[PHOTOS] Top 10 gold mines based on production: 2015

2014 was a hellish year for the gold mining sector. Prices for the yellow metal continued to ride a wave of lows during the year as miners struggled mightily to find new ways of extracting more of the precious metal at less costs.

The tough market conditions of 2014 rattled some of the world’s largest gold mining operations, disrupting productivity and displacing them from previous rankings.To uncover which gold mines reign king, we analyze last year’s production numbers to discover the top ten gold producing operations of 2015.

10. Boodington (Newmont Mining)

Located within the Saddleback greenstone belt in Western Australia, the Boodington operation is one of largest producing gold mines in all of Australia. Owned and operated by Newmont Mining, the mine produced 696,000 ounces of gold in 2014, which was slightly down from the 705,000 ounces in 2013. It still, however, makes our list of the top 10.

9. Veladero (Barrick Gold)

The Veladero mine in the San Juan Province of Argentina comes in at number nine on our list of the top producing gold mines in 2015. Owned by Barrick Gold, the mine’s output in 2014 increased by 11 percent, from 641,000 ounces to 722,000 ounces.

8. Olimpiada (Polyus Gold)

The only Russian gold mine to make our list, the Olimpiada operation is located in the prolific gold mining province of Krasnoyarsk in Eastern Siberia. Owned and operated by Polyus Gold, themine produced 725,000 ounces of gold in 2014, an increase from 691,000 ounces in 2013.

7. Goldstrike (Barrick Gold)

Another mine from Barrick Gold to make the list is the Goldstrike operation in the historic Carlin Trend district in north-eastern Nevada. The mine’s production increased one percent in 2014, growing from 892,000 ounces in 2013 to 902,000 ounces in 2014.  

6. Cortez (Barrick Gold)

Unfortunately for Barrick Gold, the Cortez gold mine in Nevada spiraled out of control in 2014. Production for the mine fell 48 percent to 902,000 ounces, compared to the previous year in which it achieved1.3 million ounces.

5. Carlin Trend (Newmont Mining)

As one of the world’s richest gold mining districts, the Carlin Trend gold mine has been good to Newmont Mining. The mine’s production history speaks for itself as the mine has consistently produced year after year since 1965. In 2014, the Carlin Trend produced 907,000 ounces of gold, an 11 percent decrease from 2013, which saw the mine produce over one million ounces.

4. Yanacocha (Newmont Mining)

The Yanacocha mine in Peru, which is a joint venture between Newmont Mining, Minas Buenaventura and the Internatonal Finance Corporation, is one of the largest gold producing operations in South America. 2014 saw the massive mine produce 970,000 ounces of gold, slightly lower than the mine’s 2013 production of one million ounces.

3. Pueblo Viejo (Barrick Gold)

With three gold mines on the list, there’s a reason Barrick Gold is the world’s top producing gold company—they have major producing assets. The Pueblo Viejo mine in the Dominican Republic is one of those assets. The mine, which is jointly owned by Barrick and Goldcorp, produced 1.1 million ounces of gold in 2014.

2. Grasberg (Freeport-McMoRan)

The Grasberg gold mine in Indonesia, which held the title as the world’s largest gold mine for quite some time, has officially lost its crown. Owned by Freeport-McMoRan, the mine produced 1.13 million ounces of gold in 2014, down one percent from 2013’s production numbers of 1.12 million ounces.

1. Muruntau (Navoi Mining)

In terms of gold producing mines, a new king has arrived. Located in Uzbekistan, the Muruntau mine is one of the largest open pit gold mines in the world.  Owned by Navoi Mining & Metallurgy Combinat, the mining complex produced 2.6 million ounces of gold in 2014.