China's 'Supergiant' Gold Deposit Could Be the Largest Ever Found — 1,100 Tons Worth $83 Billion

Geologists mapping the Wangu gold field in Hunan Province say new 3D models reveal up to 1,100 tons of high-grade gold worth roughly $83 billion, potentially the largest gold deposit ever discovered.

Geologists in China's Hunan Province have mapped what could be the largest gold deposit ever discovered — a “supergiant” ore body extending nearly two miles underground beneath the Wangu gold field in Pingjiang County, holding an estimated 1,100 tons of gold worth roughly $83 billion.

The site was first flagged in 2024, when Chinese state media reported more than 40 gold veins containing around 330 tons of ore at depths reaching 6,600 feet. New three-dimensional modeling has now tripled that figure, suggesting the gold extends as deep as 9,800 feet. The ore is also unusually rich: roughly 138 grams of gold per metric ton, compared with the 8 grams per ton miners already consider a strong grade.

“Many drilled rock cores showed visible gold,” said Chen Rulin, an ore-prospecting expert at the Hunan Province Geological Bureau — visible gold in core samples typically points to a high-grade deposit. If the 1,100-ton estimate holds, the find would outpace South Africa's South Deep mine and rank as the largest known gold deposit on Earth.

The stakes reach far beyond geology. China is already the world's top gold producer, mining about 10 percent of global supply, yet it consumes roughly three times more than it produces and remains the world's largest importer. With large new discoveries growing rare enough that some analysts warn of “peak gold,” this supergiant find could quietly reshape those calculations.

Sources: Earth.com | Popular Mechanics