5 Largest Gold Mines in the World

With thousands of mining corporations searching for the precious resources in numerous countries, gold mine is a multi-billion dollar industry in the world.

The starting price of gold in 2021 was approximately $1,866 per oz, demonstrating how profitable the industry may be. Approximately 2,500 to 3,000 tonnes of gold are mined annually, which is well over one million ounces of gold.

With the exception of Antarctica, gold mines are found, explored and exploited everywhere in the world.

Gold mining includes processes of exploration, drilling, geological analysis, funding, development, extraction, initial refinement, and delivery of gold to a refinery. Let’s take a look at five gold mines in the world.

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1. Muruntau, Uzbekistan

In Uzbekistan, the Muruntau mining complex, which consists of an open-pit mine and heap leach operations, is estimated to have produced slightly more than 2 million ounces of gold in 2021.

The mine, which is run by the government-owned Navoi business, is more than 3.3 km long, 2.5 km broad, and almost 600 m deep.

Given the astounding resource base, which is expected to exceed 150 million ounces, Muruntau will probably continue to hold the title of largest gold mine in the foreseeable future.

2. Carlin, USA

There are several things that make the Carlin trend mines in Nevada, USA, special. First off, it is a collection of mines along a strip of land in Nevada that is incredibly extensive—it measures about 56 km long and 8 km wide.

However, the mine’s particular type of gold is referred to as invisible gold, making it distinct from other mines. 

Due to its minuscule size, gold is considered to be invisible and can only be found by chemical analysis. Despite the fact that it might seem like there isn’t any gold there, the mine actually generates about 1,665 koz of gold per year.

3. Olimpiada, Russia 

Olimpiada in Russia comes in third on the list of the largest gold mines in the world. Polyus is the miner in this open-pit mine. 

Polyus is Russia’s top gold producer, thus you can get an idea of how much gold is produced by this mine in particular.

It is the fourth-largest gold producer in the world, and the gold they are able to recover from Olimipada makes up about half of Polyus’s gold output. 

The mine produces 1,200 koz of gold each year and is estimated to contain roughly 30 million ounces of gold.

4. Kibali, Democratic Republic of Congo

The Kibali underground and open pit gold mine is largely operated by AngloGold Ashanti, which owns 45%, then Barrick Gold Corporation, which owns 45%, and Société Minière de Kilo-Moto, which owns 10%.  

The gold mine is located 220 kilometres away from Isro, and in 2020, it produced 808 koz of gold.

Since 2009, Kibali has aided the economy of DRC by investing almost $4 billion in the form of permits, royalties and taxes. 

A robust local economy has been facilitated by the gold mine’s contributions to infrastructure and community development, salaries, and payments to suppliers and contractors in the area.

5.  Loulo Gounkoto, Mali 

Western Mali is home to the Loulo-Gounkoto complex, which is near to the Falémé River and the Senegal border. It is divided between the Loulo and Gounkoto mining permits.

Barrick Gold Corporation and the State of Mali both control 20% of the open-pit mine, with the remaining 80% owned by Barrick. 

The mine produced 544,000 ounces of gold in 2020, and 510,000 to 560,000 ounces of gold are anticipated to be produced in 2021.

Since the inception of the mine, Loulo-Gounkoto has constructed 20 schools in its neighbouring villages, thus increasing the number of students enrolled from 500 to more than 5,000.

Currently, the complex’s bursary programme is helping 78 of them, and Loulo-Gounkoto also pays the teachers’ salaries.

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