China uncovers over 1,400-tonne gold reserve, its largest deposit since 1949

By Hien Nguyen November 16, 2025 | 07:12 pm PT

A raw gold bar is displayed at Nigeria’s booth at the 8th China International Import Expo (CIIE) venue in Shanghai, China, Nov. 5, 2025. Photo by Reuters

China has discovered a gold deposit holding an estimated 1,444 tonnes of reserves worth nearly US$193 billion at current prices, the largest in the country since 1949.

The Dadonggou deposit, found in northeastern China’s Liaoning Province, is estimated to hold 1,444.49 tonnes of gold within 2.586 billion tonnes of ore, the country’s Ministry of Natural Resources announced on Friday.

That translates to an average grade of 0.56 grams per tonne. Though the ore is low-grade, the size of the deposit makes it the largest single gold find in China since 1949, CGTN reported.

At current prices, that much gold is valued at more than 166 billion euro (US$192.9 billion), according to Euronews.

China National Gold Group, Liaoning Mineral Geology Group and the Yingkou Municipal Government have teamed up to develop the Dadonggou mine, as reported by China Daily.

Between 2024 and 2027, they plan to invest more than 20 billion yuan (US$2.82 billion) to build an integrated industry chain that encompasses exploration, mining, processing, smelting and gold jewelry production.

Over the past year, China has made several similar finds, including a large deposit in Hunan province. Previously, the world’s largest known gold deposits typically contained only a few hundred tonnes, the South China Morning Post reported.

Industry estimates had suggested that about 3,000 tonnes of gold remained unmined in China, roughly a quarter of the untapped reserves in Russia and Australia. The rapid pace of these new discoveries suggests that China’s gold reserves may be far larger than previously believed.

China has stepped up its mineral exploration in recent years. In 2024, it produced 377.24 tonnes of gold, a 0.56% increase from the year before, while domestic consumption reached 985.31 tonnes, with demand for gold bars and coins rising more than 24% year-on-year.

The latest discovery comes amid a surge in global gold demand and prices. The precious metal has climbed over 50% this year to a peak of $4,381.21 per ounce on Oct. 20.

The surge was driven by a weaker dollar, geopolitical tensions and strong central bank buying, especially in emerging economies seeking to diversify their reserves.