Wonder what the biggest mines in the world are? Coal, silver, copper, gold, and numerous other minerals are dug out of thousands of mines each year. Some of these mines are so impressive in size that the amount of minerals extracted from them is mind-blowing to say the least. We would like to present you with a list of some of the largest mines in the world. In order to keep this list straightforward, we decided to focus on just gold mines, although some of the mines in the countdown might produce other minerals as well.
Getting an accurate amount on the production of each mine is a virtually impossible task, as mining data is not standardized. Nonetheless, we’ve ranked the mines according to rough estimates provided by various trustworthy reports. Some of the mines on the list have been in operation for a number of years, which translates into the fact that their resources are running short. However, we have used a yearly estimate as the main indicator for ranking.
Let’s take a look at the countdown, in a style similar to our coverage of America’s fastest growing careers.
No. 10: Super Pit (Kalgoorlie) – Australia
Type: open cut
Estimated production (yearly): 780,000 ounces
Owned by: Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:ABX) & Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE:NEM)
See the rest of the biggest mines in the world on the following pages:
No. 9: Lihir Gold Mine – Papua New Guinea
Type: open pit
Estimated production (yearly): 790,000 ounces
Owned by: Newcrest Mining Ltd.
No. 8: Lagunas Norte Gold Mine – Peru
Type: open pit
Estimated production (yearly): 800,000 ounces
Owned by: Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:ABX)
No. 7: Veladero Gold Mine – Argentina
Type: open pit
Estimated production (yearly): 1, 120,000 ounces
Owned by: Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:ABX)
No. 6: Cortez Gold Mine – Nevada, USA
Public Domain Image: Public Domain
Type: open pit and underground
Estimated production (yearly): 1, 150,000 ounces
Owned by: Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:ABX)
No. 5: Goldstrike Gold Mine (Betze Post) – Nevada, USA
Public Domain Image: Public Domain
Type: open pit and underground
Estimated production (yearly): 1,250,000 ounces
Owned by: Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:ABX)
No. 4: Yanacocha Gold Mine – Peru
Type: open pit
Estimated production (yearly): 1,450,000 ounces (also produces silver)
Owned by: Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE:NEM) & Buenaventura
No. 3: Carlin-Nevada Complex – Nevada, USA
Type: open pit and underground
Estimated production (yearly): 1,700,000 ounces
Owned by: Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE:NEM)
No. 2: Muruntau Gold Mine – Uzbekistan
Type: open pit
Estimated production (yearly): 1,800,000 ounces
Owned by: Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Combinat
No. 1: Grasberg Gold Mine – Papua, Indonesia
Type: open pit
Estimated production (yearly): 2,025,000 ounces (also produces silver and copper)
Owned by: Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE:FCX)
