The World's ten largest gold mines-1

1. Grasberg Mine (Indonesia) gold panning equipment The world's largest gold mine by size and output, the Grasberg gold mine in Indonesia had an output 1 444 000 last year. It is also the world's third largest copper mine, and has close to 20 000 employees.

 2. Cortez (U.S.A.) Yet another Barrick gold mine in Nevada. As of 2011 it had gold production of 1 421 000. It is made up of the Pipeline and South Pipeline deposits and the Cortez Hills deposit. The Pipeline and South Pipeline are open pit mines, and the Cortez Hills deposit, currently under construction will utilise both underground and open pit mining. Cortez has been open longer than any other gold mine in Nevada, having been in operation since 1862.

 3. Yanacocha (Peru) Peru again makes the list with Newmont's Yanacocha gold mine, located in Cajamarca. It has produced more than US$7 billion worth of gold to date. In 2011 it had an output of 1 293 000 ounces of gold.

 4. Goldstrike (U.S.A.) Sale Stone Breaking Equipment The first American mine to make it into the list. Run by Barrick in Nevada, the mine had an output of 1 088 000 ounces in 2011. According to Barrick it is located on the Carlin Trend, which is the most prolific gold mining district in the Western Hemisphere. The Goldstrike operation includes the Betze-Post open pit mine and the Meikle and Rodeo underground mines which are located just north of the Betze-Post pit, along the same mineralized trend.

 5. Veladero (Argentina) Barrick has again made it into the list with the Veladero gold mine in San Juan, Argentina. It is immediately to the south of Barrick's Pascua-Lama property. It is a conventional open cut operation. It had an output of 957 000 ounces last year, and as of December 31 had reserves of 10.6 million ounces.