Global Gold Resource Rankings: Underground Gold Reserves – First Australia 13,000 Tonnes

Many ordinary people and gold investors tend to confuse underground gold reserves with central bank gold reserves. These are two completely different types of assets with vastly different value logics. Below we present separate, authoritative data based on 2026 USGS and World Gold Council figures, along with industry insights.

I. Top 10 Global Recoverable Underground Gold Reserves (mineral resources)

Definition: The total amount of primary underground gold deposits that are economically recoverable under current mining technology and gold prices, representing a country’s gold resource endowment.

1. Australia: 13,000 tonnes, accounting for 20% of global total, with large open‑pit gold mines concentrated in Western Australia, a core source of global gold supply.
2. Russia: 12,000 tonnes, with contiguous gold deposits in Siberia and the Far East, almost on par with Australia.
3. South Africa: 5,000 tonnes, a former gold giant, but reserves in the Witwatersrand basin are gradually depleting.
4. Indonesia: 3,600 tonnes, mainly large gold‑copper porphyry deposits.
5. Canada: 3,200 tonnes, with gold clusters in Ontario and Quebec.
6. China: 3,100 tonnes, major producing areas in Jiaodong, Inner Mongolia, and Henan, ranking only sixth in reserves but consistently the world’s top producer by annual output.
7. United States: 3,000 tonnes, Carlin‑type low‑grade gold deposits in Nevada.
8. Peru: 2,500 tonnes.
9. Brazil: 2,400 tonnes.
10. Uzbekistan: 1,800 tonnes, with the Muruntau world‑class giant gold mine.

II. Top 6 Official Central Bank Gold Reserves (above‑ground physical gold in treasuries)

Definition: Gold locked in central bank vaults for exchange rate stabilization and hedging, a national financial strategic asset, unrelated to underground mines.

1. United States: 8,133 tonnes, the world’s largest, a legacy of the Bretton Woods system, accounting for 75% of its foreign reserves.
2. Germany: 3,351 tonnes.
3. Italy: 2,452 tonnes.
4. France: 2,437 tonnes.
5. Russia: 2,332 tonnes, with substantial and continuous increases in recent years.
6. China: 2,307 tonnes, steadily increasing for over ten consecutive months, but gold accounts for only 8.5% of its foreign reserves, much lower than European and American countries.