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Do not fill this in! == Production == {{Main|List of countries by gold production}} [[File:Gold - world production trend.svg|thumb|lang=en|Time trend of gold production|link=File:Gold_-_world_production_trend.svg%3Flang=en]] According to the [[United States Geological Survey]] in 2016, about {{convert|5,726,000,000|ozt|t}} of gold has been accounted for, of which 85% remains in active use.<ref>{{cite report |first1=John L. |last1=Munteen |first2=David A. |last2=Davis |first3=Bridget |last3=Ayling |date=2017 |title=The Nevada Mineral Industry 2016 |url=http://epubs.nsla.nv.gov/statepubs/epubs/210988-2016.pdf |publisher=University of Nevada, Reno |access-date=9 February 2019 |oclc=1061602920 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190209232131/http://epubs.nsla.nv.gov/statepubs/epubs/210988-2016.pdf |archive-date=9 February 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref> === Mining and prospecting === {{Main|Gold mining|Gold prospecting}} [[File:Miner underground at Pumsaint gold mine (1294028).jpg|thumb|left|A miner underground at [[Pumsaint]] gold mine, [[Wales]]; {{Circa|1938}}.]] [[File:Grasberg mine.jpg|upright=1|thumb|[[Grasberg mine]], Indonesia is the world's largest gold mine.]] Since the 1880s, South Africa has been the source of a large proportion of the world's gold supply, and about 22% of the gold presently accounted is from [[South Africa]]. Production in 1970 accounted for 79% of the world supply, about 1,480 tonnes. In 2007 [[China]] (with 276 tonnes) overtook South Africa as the world's largest gold producer, the first time since 1905 that South Africa had not been the largest.<ref>{{cite web |last=Mandaro |first=Laura |url=http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-now-worlds-largest-gold-producer-foreign-miners-at-door |title=China now world's largest gold producer; foreign miners at door |website=[[MarketWatch]] |date=17 January 2008 |access-date=5 April 2009}}</ref> In 2020, [[Gold mining in China|China]] was the world's leading gold-mining country, followed in order by Russia, Australia, the United States, Canada, and Ghana.<ref name="production"/> [[File:Gold 30g for a 860kg rock.jpg|thumb|left|Relative sizes of an {{cvt|860|kg|adj=on}} block of gold ore and the {{cvt|30|g|ozt}} of gold that can be extracted from it, [[Toi gold mine]], [[Japan]].]] In South America, the controversial project [[Pascua Lama]] aims at exploitation of rich fields in the high mountains of [[Atacama Desert]], at the border between [[Chile]] and [[Argentina]]. It has been estimated that up to one-quarter of the yearly global gold production originates from artisanal or small scale mining.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.iisd.org/publications/global-trends-artisanal-and-small-scale-mining-asm-review-key-numbers-and-issues |last1=Fritz |first1=Morgane |last2=McQuilken |first2=James |last3=Collins |first3=Nina |last4=Weldegiorgis |first4=Fitsum |title=Global Trends in Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM): A review of key numbers and issues |via=Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development |format=PDF |type=Report |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |location=Winnipeg Canada |date=January 2018 |access-date=24 February 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |website=reuters.com |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-gold-mining-artisanal-explainer/what-is-artisanal-gold-and-why-is-it-booming-idUSKBN1ZE0YU |title=What is artisanal gold and why is it booming? |publisher=[[Reuters]] |date=15 January 2020 |access-date=24 February 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Removal of Barriers to the Abatement of Global Mercury Pollution from Artisanal Gold Mining |url=http://www.unido.org/fileadmin/import/10644_CHRISTIANtext.3.pdf |last=Beinhoff |first=Christian |access-date=29 December 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160126032505/http://www.unido.org/fileadmin/import/10644_CHRISTIANtext.3.pdf |type=Report |archive-date=26 January 2016}}</ref> The city of [[Johannesburg]] located in South Africa was founded as a result of the [[Witwatersrand Gold Rush]] which resulted in the discovery of some of the largest natural gold deposits in recorded history. The gold fields are confined to the northern and north-western edges of the [[Witwatersrand basin]], which is a {{cvt|5|-|7|km|adj=on}} thick layer of [[archean]] rocks located, in most places, deep under the [[Free State (South African province)|Free State]], [[Gauteng]] and surrounding provinces.