.
Base samples suggest that each ton of ore could contain up to 138 grams of gold, an extraordinary quality level considering that ore is considered high quality if it contains more than eight grams.
