Pie Graph Of Worldwide Gold Production Shows Shift

Believe it or not, North American mines account for only 16.3% of total world gold production right now. Moreover, old-standard areas like South Africa, Australia, Canada, and (yes) the U.S. are declining over time.

The Business Insider has the chart of the former and a graph for the latter, along with some commentary. One main reason for the shift is that the emerging gold-producing areas have been relatively unexplored. Another is those areas are welcoming miners in rather than stifling them.

Gaia the Earth Goddess didn’t ask where we wanted our gold and silver deposited. And it is the underexplored – and in some cases the unexplored – regions that offer the most potential for new discoveries, greater production, and thus, higher investment returns.

There's little to argue with that conclusion, provided it's remembered that new and unexplored vistas call up gold fever as well as gold...