<ref name="Truswell">Truswell, J.F. (1977). ''The Geological Evolution of South Africa''. pp. 21–28. Purnell, Cape Town. {{ISBN|9780360002906}}</ref> These Witwatersrand rocks are exposed at the surface on the [[Witwatersrand]], in and around Johannesburg, but also in isolated patches to the south-east and south-west of Johannesburg, as well as in an arc around the [[Vredefort Dome]] which lies close to the center of the Witwatersrand basin.<ref name="McCarthy" /><ref name="Truswell" /> From these surface exposures the basin [[strike and dip|dips]] extensively, requiring some of the mining to occur at depths of nearly {{cvt|4000|m}}, making them, especially the [[Savuka Mine|Savuka]] and [[TauTona]] mines to the south-west of Johannesburg, the deepest mines on earth. The gold is found only in six areas where [[archean]] rivers from the north and north-west formed extensive pebbly [[Braided river]] deltas before draining into the "Witwatersrand sea" where the rest of the Witwatersrand sediments were deposited.<ref name="Truswell" /> The [[Second Boer War]] of 1899–1901 between the [[British Empire]] and the [[Afrikaner]] [[Boer]]s was at least partly over the rights of miners and possession of the gold wealth in South Africa. [[File:Kullanhuuhdontaa Ivalossa.jpg|thumb|Gold prospecting at the [[Ivalo River]] in the [[Lapland (Finland)|Finnish Lapland]] in 1898]] During the 19th century, [[gold rush]]es occurred whenever large gold deposits were discovered. The first documented discovery of gold in the United States was at the [[Reed Gold Mine]] near Georgeville, North Carolina in 1803.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nchistoricsites.org/Reed/reed.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120115012324/http://www.nchistoricsites.org/Reed/reed.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 January 2012 |title=Reed Gold Mine State Historic Site |last=Moore |first=Mark A. |date=2006 |publisher=North Carolina Office of Archives and History |access-date=13 December 2008}}</ref> The first major gold strike in the United States occurred in a small north Georgia town called [[Dahlonega, Georgia|Dahlonega]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Road to adventure |publisher=Georgia Magazine |last=Garvey |first=Jane A. |url=http://www.georgiamagazine.org/archives_view.asp?mon=7&yr=2006&ID=1344 |date=2006 |access-date=23 January 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070302212304/http://www.georgiamagazine.org/archives_view.asp?mon=7&yr=2006&ID=1344 |archive-date=2 March 2007 }}</ref> Further gold rushes occurred in [[California Gold Rush|California]], [[Pike's Peak Gold Rush|Colorado]], the [[Black Hills Gold Rush|Black Hills]], [[Central Otago Gold Rush|Otago]] in New Zealand, a number of locations across [[Australian gold rushes|Australia]], [[Witwatersrand Gold Rush|Witwatersrand]] in South Africa, and the [[Klondike Gold Rush|Klondike]] in Canada. [[Grasberg mine]] located in [[Papua (province)|Papua]], [[Indonesia]] is the largest [[gold mining|gold mine]] in the world.