The Super-Pit Gold Mine in Australia
Gold mines – deposits of gold
When it comes to global gold reserves, a distinction is made between primary and secondary deposits. The primary deposits are usually deep underground and are mined in gold mines. In exceptional cases, gold veins are also found close to the earth's surface and the precious metal can be mined in open-cast mining. The deepest gold mine of all is the Mponeng gold mine, which is located south of the South African capital Pretoria. It already reaches about 4,000 m underground - but its operating company AngloGold Ashanti plans to expand it even further.
The most important gold producing nations
For years, South Africa has been at the forefront of gold mining . One very important gold mine there is the Witwatersrand gold field in the Gauteng province in the central north of the country.
The African state has now faced significant competition from China, as it also has a large number of gold mines. Other competitors include Australia, the USA, Peru, Russia and Indonesia.
Europe's share of the world's major gold mines is almost negligible. The largest deposits are in Romania, but only a fraction of the amount of gold produced by other major mines is extracted from these mines. There are also very small amounts of gold deposits in German rivers, especially in Bavaria and in the Alpine foothills.
The most important primary deposits of gold
The largest gold mine in the world is operated by Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold and is located in West Papua, Indonesia. In 2010, 2,025,000 ounces of gold were mined there, making this mine one of the world's leading mines.
Second place goes to the Muruntau gold mine in the Uzbek city of Zarafshan, which is owned by Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Combinat (NMMC). In 2010, this gold mine produced a total of 1,800,000 ounces of gold.
In third place is the Carlin Gold Mine near the town of Carlin in Nevada, USA, which is operated by Newmont Mining. In 2010, a total of 1,735,000 ounces of gold was mined.
