People found small bars of gold in ancient times, and, struck by the brilliance and beauty of an unknown material, they made jewelry and talismans from it. The first conscious gold mining deposits appeared about 6 millennia ago, and today the annual production of yellow metal in all countries is 3,150 tons. We will go and look for the precious metal and in our review the largest gold deposits located in different parts of our planet.
1
Sukhoi Log. Russia
Judging not by production volumes, but by gold reserves, the largest is the Sukhoi Log gold deposit, located in the Irkutsk region of the Russian Federation.
Gold reserves are estimated at 2,700 tons, and in addition to gold, ores contain a large amount of silver. At the very beginning of 2017, the world's largest gold deposit was auctioned for $ 155 million, and the company SL-Gold acquired it.
2
Las Cristinas. Venezuela
According to experts, the mine in the Venezuelan region of Bolivar near the town of Las Claritas contains 17 million ounces of gold, and despite the complexity of mining, it is among the largest in the world in terms of the amount of gold extracted from the bowels.
The field was discovered in the early 60s, and since 1992, a Canadian company has been developing. But, the Venezuelan authorities, accusing the Canadians of violating environmental standards, took away their license. In 2012, Venezuela and China entered into an agreement on joint production of promising Las Claritas.
3
Mine "Silin." China
In 2017, the largest gold mine was discovered in the eastern province of China, Shandong, whose reserves are estimated at 382 tons.
The thickness of the gold layer is 67 m, and its length is about 2 km. The development of precious ore and the extraction of gold from it is carried out by one of the largest companies in the Celestial Empire “Shandong Gold Group Co”. It is assumed that after the opening of the mine work in it will be carried out for 40 years.
4
Vasilkovskoe. Kazakhstan
There are about 190 deposits in Kazakhstan, and the largest is located near the city of Kokshetau in the northern part of the republic. It was discovered in 1963, but the development of gold ore began in the early 80s of the twentieth century.
Geologists confirm that the reserves of the Vasilkovsky deposit are approximately 360 tons of gold, which makes it one of the most promising in the world. At the same time, the content of precious metal in a ton of ore is 2 g. The large company Altyntau Kokshetau is engaged in the development of the mine, and with a larger investment, it is possible to increase production volumes many times.
5
Bakyrchik. Kazakhstan
The Bakyrchik deposit is located in East Kazakhstan. It is in the 6th place in the world rating by gold reserves. It was discovered in the middle of the twentieth century, but work is being carried out with long interruptions from difficult mining conditions.
The presence of carbon and arsenic made mining difficult, and work was discontinued in 1997. After long coordination of projects, in 2010 the Russian company Polymetal took over the development. According to geologists, the “golden chest” of East Kazakhstan contains 200 tons of gold, with each ton of ore mined containing 7.7 g of gold.
6
Witwatersrand. South Africa
The African deposit is famous not only for its high gold content in a ton of ore mined, but also for the fact that it has the deepest mine in the world. The depth of the Tau-ton mine is 4.5 km.
The field was discovered in 1882. And after a few years, the gold rush began, and tens of thousands of adventurers reached South Africa. But systematic industrial development began at Witwatersrand in 1952.
7
Muruntau. Uzbekistan
The shale field in the beautiful mountains of Muryntau, which became the natural southwestern border of the Kyzylkum desert, was discovered in 1958. Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Combine began production here in 1969.
Over time, a village grew up at the mine, which was named Muruntau.
Today it is the largest open pit in the world where gold is mined, and one of the most promising. Annual production at a large mine in Uzbekistan averages 50 tons, and geologists estimate the remaining reserves at 1,750 tons.
8
Grasberg. Indonesia
The highest open pit in the world, occupying the third place in copper mining, is also famous for its huge gold reserves. The quarry is located in a picturesque place of the Punchak-Jaya massif.
Experts note that with an annual production of 55 tons of gold, its reserves will be enough for another 50 years of development. At the foot of the mountain, on which the quarry is located, a village with a developed infrastructure is built, which also has its own airport.
9
Goldstrake. USA
In the north of the US state of Nevada, a gold mine is located, where the annual extraction of valuable metal is 33 tons.
Barrick has been developing since 1987, and more recently, a new ore processing technology has been introduced to further extract gold from already processed ore. This significantly increased productivity, and the new method began to be applied to other US mines.