<ref>{{cite web|title=Grasberg Open Pit, Indonesia|url=http://www.mining-technology.com/projects/grasbergopenpit|website=Mining Technology|access-date=16 October 2017}}</ref> === Extraction and refining === {{Main|Gold extraction}} [[Image:Gold nuggets from Arizona.jpg|thumb|left|Gold Nuggets found in [[Arizona]].]] [[Gold extraction]] is most economical in large, easily mined deposits. Ore grades as little as 0.5 parts per million (ppm) can be economical. Typical ore grades in [[open-pit mining|open-pit]] mines are 1–5 ppm; ore grades in underground or [[Underground mining (hard rock)|hard rock]] mines are usually at least 3 ppm. Because ore grades of 30 ppm are usually needed before gold is visible to the naked eye, in most gold mines the gold is invisible. The average gold mining and extraction costs were about $317 per troy ounce in 2007, but these can vary widely depending on mining type and ore quality; global mine production amounted to 2,471.1 tonnes.<ref>{{Cite news |last=O'Connell |first=Rhona |date=13 April 2007 |title=Gold mine production costs up by 17% in 2006 while output fell |url=http://www.mineweb.net/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page33?oid=19485&sn=Detail |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006084904/http://www.mineweb.net/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page33?oid=19485&sn=Detail |archive-date=6 October 2014}}</ref> After initial production, gold is often subsequently refined industrially by the [[Wohlwill process]] which is based on [[electrolysis]] or by the [[Miller process]], that is chlorination in the melt. The Wohlwill process results in higher purity, but is more complex and is only applied in small-scale installations.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Noyes |first=Robert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=__lqGczo9TwC&pg=PA342 |page=342 |title=Pollution prevention technology handbook |publisher=William Andrew |date=1993 |isbn=978-0-8155-1311-7}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Pletcher |first1=Derek |first2=Frank |last2=Walsh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E_u9ARrm37oC&pg=PA244 |page=244 |title=Industrial electrochemistry |name-list-style=amp |publisher=Springer |date=1990 |isbn=978-0-412-30410-1}}</ref> Other methods of assaying and purifying smaller amounts of gold include parting and inquartation as well as [[cupellation]], or refining methods based on the dissolution of gold in aqua regia.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Marczenko |first1=Zygmunt |last2=Balcerzak |first2=María |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0NE1KjVISyAC&pg=PA210 |page=210 |title=Separation, preconcentration, and spectrophotometry in inorganic analysis |name-list-style=amp |publisher=Elsevier |date=2000 |isbn=978-0-444-50524-8}}</ref> ===Recycling=== In 1997, recycled gold accounted for approximately 20% of the 2700 tons of gold supplied to the market.<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1002/14356007.a12_499 |chapter=Gold, Gold Alloys, and Gold Compounds |title=Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry |year=2000 |last1=Renner |first1=Hermann |last2=Schlamp |first2=Günther |last3=Hollmann |first3=Dieter |last4=Lüschow |first4=Hans Martin |last5=Tews |first5=Peter |last6=Rothaut |first6=Josef |last7=Dermann |first7=Klaus |last8=Knödler |first8=Alfons |last9=Hecht |first9=Christian |last10=Schlott |first10=Martin |last11=Drieselmann |first11=Ralf |last12=Peter |first12=Catrin |last13=Schiele |first13=Rainer |isbn=3527306730 }}</ref> Jewelry companies such as Generation Collection and computer companies including [[Dell]] conduct recycling<ref>{{cite news|last=Paton|first=Elizabeth|date=23 April 2021|title=Does Recycled Gold Herald a Greener Future for Jewelry?|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/23/fashion/jewelry-recycled-gold.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/23/fashion/jewelry-recycled-gold.html |archive-date=28 December 2021 |url-access=limited|access-date=17 May 2021|issn=0362-4331}}{{cbignore}}</ref> As of 2020, the amount of [[carbon dioxide]] {{chem2|CO2}} produced in mining a kilogram of gold is 16 tonnes, while recycling a kilogram of gold produces 53 kilograms of {{chem2|CO2}} equivalent. Approximately 30 percent of the global gold supply is recycled and not mined as of 2020.