The World's Biggest Gold Mines

The World's Biggest Gold Mines 

The price of gold has more than doubled in the past five years, creating considerable interest in trading the precious metal. Roughly $75 billion is traded in the London bullion market every day. 

Despite demand, gold is extremely scarce. By some estimates, all of the gold ever mined in the history of the world would fill only two Olympic-size swimming pools. Given the U.S. Geological Society estimates that just 51,000 tons of global gold reserves remain in the ground, gold mining remains a lucrative business. 

1. Grasberg

Location: Papua, Indonesia

Gold Production In 2011: 1,444,000 

Size: 527,400 acres 

Active Miners: Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold 

Mining Operations: Open pit, underground

(Freeport-McMoRan)

2. Cortez

Location: Elko, Nev. 

Gold Production In 2011: 1,421,000 

Size: 1,081 square miles 

Active Miners: Barrick Gold 

Mining Operations: Open pit

(Barrick Gold)

3Yanacocha

Location: Cajamarca, Peru 

Gold Production In 2011: 1,293,000 

Size: 96 square miles 

Active Miners: Newmont Mining; Buenaventura; World Bank 

Mining Operations: Open pit

(Newmont Mining)

4. Goldstrike

Location: Eureka and Elko Counties, Nev. 

Gold Production In 2011: 1,088,000 

Active Miners: Barrick Gold 

Mining Operations: Open pit and underground

(Barrick Gold)

5. Veladero

Location: San Juan, Argentina 

Gold Production In 2011: 957,000 

Active Miners: Barrick Gold 

Mining Operations: Open pit

(Barrick Gold)

6. Vaal River

Location: Klerksdorp, South Africa 

Gold Production In 2011: 831,000 

Size: 14,602 hectares 

Active Miners: AngloGold Ashanti 

Mining Operations: Underground

(AngloGold Ashanti)

7. West Wits

Location: Carletonville, South Africa 

Gold Production In 2011: 792,000 

Size: 4,188 hectares 

Active Miners: AngloGold Ashanti 

Mining Operations: Underground

(AngloGold Ashanti)

8. Lagunas Norte

Location: Santiago de Chuco, Peru 

Gold Production In 2011: 770,000 oz 

Active Miners: Barrick Gold 

Mining Operations: Open pit

(Barrick Gold Corp.)

9. Kalgoorlie Super Pit

Location: Kalgoorlie, Australia 

Gold Production In 2011: 750,000 oz 

Active Miners: Barrick Gold; Newmont Mining 

Mining Operations: Open pit

(Barrick Gold Corp.)

10. Boddington

Location: Boddington, Australia 

Gold Production In 2011: 741,000 oz 

Active Miners: Newmont Mining 

Mining Operations: Open pit (Newmont Mining Corp.)