Largest Gold Mines In The World

Looking for a list of the worlds largest gold mines, then look no further. We’ve compiled a list detailing the top 5 active gold production mines on earth. Yeah…you are welcome 🙂

For thousands of years, gold has been the metal of choice when it comes to conserving wealth and has become a truly global operation. Mining companies from South Africa, Russia, Australia,
New Guinea and even the Dominican Republic produced some 2,700 tons of gold in the last year with the top 10 companies producing over 20% of the overall yearly gold production.

Here is a quick list of the top 5 gold mining companies currently operating:

Grasberg

Papua, Indonesia – Far and away the single largest producer of gold in the world, this mine produces well over 105 million ounces of gold per year. Using a combination of open pit mining and underground mining
techniques, this mine has created a crater more than a mile across. Also, in terms of value, Grasberg produces more copper than gold and is also seen as one of the world’s largest copper mines.

Lihir

Lihir Island, New Guinea – Located at the crest of a geothermically active volcano, this mine is responsible for some 64 million ounces of gold with production slated to ramp up after retrofits.

Muruntau

Kyzyl Kum Desert, Uzbekistan – Known as the largest open pit mine in the world (2.2 miles x 1.6 miles), the true available production of this mine, while slated at some
50 million ounces, is actually somewhat speculative and is currently owned by the Uzbek government.

Olympiada

Central Siberia, Russia – Located in the heart of the most prolific area in Russia for natural resources, Olympiada represented some 9% of all Russian gold production in 2012.

Oyu Tolgoi

Gobi Desert, Mongolia – With a potential of billions of pounds of copper, this is actually a copper mine with huge gold deposits available as well. While production only began in January, 2013,
the potential gold mining production from this mine could easily exceed 46 million ounces of gold.

On the whole, between gold production and projections, these mines could easily meet or exceed demand needs over the next few years. Keep in mind that most of these mines make more money from other metals
(copper, lead, zinc, etc.) than from their gold production. If you have plans to invest in a mining company, taking a look at their other metal production numbers will be essential as well. Several of these
mines are privately held and others are at least partially government owned which makes investing in them a challenging prospect at best.