<ref>{{cite news |last=Baraniuk |first=Chris |title=Why it's getting harder to mine gold |url=https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20201026-why-its-getting-harder-to-mine-gold |publisher=[[BBC]] |date=27 October 2020 |access-date=29 October 2020}}</ref> === Consumption === {{update|date=May 2022}} {| style=" text-align:right;float:right" class="wikitable sortable" |+ Gold jewelry consumption by country (in tonnes)<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.forexyard.com/en/news/Gold-jewellery-consumption-by-country-2011-02-28T130619Z-FACTBOX |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112003914/http://www.forexyard.com/en/news/Gold-jewellery-consumption-by-country-2011-02-28T130619Z-FACTBOX |archive-date=12 January 2012 |title=Gold jewellery consumption by country |date=28 February 2011 |agency=Reuters}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gold.org/investment/research/regular_reports/gold_demand_trends/ |title=Gold Demand Trends | Investment | World Gold Council |publisher=Gold.org |access-date=12 September 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gold.org/investment/research/regular_reports/gold_demand_trends/ |title=Gold Demand Trends |date=12 November 2015}}</ref> |- ! Country !! 2009 !! 2010 !! 2011 !! 2012 !! 2013 |- | align=left|{{flag|India}} || 442.37 || 745.70 || 986.3 || 864 || 974 |- | align=left|{{flag|China}} || 376.96 || 428.00 || 921.5 || 817.5 || 1120.1 |- | align=left|{{flag|United States}} || 150.28 || 128.61 || 199.5 || 161 || 190 |- | align=left|{{flag|Turkey}} || 75.16 || 74.07 || 143 || 118 || 175.2 |- | align=left|{{flag|Saudi Arabia}} || 77.75 || 72.95 || 69.1 ||58.5 || 72.2 |- | align=left|{{flag|Russia}} || 60.12 || 67.50 || 76.7 || 81.9 || 73.3 |- | align=left|{{flag|United Arab Emirates}} || 67.60 || 63.37 || 60.9 ||58.1 || 77.1 |- | align=left|{{flag|Egypt}} || 56.68 || 53.43 || 36 ||47.8 || 57.3 |- | align=left|{{flag|Indonesia}} || 41.00 || 32.75 || 55 || 52.3 || 68 |- | align=left|{{flag|United Kingdom}} || 31.75 || 27.35 || 22.6 || 21.1 || 23.4 |- | align=left|Other Persian Gulf Countries || 24.10 || 21.97 || 22 || 19.9 || 24.6 |- | align=left|{{flag|Japan}} || 21.85 || 18.50 || −30.1 || 7.6 || 21.3 |- | align=left|{{flag|South Korea}} || 18.83 || 15.87 || 15.5 ||12.1 || 17.5 |- | align=left|{{flag|Vietnam}} || 15.08 || 14.36 || 100.8 || 77 || 92.2 |- | align=left|{{flag|Thailand}} || 7.33 || 6.28 || 107.4 || 80.9 || 140.1 |- | align=left|'''Total''' || '''1466.86''' || '''1770.71''' || '''2786.12 ''' || '''2477.7''' || '''3126.1 ''' |- | align=left|''Other Countries'' || ''251.6'' || ''254.0'' || ''390.4'' || ''393.5'' || ''450.7'' |- | align=left|'''World Total''' || '''1718.46''' || '''2024.71''' || '''3176.52'''|| '''2871.2''' || '''3576.8''' |} The consumption of gold produced in the world is about 50% in jewelry, 40% in investments, and 10% in industry.<ref name="oil-price.com-worlds-gold-consumption 2011" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usdebtclock.org/gold-demand-by-country.html |title=Country wise gold demand |access-date=2 October 2015}}</ref> According to the [[World Gold Council]], China was the world's largest single consumer of gold in 2013, overtaking India.<ref>{{cite web |last=Harjani |first=Ansuya |url=https://www.cnbc.com/id/101422278# |title=It's official: China overtakes India as top consumer of gold |publisher=[[CNBC]] |date=18 February 2014 |access-date=2 July 2014}}</ref> === Pollution === {{further|Mercury cycle|International Cyanide Management Code}} Gold production is associated with contribution to hazardous [[Environmental effects of mining|pollution]].<ref>{{cite journal |last2=Marikar |first2=Fouzul |last1=Abdul-Wahab |title=The environmental impact of gold mines: pollution by heavy metals |journal=Central European Journal of Engineering |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=304–313 |date=24 October 2011 |bibcode=2012CEJE....2..304A|s2cid=3916088 |doi=10.2478/s13531-011-0052-3|doi-access=free }}</ref> Low-grade gold ore may contain less than one [[Parts per million|ppm]] gold metal; such ore is [[Milling (grinding)|ground]] and mixed with [[sodium cyanide]] to dissolve the gold. Cyanide is a highly poisonous chemical, which can kill living creatures when exposed in minute quantities. Many [[List of gold mining disasters|cyanide spills]]<ref>[http://www.deseretnews.com/article/810435/Cyanide-spill-compared-to-Chernobyls---N-disaster.html Cyanide spills from gold mine compared to Chernobyl's nuclear disaster] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180714135300/https://www.deseretnews.com/article/810435/Cyanide-spill-compared-to-Chernobyls---N-disaster.html |date=14 July 2018}}. Deseretnews.com (14 February 2000). Retrieved on 4 May 2012.