Historically the production
of gold may be divided into two eras; before and
after the California gold rush of 1848.
Prior to the California discoveries, gold was a rather rare metal. Exactly how
much was mined from ancient times is not known precisely but rough annual estimates
are shown in the table below. They have been raised somewhat from previous calculations
because these tended to focus only on the Mediterranean world and Africa, whereas
gold was recovered in China, probably in Indonesia and certainly in South America
from ancient times.
After the 1848 California
gold rush, swiftly followed by that in Australia, production was lifted into
another dimension. Output by 1852 was 280 tonnes (9 million oz) and an
estimated 10,000 tonnes (321 m oz) was mined in the second half of the nineteenth
century. By the end of that century the annual average was 400 tonnes (12.9
m oz). In the twentieth
century production rose with price increases; first between 1935 and 1940, following
gold’s rise to $35 an ounce and then again
following the 1980 peak. By then new technology and better mining
finance also had a significant influence, pushing output to over 2,500 tonnes
(80.4 m oz) by the late 1990s. Total production throughout history will top
147,000 tonnes (4,700 m oz) by the end of 2002.
Annual production of
gold pre-1848
| Sumer Civilization
3000 BC |
1 tonne |
Asia Minor/Africa |
| Egyptians from 2000
BC |
3-4 tonnes |
Africa/Saudi Arabia/Asia
Minor/China |
| Roman Empire |
6-9 tonnes |
Africa/Asia Minor/Spain/Portugal/China |
| 500-1100 |
2-3 tonnes |
Africa/Germany/Austria/China |
| 1100-1500 |
3-5 tonnes |
Africa (mainly Gold
Coast)/China |
| 1500-1600 |
5-10 tonnes |
Africa (Gold Coast)/China/South
America* |
| 1600-1700 |
10-12 tonnes |
Africa (Gold Coast)/China/South
America |
| 1700-1800 |
15-25 tonnes |
Africa (Gold Coast)/Brazil
& other S.America/Russia |
| 1800-1840 |
25-50 tonnes |
Africa (Gold Coast)/Brazil
& other S.America/Russia |
| 1847 |
77 tonnes |
Russia over 30 tonnes/Africa/South
America |
* South American production
had previously only been available locally