Gold Rush in Hunan! Over 1,000 Tonnes Discovered Underground 💰✨

Hey there, treasure hunters! Big news from the Chinese mainland: An enormous gold deposit has been unearthed in Hunan Province, and it's nothing short of a jackpot! 🤑

The Geological Bureau of Hunan Province announced on Thursday that they've struck gold\u2014literally! With estimated reserves exceeding 1,000 tonnes, this find could be one of the biggest in the region's history. That's a whole lot of bling!

Digging Deep for Gold

Geologists have identified over 40 gold veins beneath the Wangu Goldfield in Pingjiang County. These veins, found within 2,000 meters underground, already hold about 300 tonnes of gold. But wait, it gets better! The total reserves could surpass 1,000 tonnes when exploring down to 3,000 meters. 💎

To put that in perspective, the gold's estimated value is a whopping 600 billion yuan (around $83 billion USD). That's enough to make Scrooge McDuck jealous! 🦆💰

Tech-Powered Treasure Hunt

This golden success story owes a lot to cutting-edge technology. Thanks to advanced exploration techniques above 1,500 meters depth, geologists have been hitting the jackpot with their drills. Ore prospecting expert Chen Rulin shared some impressive stats: Out of 55 drilled holes, 48 had gold\u2014an 87.3% success rate! Talk about hitting the motherlode! 🎯

Gold was even found in two drill holes at depths of 2,000 meters, hinting at even more treasures lying deeper below.

A Historic Find

Wu Jun, director at the Hunan Province Geological Disaster Survey and Monitoring Institute, called the Wangu Goldfield the largest gold deposit ever found in Hunan's history. 🚀 Nationwide, only about five gold deposits rival this scale.

This discovery didn't happen overnight. It took 30 years of hard work, with geological experts tirelessly collecting samples, drilling, and doing some serious detective work underground. 🕵️‍♂️

The Adventure Continues

Even though they've already found gold at 2,000 meters, the exploration is far from over. Wu Jun mentioned that what they've uncovered so far is just the tip of the iceberg\u2014or should we say, the goldberg? 😄 Upcoming efforts will focus on the edges of the field to locate the remaining 700 tonnes of gold resources.

\"Many drilled rock cores showed visible gold,\" said Chen Rulin, noting that a tonne of ore at 2,000 meters could contain up to 138 grams of gold. That's some rich rock!

Looking Ahead

Liu Yongjun, deputy head of the Geological Bureau, highlighted that they're using advanced tech like 3D geological modeling to aid their quest. Gold was also found during drills in surrounding areas, so who knows how much more is out there? The future looks golden! ✨

Reference(s):

Over 1,000 tonnes supergiant gold deposit discovered in central China

cgtn.com