10
Cortes. USA
The famous American mine in Nevada has been known since 1862, and in the 30s of the last century, gold was discovered in its bowels. In one of the mines, valuable metal was mined in 1968, but due to financial difficulties in 1976, work was suspended.
In the mid-80s, having received new investments, production at the gold mine was resumed, and today annual production is about 30 tons. Recently, Barrick received funds for new developments, which allowed to extract 300 thousand ounces of gold per year.
11
Pueblo Viejo. Dominican Republic
In recent years, the Dominican Republic has been gaining leading positions in the world in terms of gold production, all thanks to an increase in industrial production at the large Pueblo Viejo deposit.
Each ton of ore mined in the mine contains 2.8 g of gold, and reserves are approximately 183 tons. For a long time, work on the quarry was not conducted, but in 2012, American and Canadian companies entered the region, resuming development by agreement with the Government of the Dominican Republic.
12
Yanakocha. Peru
High in the Andes, in the northern part of the mysterious Peru, there is a huge gold field, which has been mining gold since 1993. This is one of the highest mountain deposits, and according to archaeologists, the Incas used it.
One of the largest deposits discovered at the beginning of the twentieth century, covers an area of 1386 km², and consists of five large open pits. Annual production is 28 tons, but in recent years, specialists from the Geological Survey noted a sharp increase in gold production at the mines of the Peruvian Yanacoch.
13
Carlin. USA
Each year, 27.5 tons of precious metal is mined from the bowels of a deposit in desert American Nevada. The uniqueness of the deposit lies in the fact that on its vast area there are both open pits and mines.
The Newmont Mining company has been developing since 1965, and today gold reserves are estimated at about 120 tons. Karlin’s quarry is striking in its enormous size, because its depth is 200 m and its width is more than 500 m. Each year, production volumes at the quarry only increase, although much depends on world gold prices.
14
Penascinto. Mexico
The field in the Mexican state of Zacatecas belongs to the well-known Canadian mining company, which conducts development here, extracting from the bowels of the mine 27 tons of gold annually. Archaeological research has shown that even the most ancient tribes of America here extracted precious metal from the bowels of the earth.
In terms of the rate of increase in mining, Penyaskinto’s quarries are now gaining a leading position, and the use of the latest technologies significantly reduces the cost of extracted metal. In addition to gold, silver is mined in the interior of the mine, and it is the fifth largest silver mine in the world.
15
Veladero. Chile Argentina
The largest gold and silver deposits are divided between Chile and Argentina, and in 1998 they began to mine precious metals, and today it is one of the most promising mining projects on the planet.
The Canadian company Barrick Gold Corp signed a profitable contract with the governments of the two countries, and already in 2008 it reached a production level of over 1 million ounces per year. The alpine field is also famous for the fact that for the first time a wind turbine was installed at an altitude of 1,282 m.
16
Likhir. Papua New Guinea
In the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries, Europeans rushed here for spices, and at the end of the 20th century this region became the largest producer of gold.
At one of the largest quarries in the world, Likhir, systematic mining began at the end of the twentieth century, and today the development company has reached production volumes of 25 tons of gold. There is a mine on the island of the same name, and from the beginning of the work, the islanders' life has changed dramatically, and a large Australian company has bought all the mining rights.
17
Boddington. Australia
Australia's largest copper and gold mine is located in Western Australia. Extraction of the precious metal began here in 2009, and two years later the company boasted a millionth ounce mined.
The company "Newmont" is engaged in development, not sparing to invest in a promising enterprise. Now more than 24 tons of precious metal are extracted on the Earth’s surface, and reserves are estimated at 19.4 million ounces.
18
Berezovsky field. Russia
One of the oldest deposits not only in Russia, but also in the world, the development of which has been ongoing since 1745. It was accidentally discovered by one of the residents of the village of Shartash on the banks of the Berezovka River.
The enormous size of the ore field over time became the main deposit in Russia, and from the beginning of mining 125 tons of gold were recovered to the surface. Mining is conducted in a closed way, which in many ways increases the cost of mined precious metal.
Finally
We see that 7 countries are the undisputed leaders in gold mining, and in recent years Mexico, Indonesia and Kazakhstan made a sharp jump in this area. Given the existing volume of world mining of precious metal, its reserves, according to geologists, will last another 60 years. In addition, as the Geological Survey notes, many reserves of gold in the earth are only tentative on the basis of the studies, and so far their presence has not been confirmed in practice.
Article author: Valery Skiba