10 largest deposits in the world

Facts

Review of the best according to the editorial board. On the selection criteria. This material is subjective, does not constitute advertising and does not serve as a purchase guide. Before buying, you need to consult with a specialist.

For many centuries, mankind has been mining huge amounts of gold for various reasons. Today, any country that wants to hedge its economic system seeks to acquire as much gold as possible. Those who have their own are more fortunate, especially in the form of large deposits. Further, we will focus exclusively on the operating mines, information about which is in the public domain.

The largest gold deposits in terms of production

Nomination a place Field Gold mining per year
The largest gold deposits in terms of production 1 Carlin 27.6 TONS
2 Yanacocha 28.6 TONS
3 Pueblo viejo 29.7 TONS
4 Cortez 31.1 tons
5 Goldstrike 32.8 tons
6 Grasberg 42.3 tons
7 Muruntau 61.0 tons
The richest deposits in terms of gold content (underground mining) 1 Fire creek
2 Macassa (South Mine)
3 Nutcracker

Carlin

Rating: 4.4

Carlin

  1. Company: Newmont
  2. Country: USA
  3. Gold production per year (as of 2015): 27.6 tons
  4. Ore reserves (tonnes): 255 292 680

Valuable gold mine in the state of Nevada, producing about 1,735,000 ounces of metal annually. One of the features of the mine is the combination of two methods of gold mining – open and closed. The development of the ore was started back in 1965 and since then the work has not stopped.

The scale of the mine is enormous: its length is about 2 km, its width reaches 500 m. The deposit contains not only a colossal amount of gold, but also many valuable minerals, including rare ones (for example, orpiment, which is a sulphide gold mineral used in painting, – a frequent companion of gold, but not in the form of large crystals).

Interesting fact. Not so long ago, another one was discovered near the deposit – the Gold Quarry. Both mines are often considered as one whole. Experts do not exclude the presence of several more equally large deposits near the Carlin mine.

Yanacocha

Rating: 4.5

Yanacocha

  1. Company: Newmont (51%), Minas Buenaventura (43%), MFC (5%)
  2. Country: Peru
  3. Gold production per year (as of 2015): 28.6 t
  4. Ore reserves (tons): 1 211 564012

The deposit is considered the largest in all of Latin America. It is quite young – its development started in 1993. The mine is located in the northern part of Peru, directly in the highlands of the Andes. The valuable metal is currently being mined at 3 open-pit mines. The total working area is 10×4 km. According to rough estimates, the financial investment in the development of Yanacocha amounted to about $ 150 million.

From the very beginning of the mine's operation, it caused a lot of controversy among local residents and environmental activists. Many believe that the cyanides used in the development of the ore have already influenced the ecological situation in the region. There are 3 rivers flowing near the mine at once. They used to be crystal clear and prized for their abundance of fish. Over time, frogs disappeared from the waters, then the number of fish also decreased. In addition, cases of mass cattle diseases have been repeatedly recorded, and medicinal plants have almost disappeared in the mountains.

Pueblo viejo

Rating: 4.6

Pueblo viejo

  1. Company: Barrick
  2. Country: Dominican Republic
  3. Gold production per year (as of 2015): 29.7 t
  4. Ore reserves (tons): 8,060,000

Our top five Dominican gold mine opens – the brainchild of a joint collaboration between the two largest companies involved in gold mining. Pueblo Viejo is a field located 100 km north of the capital of the tropical Dominican Republic – Santo Domingo. We are talking about Barrick Gold and Goldcorp: in 2012, the project came under the control of both companies, in fact, after the government of the Dominican Republic had not been particularly successful in organizing gold mining at the state level for a long time.

Gold mining at the most powerful rate was carried out already 2 years after the start of the project. The deposit is considered an example of one of the largest volcanic-sedimentary ore formations. Its mining began in the distant 1975, at the moment it is more than 7 thousand tons per day with the resources of oxidized ores in 27 million tons.

Cortez

Rating: 4.7

Cortez

  1. Company: Barrick
  2. Country: USA
  3. Gold production per year (as of 2015): 31.1 tons

One of the most invaluable (not literally, of course) deposits not only of the state of Nevada, in which it is located, but of the whole world. The history of this mine dates back to the distant 19th century (year 1862). True, in those days the area was considered an important object for the extraction of silver. Only in the 1930s gold-bearing ore was discovered in one of the mines of the mine, and only more than 30 years later full-fledged gold mining started.

In the process of work, an open-pit mining method is used. And in order to simplify the process of delivering ore to the processing site, a complex communication system was built at the underground level.

Since the start of the field operation to this day, one of the key problems of the area is the lack of water for industrial needs. After all, the Cortez mine is located in a desert area of ​​the state, where water is considered to be of great value. To solve the problem of water shortage, the company has introduced innovative treatment systems that allow it to be used repeatedly.

Interesting fact. Another problem for the mining company is the indigenous population (Shoshone tribe). For many years (in fact, many generations), the places where gold is mined have been a religious value for the inhabitants of the region. Representatives of the tribe have repeatedly appealed to the courts to protect their rights, opposing the increase in the mine area.

Goldstrike

Rating: 4.8

Goldstrike

  1. Company: Barrick
  2. Country: USA
  3. Gold production per year (as of 2015): 32.8 tons

The American state of Nevada is truly rich in deposits of the valuable yellow metal. And the Goldstrike mine is one of the most impressive. About 1.24 million ounces of gold are mined here annually. Gold mining operations were started in 1986, and since 2008, the company has been extracting about 1/3 of the state's gold and a significant amount of silver at the mine.

