Drilling to stimulate supply of gold MINE production is the dominant source of world gold supplies. While prices have risen fourfold during the past decade, mine production has been constrained, increasing by about 1 per cent a year on average. Australia is the world's second-largest producer of the metal, accounting for 9 per cent of global production. But since peaking at about 300 tonnes in 1997, national output has stagnated, and currently stands at about 250 tonnes.