where is most of the world's gold mined
Gold mining As of 2016, the world's largest gold producer was China with 463.7 tonnes. The second-largest producer, Australia, mined 287.3 tonnes in the same year, followed by Russia with 274.4 tonnes.[1]
Witwatersrand Gold Rush The first discovery of gold in the region is recorded as being in 1852 in the Pardekraal farm[1] by J.H. Davis, an English miner. He sold £600 of gold to the Transvaal Treasury and was subsequently ordered to leave the country. Another find by Pieter Jacob Marais was recorded in 1853 on the Jukskei River, but was subject to similar secrecy.[2] Though there were smaller mining operations in the region, it wasn’t until 1884 and the subsequent 1886 discovery at Langlaagte that the Witwatersrand gold rush got underway in earnest.[3]