Total world production of gold

Total world production of gold is estimated to be
about 3.4 billion troy ounces, of which more than
two-thirds was mined in the past 50 years. About 45
percent of the world’s total gold production has been
from the Witwatersrand district in South Africa.
The largest gold mine in the United States is the
Homestake mine at Lead, South Dakota. This mine,
which is 8,000 feet deep, has accounted for almost 10
percent of total United States gold production since it
opened in 1876. It has combined production and
reserves of about 40 million troy ounces.
In the past two decades, low-grade disseminated
gold deposits have become increasingly important.
More than 75 such deposits have been found in the
Western States, mostly in Nevada. The first major

producer of this type was the Carlin deposit, which
was discovered in 1962 and started production in
1965. Since then many more deposits have been discovered
in the vicinity of Carlin, and the Carlin area
now comprises a major mining district with seven
operating open pits producing more than 1,500,000
troy ounces of gold per year.
About 15 percent of the gold produced in the United
States has come from mining other metallic ores.
Where base metals—such as copper, lead, and zinc—
are deposited, either in veins or as scattered mineral
grains, minor amounts of gold are commonly deposited
with them. Deposits of this type are mined for the
predominant metals, but the gold is also recovered as
a byproduct during processing of the ore.