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Scientists discover £63,000,000,000 worth of gold now richest source of the precious metal on the planet

Scientists discover £63,000,000,000 worth of gold now richest source of the precious metal on the planet

If there's as much gold as predicted then it's the largest ever gold deposit

Scientists in China claim they've found the world's largest known gold deposit which would make it the most valuable source of the precious metal anywhere on the planet.

According to the Independent, Chinese state media is claiming that a deposit discovered at the Wangu gold field could have over 1,000 tonnes of gold in it.

Geologists from the Geological Bureau of Hunan Province say they have found 40 veins of gold with around 300 tonnes of gold, and projections indicate that there could be more than 700 tonnes more to dig up.

If this all turns out to be true then the value of the deposit would be somewhere around £63 billion, which is a lot of f**king money whichever way you slice it.

That's assuming that gold prices stay the same, and a significant influx of the precious metal from the newly discovered deposit doesn't increase supply to the point that the value of gold decreases.

Gold prices are hovering around an all time high. (Ni Lifang/VCG via Getty Images)
Gold prices are hovering around an all time high. (Ni Lifang/VCG via Getty Images)

Global gold prices reached an all time high last month, as on 30 October it hit $2,790.07 (£2198.87) per troy ounce, meaning there's likely never been a better time in history to suddenly discover you're sitting atop a potential 1,000 tonne mountain of the stuff.

China is already the world leader in gold mining, closely followed by the likes of Australia and Russia with each of the countries making about 10 percent of all the gold produced in a year.

Beyond looking pretty for use in jewellery and various other shiny objects of value, gold does also have uses in electronics as it is a good connector and resistant to erosion.

The typical smartphone has a few milligrams of gold within the components, though not enough that you'd want to crack the thing open and see if Cash My Gold still exists.

There's a potential for over 1,000 tonnes of gold there, or about £63 billion at current prices. (Getty Stock Photo)
There's a potential for over 1,000 tonnes of gold there, or about £63 billion at current prices. (Getty Stock Photo)

Meanwhile, if you want to go out and find your fortune in gold then you'd best not go about trying to steal an Olympic gold medal because it doesn't contain very much.

Instead, the Olympic gold is actually mostly made out of silver and only contain around six grams of gold, which is still quite a bit considering how expensive it is.

If you're not one for geology, mining and excavation then you might prefer to try your hand at searching for long lost treasure of sunken gold.

There's a staggering amount of wealth beneath our feet if only you know where to look for it.

Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock Images

Topics: World News, China, Money