Interesting fact. Over the past decade, the company's employees have developed an innovative gold mining method known as 'full carbon leaching'. The essence of this method is the additional processing of ore containing a low amount of valuable metal.

The Goldstrike deposit, like many large mines in the region, is rich in valuable minerals. For example, in one of the mines of the mine, just a huge piece of pyrite was discovered. This mineral is used in the manufacture of sulfuric acid, the manufacture of radio devices and weapons.

Grasberg

Rating: 4.9

Grasberg

  1. Company: Freeport
  2. Country: Indonesia
  3. Gold production per year (as of 2015): 42.3 tons
  4. Ore reserves (tonnes): 2 695 883 000

In the province of Papua in Indonesia, there is a legendary gold mine, where more than 2 million ounces of the valuable yellow metal are mined every year. By the way, the deposit boasts impressive reserves of not only gold, but also silver and copper. Grasberg is the world's largest gold deposit and the world's tallest: the mine is located high in the humid Indonesian mountains, where seismic activity is frequent. By the way, not far from the mine there is a natural landmark – Mount Punchak Jaya – the highest point of Papua New Guinea.

About 20,000 people are permanently employed in the development of the field, which is an impressive number of people. For their convenience and simplification of the work process, a whole settlement (Tembagapura) was built with a hospital, residential buildings, schools and even its own airport.

Grasberg boasts the largest mining transport park: it's scary to imagine, but daily the mine serves 160 dump trucks, most of which have a carrying capacity of 330 tons. In addition, 18 excavators with a bucket volume of up to 42 m3 are involved in the industrial zone of the mine.

Plans for the development of this field are planned for decades ahead. Nevertheless, the contract of the company-developer of the mine ends in 2021: negotiations are currently underway with the Indonesian government to extend it.

Muruntau

Rating: 5.0

Muruntau

  1. Company: Navoi
  2. Country: Uzbekistan
  3. Gold production per year (as of 2015): 61.0 tons
  4. Ore reserves (tonnes): 152 778 780

The mine is considered one of the most famous and largest in the world. The valuable Muruntau field is located in the eponymous region of the Kyzylkum desert (in the mountainous area). In terms of the volume of gold mined, the deposit is inferior only to the Indonesian Grasburn.

For the most efficient development of the gold mine, the world's largest quarry was created, the length of which is 3.5 km, width – about 2.7 km, depth reaches 430 m. Almost immediately after the discovery of the deposit, a village was built nearby, the majority of the inhabitants mine.

It is noteworthy that it is the Muruntau deposits that are considered one of the most significant geological discoveries of the 20th century. According to experts, the mine may turn out to be the largest gold deposit in the world. According to various estimates, the amount of gold-bearing ore 'stored' underground can reach 2500-5300 tons.

The richest deposits in terms of gold content (underground mining)

Fire creek

Rating: 5.0

 Klondex mines

  1. Company: Klondex Mines
  2. Country: USA
  3. Au content (ppm): 44.1
  4. Ore reserves (tons): 170,000

One of the mines of the deposit can surprise a lot with the deposits of visible gold, which is very rare. An impressive underground mine is located in Lander County, Nevada. Until 1999, the company-developer of the field rented land for the implementation of the project from 4 companies at once. Now the developer of gold ore sources is considered a full-fledged owner of the territories where one of the richest deposits of valuable metal is located.

Macassa (South Mine)

Rating: 4.9

  1. Company: Kirkland Lake Gold
  2. Country: Canada
  3. Au content (ppm): 22.2
  4. Ore reserves (tons): 1,330,000

This deposit, which is quite valuable in terms of rich in gold ore, belongs to a large Canadian company, which owns 5 large high-quality mines, which together produce more than 230,000 thousand ounces of gold (as of the first half of 2019).

Interesting fact. Kirkland Lake Gold is planning a grand merger with another Canadian mining company, Detour. The deal is valued at approximately CAD 4.7 billion (about US $ 3.7 billion). Upon completion of the transaction, shareholders of Kirkland Lake Gold and Detour will receive 73% and 27% of the shares, respectively.

Nutcracker

Rating: 4.8

Nutcracker

  1. Company: Western
  2. Country Russia
  3. Au content (ppm): 22.0
  4. Ore reserves (tons): 380,000

The well-known 'brainchild' of a no less famous company. Kedrovka is considered to be an underground mine with rich gold ore and has a rather long history of gold mining. The field is located in the northeastern part of the Buryat Republic, 100 km from the town of Taksimo, where the main office and the entire production base of the company are located.

The main working massif is presented in the form of gold-bearing zones of the quartz-vein-vein type, most of which have not yet been studied. The ore mined at the deposit is easy to concentrate, therefore the production scheme includes only gravity concentration with cyanidation. The metal recovery percentage reaches 95.

Experts consider Kedrovka to be a deposit with significant potential for gold reserve growth. Moreover, we are talking not only about exploited veins, but also poorly studied ones. As the reports of recent years show, in the period from 2008 to 2016, the increase in gold reserves amounted to 12 tons.


Attention! This rating is subjective and does not constitute an advertisement and does not serve as a purchase guide. Before buying, you need to consult with a specialist.

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