10 biggest gold mines of the world
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Gold has been a valuable and highly sought-after precious metal for coinage, jewelry, and other arts long before the beginning of recorded history.
A total of 165,000 tonnes of gold have been mined so far.
There are differences of opinion about which gold mine should be ranked 1. Some consultants say the world's largest gold mine, by production, is the Muruntau gold mine in Uzbekistan while others think it is the Grasberg gold mine in Indonesia.
Among the most valuable sources for gold mining production data, besides reports from mining companies themselves, are the Raw Materials Group in Solna, Sweden; Canada's Metals Economics Group in Halifax, Nova Scotia; and Intierra Resource Intelligence, based in Perth, Australia.
Ibtimes.com recently came up with a list of the 10 biggest gold mines in the world, based on 2010 production data available. Read on. . .
Image: An employee shows a golden panda ingot at a gold store in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province of China.
Photographs: ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images
10 biggest gold mines of the world
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1. Grasberg Gold Mine
This mine is located in the Indonesian province of Papua.
It produced 2,025,000 ounces of gold, according to the annual report of Rio Tinto Plc.
The majority of the mine is owned by Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.
Besides gold, it produces silver and copper.
It has about 19,500 employees.
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Image: Gold bars are displayed at the GLD Fifth Anniversary Celebration in New York City.
Photographs: Larry Busacca/Getty Images
10 biggest gold mines of the world
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2. Muruntau Gold Mine
This mine, which is about 250 miles west of the capital in Uzbekistan.
It is believed to have produced approximately 1,800,000 ounces of gold in 2010.
The project, which is an open-pit operation, is run by state-owned Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Combinat.
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Image: American Eagle and South African Krugerrand gold bullion is offered for sale at the Chicago Coin Company.
Photographs: Scott Olson/Getty Images
10 biggest gold mines of the world
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3. Carlin-Nevada Complex
This mine is in the US state of Nevada.
It produced 1.735 million ounces in 2010.
The mine is owned by Newmont Mining Corp.
It includes both open-pit and underground operations.
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Image: An Iron Age Torc, estimated to be as old as 50BC, made from gold and silver and valued at GBP 350,000 is on display.
Photographs: Oli Scarff/Getty Images
10 biggest gold mines of the world
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4. Yanacocha Gold Mine
This mine in northern Peru is the largest gold mine in Latin America.
It produced 1.46 million ounces of gold.
It is run by Newmont Mining and owned by Newmont Mining and Buenaventurda, a Peruvian company.
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Image: Gold and turquoise house plaque representing animals from the first century, discovered in 1978 on the archeological site of Tillia Tepe (northern Afghanistan).
Photographs: Francois Durand/Getty Images
10 biggest gold mines of the world
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5. Goldstrike (Betze Post) Gold Mine
This mine is located northwest of Elko, Nevada.
It produced 1.24 million ounces of gold.
It is owned by Barrick Gold Corp.
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Image: Gold rings are displayed at a jewelry shop in Baghdad, Iraq.
Photographs: Wathiq Khuzaie/Getty Images
10 biggest gold mines of the world
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6. Cortez Gold Mine
This mine is located southwest of Elko, Nevada.
It produced 1.14 million ounces of gold.
It is owned by Barrick Gold.
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Image: 'Chess of the Middle Ages' exhibit, made of gold, silver and other jewelry, is displayed during the Junwex. Petersburg jewellery exhibition in St. Petersburg,
Photographs: Alexander Demianchuk/Reuters
10 biggest gold mines of the world
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7. Veladero Gold Mine
This mine is in Argentina.
It produced 1.12 million ounces of gold.
It is owned by Barrick Gold Corp.
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Image: The hands of a bride are seen during a wedding ceremony at an area in Bab al-Aziziyah compound in Tripoli.
Photographs: Louafi Larbi/Reuters
10 biggest gold mines of the world
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8. Lagunas Norte Gold Mine
This mine is in north-central Peru.
It produced 808,000 ounces of gold.
It too is owned by Barrick Gold Corp.
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Image: A fine, hunting-cased, keyless, minute-repeating, 14K rose gold pocket watch with concealed erotic automaton.
Photographs: Denis Balibouse/Reuters
10 biggest gold mines of the world
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9. Lihir Gold Mine
This mine is in Papua New Guineau.
It produced 790,974 ounces of gold.
It is owned by Newcrest Mining Ltd., Australia's largest gold producer.
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Image: A woman speaks on a phone inside a jewellery shop in Hyderabad.
Photographs: Krishnendu Halder/Reuters
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10. Super Pit/Kalgoorlie
This mine is an open-cut mine in Western Australia.
It produced 788,000 ounces of gold.
It is co-owned by Barrick Gold Corp. and Newmont Mining.
Image: A goldsmith stands behind gold bracelets on display at his shop in Riyadh.
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