Gold Production: Top 10 Largest Gold Mines in the World

Gold is a precious yellow metal that occurs naturally on earth. Due to its high investment value and cultural association, the demand for gold mining keeps increasing each year. While many countries except Antarctica have some amount of gold mines, ten nations boast of having the biggest gold mines in the world. These mines are a source of natural gold and produce millions of ounces of this metal each year.

The heavy concentration of gold deposits in these mines could be due to the volcanic eruptions or meteor strikes millions of years ago. Most of the mines belong to state or country-owned companies which invest heavily in special equipment and processes to separate the metal from the rocks.

Let us now look into the Top 10 Biggest and Deepest Gold Mines in the World in terms of annual production, size and gold reserves.

Top 10 Highest Gold Producers in the World:

Check out the details of the top ten world's largest gold producing mines in no particular order:

1. Muruntau, Uzbekistan:

Muruntau gold mine is the world's largest open-pit gold mine which produces more than two million ounces of gold annually. The 3.5X2.5 KM broad pit is present in the Qizilqum desert of Uzbekistan. Records suggest that the mine was discovered in 1958 and has been operational since 1967. It is currently owned and operated by Navoi Mining and Metallurgy Combinat, a state-owned company of the country. The mine also holds record for being the world's fifth deepest open-pit mine with a current mining depth of 600m.

2. Carlin Trend, United States of America:

The Carlin Trend is an open pit gold mine that is located at a 32 km distance from Carlin, Nevada in USA. Initially it was operated as Nevada Gold Mines, a joint venture between Barrick and Goldcorp companies. It is one of the richest gold mining complexes in the world with more than 12.46 millionoz. of probable gold reserves. The complex comprises of 10 underground and 12 open pit mines with stock reserves of 4.89 Moz and 5.6 Moz respectively. Apart from pits, the mining complex also hosts two autoclave facilities, two roasting facilities, four oxide mills and five heap leach facilities.

3. Grasberg Gold Mine, Papua:

The Grasberg gold mine is reputed for being the world's most lucrative gold mines with an estimated $40 billion worth gold reserves. It is situated at an altitude of 14,000 feet above sea level in the Sudiman Mountain range of Papua, Indonesia. History suggests that the Dutch colonists discovered copper deposits mine in the mid 1930's. In 1988, the mine got into the headlines after huge gold reserves were found in the site. Currently it is operated as joint venture of Freeport Indonesia and Government of Indonesia. It holds the record for producing 53 Moz of gold between 1990-2019.

4. Boddington Gold Mine, Western Australia:

The Boddington Gold Mine is Australia's largest gold mines with estimated gold reserves of 12.4 million troy ounces as per December 2018. The mine is situated about 13 Kms northwest of Boddington in Western Australia and is operated as a joint venture between three companies – Newmont Mining, AngloGold Ashanti and Newcrest Mining. The official mining operations started in 2009 and the first million troy ounces of gold production was achieved in 2011. The large open pit mine has a strike length of over 5 kms and a width of 1 km approximately, making it one of the biggest gold mines in the world.

5. Lihir Gold Mine, Papua New Guinea:

With an estimated 23Moz of in-situ gold as on 2019, Lihir Gold Mine takes the position as one of the highest producing gold mines in the world. The open-pit mine is located on the Lihir Island in Papua New Guinea of New Ireland Province. Until 2005, the mining operations on this site were conducted by a subsidiary of Rio Tinto and later handed them over to Lihir Gold. In 2008, the company planned to expand its production rate from 2.35Moz in 2011 to 10Moz in 2021.

6. Olimpiada Gold Mine, Russia:

Olimpiada Gold mine is located in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. The mine is the highest individual contributor to PJSC Polyus, a gold production company that owns Olimpiada. The mine also holds a steady position in the list of top ten gold producers in the world. The ores are processed at three mills numbered 1,2,3 having a combined capacity of over 14 million tonnes per year. In 2019 alone, the mine produced a record-breaking 1,389Koz of gold and has estimated reserves of 30.01 million oz for the future.

7. Mponeng Gold Mine, South Africa:

Located 4 KM below the surface level, Mponeng gold mine holds the record for being the deepest gold mines in the world. It is interesting to know that a trip from the surface of the earth to the bottom of the mine takes one full hour! The mine is situated in Gauteng province of South Africa and owned by Harmony Gold company. It was originally known as Western Deep Levels South Shaft or No.1 Shaft and later renamed to Mponeng in 1999. Mponeg gold mine is currently one of the leading producers of gold in the world with contained gold reserves of 2.1 million ounces.

8. Norte Abierto Gold Mine, Chile:

Norte Abierto is one of the largest gold mines in the world which is located in the Atacama region, Chile. The mine is a joint venture between Goldcorp and Barrick Gold, two Canadian Mining companies which own equal share. However, it is still an underdeveloped open pit mine which is yet to commence its commercial operations. The mine contains an estimated 23.2 Moz of proven and probable gold reserves as of 2018. It also contains 26.6 Moz of additional measured and indicated gold reserves. As part of the project, mining operations will start in two deposits-Cerro Casale and Caspiche which are 12km apart from each other.

9. Pueblo Viejo, Dominican Republic:

Pueblo Vijo is the third-largest gold mine in the world that is located in the Sánchez Ramírez Province of the Dominican Republic. The mine is owned by two companies – Barrick Gold and Newmont Goldcorp which hold 60% and 40% shares respectively. The operations are run by Pueblo Viejo Dominica Corporation after the previous company Rosario Dominicana went bankrupt. Pueblo contains an estimated 6.55 Moz gold reserves and produced 0.58 Moz of old in 2018 alone. The annual gold production is around 30.6 tonnes making Pueblo one of the world's leading producers of gold.

10. Kibali, Democratic Republic of Congo:

Kibali is one of the biggest gold mines in the world which is located in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa. It is also Africa's largest gold mine which operates as a combination of open pit and underground mine. Kibali was discovered by two Australian excavators Hannam and O'Brien in 1903. In 1906, operations officially commenced in the site with a reported production of 600 ounces of gold per month. Currently, Kibali gold mine is owned by Barrick and Anglogold Ashanti, and Société Miniére de Kilo-Moto. The annual gold production of Kibali is 25.3 tonnes and the estimated proven and probable reserves is approximately 8.3Moz as on 2018.

Those are some of the largest gold mines in the world which act as key players in the global gold mining. With such a huge amount of gold reserves yet to be excavated, these mines are sure to last for many more decades. With gold rates surging each day, there is no doubt that these gold mining companies will make huge profits!