Where Are Gold Mines Located

Gold is used in many aspects of society, from science to art, and as the industrial population of the world has grown the demand for gold has steadily increased. While many famous gold mines were discovered in the 1800s, new mining techniques and scanning technology have allow nations to find new veins of gold and further develop existing mines, especially in the last several decades.

South Africa
The South African gold mines are some of the most famous in the world and are known for being highly productive and very deep, adding to the danger of mining the gold over the years. The deepest mines reach more than two miles into the earth's surface at some locations. South Deep is one of these mines, first developed in the early 1960s and projected to have a life of 70 years before the mine becomes useless. Target, located in the southwest part of South Africa, is a newer mine, only reaching full production in 2002. There are also several located throughout other parts of Africa, including the Tanzania area.
Australia
Gold was discovered in Australia in the 1900s, and successful mines have operated there ever since. Currently, most of these mines are operated as the Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines, which include the world's largest open pit gold mine, where earth is excavated in layers to reveal the gold, rather than dug into with shafts. There are up to 58 separate mining leases in the Kalgoorlie, and mining has been expected to last until 2013, on average.
Brazil
The largest gold rush occurred in Brazil in the 1980s. Some such as Crixas use an intricate underground system to ship out gold, while others like Jacobina use a chemical filtering process to draw gold from surrounding minerals. The Jacobina mine in particular has yielded gold for several centuries, though current techniques have raised concerns on environmental effects on the Amazon Basin. Successful gold mines also exist in Peru and Argentina, and new mines have recently been discovered in Chile as well.
Canada/Western U.S.
There are numerous mining efforts in Canada and the western side of the United States. Campbell, Galore Creek, and Kerness are just several examples of the mines established in Canada, most of which use either underground or open pit techniques. Like Canada, the United States is home to both well-established mines such as Cortez, which has around 10 million ounces left to be recovered, and new projects such as Hollister, which uses chemical means to leach gold from surrounding minerals. Both Cortez and Hollister are located in Nevada.
China
Since 2007, the largest exporter of gold in the world has been China, followed by former leaders South Africa and Australia. With a combination of discovering several key mother lodes and launching a large number of small-scale operations, China has managed to drastically increase its gold production over the past several years, and mines such as the Tanjianshan in Western China are becoming more common.