The best-known gold rush in modern history occurred in California in 1848, when James Marshall discovered gold in the Sacramento Valley. As word spread, thousands of migrants flocked to California in search of gold.
While gold mining has been around for thousands of years, it’s estimated that roughly 86% of all the above-ground gold has been extracted in the last 200 years. With modern mining techniques making large-scale production possible, global gold production has grown exponentially since the 1800s.
Using data from ‘Our World in Data’ analysts Govind Bhutada and Miranda Smith created the following infographic to visualize global gold production by country from 1820 to 2022, showing how gold mining has evolved over time.
In 2022, around 31% of the world’s gold production came from three countries—China, Russia, and Australia, with each producing over 300 tons of the precious metal.
BTW: China gold NEVER leaves China… NEVER.
Click on the graph to open in another window and expand for easier viewing…
Some of this material prepared by Sherman Portfolios, LLC.
