Largest gold deposit in the world worth $83 billion found in China

What is being dubbed as the largest gold deposit in the world has been found in China, state outlet Xinhua news said.

The gold reserves are worth 600 billion yuan, according to Reuters, which amounts to $83 billion U.S. 

The discovery was made by geologists with the Hunan Provincial Geological Institute about 12 miles beneath the surface in the Asian country's Pingjiang County, Xinhua reported, according to the New York Post. 

The area of the discovery of 40 gold ore veins with a total of 300.2 tons of gold resources is known as the Wangu goldfield. 

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Hunan Academy of Geology forecast that there were more than 1,000 tons of gold reserves at a depth of over 3,000 meters, according to Xinhua.

China is the world's largest gold producer, accounting for around 10% of global output in 2023, data from the World Gold Council showed.

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Prior to the discovery, the title of the largest gold reserve in the world went to the South Deep gold mine in Gauteng Province, South Africa, the Post states. It holds about 930 metric tons of gold. 

In October, prices for gold futures had risen over 32% year to date and more than 38% in the past year, setting a number of new all-time highs in the process. 

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One ounce of gold is currently going for nearly $2,674.

Investors have turned to gold as a safe haven from a variety of geopolitical risks in the past year, including the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine. Uncertainty surrounding the direction of U.S. economic policy after the election, as well as the Fed's rate-cutting plans and long-term trajectory of the growing national debt have also bolstered investment in gold.

FOX Business' Eric Revell and Reuters contributed to this report.