Gold Production

Gold, the world’s most precious mineral, doesn’t just grow on trees. The mining and producing of gold is done all over the world, and the refining process finalizes gold for modern day use. South Africa has been since the 1880s a remarkably large source for gold output in the world with more than 50% of all the gold ever produced having origin in South African mines. To this day a large source of gold production comes from South Africa, with China overtaking them for the very first time as the number one gold producers worldwide. Countries like the U.S, Russia, and Australia are also major producers. The following map shows an example of gold production and which countries are currently leading producers:

(map from: http://www.bgs.ac.uk/home.html)

Not only is Gold one of the most sought after metals, it is also one of the most durable and stable. The gold that is found in jewelry, works of arts, and manufactured goods can still be (and is usually) recovered for immediate or future use. Because of this strong durability of gold, gold consumption barely creates a wasteful or un-useful by-product like many other sources, and instead simply changes form or ownership when no longer being used.