</ref> from gold mines have occurred in both developed and developing countries which killed aquatic life in long stretches of affected rivers. Environmentalists consider these events major environmental disasters.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/642880.stm Death of a river] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090109134649/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/642880.stm |date=9 January 2009 }}. BBC News (15 February 2000). Retrieved on 4 May 2012.</ref><ref>[http://www.abc.net.au/am/stories/s98890.htm Cyanide spill second only to Chernobyl] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525072149/http://www.abc.net.au/am/stories/s98890.htm |date=25 May 2017 }}. Abc.net.au. 11 February 2000. Retrieved on 4 May 2012.</ref> Up to thirty tons of used ore can be dumped as waste for producing one troy ounce of gold.<ref name="NYT">[https://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/24/international/24GOLD.html Behind gold's glitter, torn lands and pointed questions] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150408113857/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/24/international/24GOLD.html |date=8 April 2015 }}, ''The New York Times'', 24 October 2005</ref> Gold ore dumps are the source of many heavy elements such as cadmium, lead, zinc, copper, [[arsenic]], [[selenium]] and mercury. When sulfide-bearing minerals in these ore dumps are exposed to air and water, the sulfide transforms into [[sulfuric acid]] which in turn dissolves these heavy metals facilitating their passage into surface water and ground water. This process is called [[acid mine drainage]]. These gold ore dumps contain long-term, highly hazardous waste.<ref name="NYT" /> It was once common to use mercury to recover gold from ore, but today the use of mercury is largely limited to small-scale individual miners.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.worstpolluted.org/files/FileUpload/files/WWPP_2012.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402130613/http://www.worstpolluted.org/files/FileUpload/files/WWPP_2012.pdf |archive-date=2 April 2015 |url-status=live |title=Pollution from Artisanal Gold Mining, Blacksmith Institute Report 2012 |access-date=22 September 2015}}</ref> Minute quantities of mercury compounds can reach water bodies, causing heavy metal contamination. Mercury can then enter into the human food chain in the form of [[methylmercury]]. [[Mercury poisoning]] in humans causes incurable brain function damage and severe retardation.<ref>{{cite web|last=Wroblewski|first=William|date=12 January 2022|title='Babies here are born sick': are Bolivia's gold mines poisoning its indigenous people?|url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/jan/12/babies-here-are-born-sick-are-bolivias-gold-mines-poisoning-its-indigenous-people|access-date=12 January 2022|website=The Guardian|language=en}}</ref> Gold extraction is also a highly energy-intensive industry, extracting ore from deep mines and grinding the large quantity of ore for further chemical extraction requires nearly 25 [[Kilowatt-hour|kWh]] of electricity per gram of gold produced.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.jclepro.2012.01.042 |title=Using life cycle assessment to evaluate some environmental impacts of gold |date=2012 |last1=Norgate |first1=Terry |last2=Haque |first2=Nawshad |journal=Journal of Cleaner Production |volume=29–30 |pages=53–63}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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