10 Biggest Gold Mines in the World

10 Biggest Gold Mines in the World

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.

The following list draws from each of these sources, as well as others, and thus is not a simple duplication of any one group's rankings.

1. Grasberg Gold Mine -- This mine, which is in the Indonesian province of Papua, produced 2,025,000 ounces of gold, according to the annual report of Rio Tinto Plc. The mine is majority owned by Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. Besides gold, it also produces silver and copper.

2. Muruntau Gold Mine -- This mine, which is about 250 miles west of the capital in Uzbekistan, is believed to have produced approximately 1,800,000 ounces of gold last year. The project, which is an open-pit operation, is run by state-owned Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Combinat.

3. Carlin-Nevada Complex -- This mine, which is in the U.S. state of Nevada, produced 1.735 million ounces in 2010. It is owned by Newmont Mining Corp. It includes both open-pit and underground operations.

4. Yanacocha Gold Mine -- This mine, which is in northern Peru and is the largest gold mine in Latin America, produced 1.46 million ounces last year. It is run by Newmont Mining and owned by Newmont Mining and Buenaventurda, a Peruvian company.

5. Goldstrike (Betze Post) Gold Mine -- This mine, which is northwest of Elko, Nev., produced 1.24 million ounces of gold last year. It is owned by Barrick Gold Corp.

6. Cortez Gold Mine -- This mine, which is southwest of Elko, Nev., produced 1.14 million ounces of gold last year. It is owned by Barrick Gold.

7. Veladero Gold Mine -- This mine, which is in Argentina, produced 1.12 million ounces of gold last year. It is owned by Barrick Gold.

8. Lagunas Norte Gold Mine -- This mine, which is in north-central Peru, produced 808,000 ounces of gold last year. It is owned by Barrick Gold. 

9. Lihir Gold Mine -- This mine, which is in Papua New Guineau, produced 790,974 ounces of gold in the 12 months ended June 30. It is owned by Newcrest Mining Ltd., Australia's largest gold producer.

10. Super Pit/Kalgoorlie -- This mine, an open-cut mine in Western Australia, produced 788,000 ounces last year. It is 50-50 owned by Barrick Gold and Newmont Mining.