By Juliette Dubois Published on May 26, 2025 Read : 3 min
A hidden trove deep beneath China’s heartland could quietly rewrite the gold industry’s future. The full scale of the discovery—and its potential fallout—remains just beneath the surface.
Beneath the hills of Pingjiang County in central China’s Hunan Province, a team of geologists has uncovered one of the most extensive gold reserves in recent history. The deposit, buried more than two kilometers underground, may hold over 1,000 metric tons of gold—worth roughly €78 billion, or around 600 billion yuan—according to estimates from the Hunan Geological Bureau.
The scale of the find is pushing China into a new chapter of resource extraction, one that combines advanced prospecting technology with the lure of immense mineral wealth. For both domestic industry and international mining circles, the implications are already drawing interest. At the center of it all stands the Wangu gold field, now considered one of the richest untapped veins on the planet.
Visible Gold and a Rare Density
More than 40 individual gold veins have been identified so far, stretching through bedrock at depths of up to 3,000 meters. Initial exploration at the 2,000-meter mark revealed around 300 tons of reserves, but further drilling revealed deeper and more promising layers. Some of the extracted ore contained gold at concentrations as high as 138 grams per metric ton—a grade rarely seen in modern large-scale mining.
“Many drilled rock cores showed visible gold,” said Chen Rulin, an ore-prospecting expert with the bureau, noting the exceptional quality of the mineralization. The visibility of gold within the rock, typically only seen in much smaller high-grade samples, has underscored the richness of the site. Analysts have already begun comparing the Wangu deposit to the world’s most productive mines.
Technology Behind the Breakthrough
The Wangu discovery is not just a story of geological luck. It was made possible by cutting-edge surveying methods, including the use of three-dimensional geological modeling. These tools enabled scientists to pinpoint subterranean formations and guide drill rigs toward gold-rich zones with greater precision than traditional methods.
Liu Yongjun, the bureau’s deputy director, confirmed that drilling efforts have continued around the periphery of the main deposit, leading to the discovery of additional gold veins. “Gold was also found during drills around the site’s peripheral areas,” he said, suggesting the possibility of expanding the known boundaries of the deposit as exploration continues.
A New Mining Frontier in Central China
The economic stakes of the discovery are high. With such an extensive deposit now mapped, Hunan Province stands to become a major player in China’s gold mining sector. Development of the Wangu field could spark waves of investment, not only in mining but also in the region’s infrastructure, including transport and energy networks needed to support the operation.
At the site, technicians from the Hunan Province Geological Disaster Survey and Monitoring Institute have begun assessing rock samples and preparing for broader-scale extraction efforts. While the exact start date for commercial mining has not been confirmed, officials say the field’s potential will make it a priority for future development.
Environmental Watchdogs Remain Alert
With the promise of large-scale extraction, environmental scrutiny has intensified. Gold mining at this depth and scale poses significant risks, including land subsidence, water contamination, and carbon emissions. Authorities in Hunan have acknowledged these concerns and have stated that operations will be conducted under strict regulatory oversight.
Experts note that how the Wangu gold field is developed may serve as a test case for balancing industrial ambition with environmental responsibility. While the size of the reserve has drawn headlines, the way it is extracted could become just as important.
Story from Dailygalaxy.com
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