South Africa’s gold mines yield 28 percent of the world’s gold annually. In 1886, gold was first discovered in South Africa at the mines near Witwatersrand, which is now South Africa’s largest gold-producing area. In 2007, China overtook South Africa by producing 276 tons of gold, beating South Africa for the title of biggest gold producer by just four tons of gold. This is the first time that South Africa has not been first in gold production since 1905.