Top 10: World's largest Mines
10 Goldstrike Mine
Country: US
Mineral/metal: Gold & silver
Owner: Barrick Gold
The Goldstrike Mine in Nevada, US, was opened in 1986, and is responsible for over 44 million ounces of gold, and 80 thousand ounces of silver per year. It is the largest gold mine in North America, and the mine complex – including the Betze-Post-Screamer open-pit, and Meikle and Rodeo underground mines – is owned and operated by the world's largest gold mining company, Barrick Gold
Goldstrike Mine is between 600ft and 200ft deep, and measures a total of 12,000 ft in length.
09 Carajás Mine
Country: Brazil
Mineral/metal: Iron ore, gold, copper, nickel
Owner: Vale
Based in Parà state, Brazil, this mine is responsible for the largest iron ore production in the world, producing an estimated 7.2 billion metric tons of iron – as well as gold, copper and nickel. The open pit mine was first started in 1995, and has now launched a fleet of self-driving trucks.
The Carajas region boasts the richest reserves and concentrations of iron ore anywhere in the world and was discovered entirely by accident in the late 60s when a US Steel Helicopter was forced to land on a hill in the area to refuel.
08 Oyu Tolgoi
Country: Mongolia
Mineral/metal: Copper, gold
Owner: Rio Tinto
Discovered in 2001, the Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia is a combined open pit and underground mining project in the south Gobi Desert that specialises in copper production.
On a yearly basis the mine is responsible for producing around 450,00 tons of copper, and to date has also produced a total of 1.7 million ounces of gold. Some parts of the Oyu Tolgoi are up to 466 metres deep.
07 El Teniente
Country: Chile
Mineral/metal: Copper
Owner: Codelco
The El Teniente mine lies in the Andes Mountains about 100 km southeast of Santiago. It first began operations in 1906, and is the largest underground mine in the world, covering around 3,000 kilometres of drifts. It is also the world's biggest copper mine, having over 4,000 workers. El Teniente produce roughly 500,000 tonnes of copper every year.
In 1971 Chile nationalised copper production, and formed the state-owned copper mining company, Codelco
06 Mirny Mine
Country: Russia
Mineral/metal: Diamonds
Owner: Mirny GOK
This open pit mine first began in 1957 and specialises in diamond mining. The mine is based in Siberia, Russia and is one of the biggest excavated pits in the world. Mirny mine measures 1.25 kilometres in length and 525 metres in depth. It produces around 2,000 kilograms of diamonds annually.
05 Grasberg Mine
Country: Indonesia
Mineral/metal: Copper, silver, gold
Owner: PT Indonesia Papua Metal & Mineral, Freeport-McMoRan
Grasberg Mine is based in Indonesia and produces copper, silver and – most prolifically – gold. It is estimated that Grasberg has $40 billion in gold ore reserves. The mine was discovered in 1936 and work began in 1973. Grasberg covers approximately 27,400 acre area, and has 19,500 employees. Grasberg Mine produced roughly 482,000,000 kilograms of copper annually.
04 Kiruna Mine
Country: Sweden
Mineral/metal: Iron ore
Owner: LKAB
Kiruna Mine in Sweden specialises in iron ore production (around 27 million tonnes a year). It is the largest and most modern underground iron ore mine in the world.
Owned by Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara), a large Swedish mining company, the mine has an ore body which is 4km long, 80 metres thick and reaches a depth of up to 2km. Since mining began at the site in 1898, it has produced over 950 million tonnes of ore.
03 Chuquicamata Mine
Country: Chile
Mineral/metal: Copper
Owner: Codelco
The Chuquicamata Mine in Chile is the biggest open pit copper mine in the world. It is also the second deepest open pit mine, measuring 850 metres. It was established in 1952 and produces roughly 5% of the world's copper.
Previously part of Anaconda Copper, the mine is now owned and operated by Codelco, a Chilean state enterprise, since the Chilean nationalisation of copper in the late 1960s
02 Garzweiler Mine
Country: Germany
Mineral/metal: Coal
Owner: RWE Power
Garzweiler coal mine is one of Europe's largest open-pit mines, and is operated by RWE Power in North-Rhine Westphalia. It's a surface mine that produces lignite, also known as 'brown coal' – the lowest grade coal, with the least concentration of carbon. Lignite has a low heating value and a high moisture content, and is mainly used in electricity generation. The mine is around 48 square kilometres, and producess 35 million tonnes of coal every year. It employs 1,400 people.
01 Bingham Canyon Mine
Country: US
Mineral/metal: Copper
Owner: Rio Tinto Group
Bingham Canyon Mine is the biggest mine in the world. An open pit mine in Utah, it is known for its copper production. The mine is estimated to hold around 19 million tons of copper across 1,900 acres of land. Bingham Canyon Mine is 1,200 metres deep and has 2,500 employees. A total of 25% of the copper in the US is produced by Bingham Canyon Mine. The mine is owned by Rio Tinto Group, a British-Australian multinational corporation.