Top 10 Gold-producing Mines

1. Grasberg Gold Mine -- This mine, which is in the Indonesian province of Papua, produced 2,025,000 ounces of gold, according to the annual report of Rio Tinto Plc. The mine is majority owned by Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. Besides gold, it also produces silver and copper.

2. Muruntau Gold Mine -- This mine, which is about 250 miles west of the capital in Uzbekistan, is believed to have produced approximately 1,800,000 ounces of gold last year. The project, which is an open-pit operation, is run by state-owned Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Combinat.

3. Carlin-Nevada Complex -- This mine, which is in the U.S. state of Nevada, produced 1.735 million ounces in 2010. It is owned by Newmont Mining Corp. It includes both open-pit and underground operations.

4. Yanacocha Gold Mine -- This mine, which is in northern Peru and is the largest gold mine in Latin America, produced 1.46 million ounces last year. It is run by Newmont Mining and owned by Newmont Mining and Buenaventurda, a Peruvian company.

5. Goldstrike (Betze Post) Gold Mine -- This mine, which is northwest of Elko, Nev., produced 1.24 million ounces of gold last year. It is owned by Barrick Gold Corp.

6. Cortez Gold Mine -- This mine, which is southwest of Elko, Nev., produced 1.14 million ounces of gold last year. It is owned by Barrick Gold.

7. Veladero Gold Mine -- This mine, which is in Argentina, produced 1.12 million ounces of gold last year. It is owned by Barrick Gold.

8. Lagunas Norte Gold Mine -- This mine, which is in north-central Peru, produced 808,000 ounces of gold last year. It is owned by Barrick Gold.

9. Lihir Gold Mine -- This mine, which is in Papua New Guineau, produced 790,974 ounces of gold in the 12 months ended June 30. It is owned by Newcrest Mining Ltd., Australia's largest gold producer.

10. Super Pit/Kalgoorlie -- This mine, an open-cut mine in Western Australia, produced 788,000 ounces last year. It is 50-50 owned by Barrick Gold and Newmont Mining.

The North American Big Three:

I.  BARRICK:  Toronto Canada.

Currently holds 140 million ounces gold in reserves. 

Corporate office is in Toronto Canada.

North American office is in Salt Lake City, Utah.

South American office is in Santiago Chile.

Australian office is in Perth Australia.

African operations in Bulyanhulu, Buzwagi, North Mala, Talawaka.

II.  Newmont Mining Corp:   Greenwood Village Colorado

Corporate Headquarters:
6363 South Fiddler's Green Circle
Suite 800
Greenwood Village, CO 80111
T: 303.863.7414
F: 303.837.5837

Currently holds 70-100 million ounces gold in reserves.

North American operations in Mexico, Nevada, and Hope Bay Canada

South American operations in Peru and Suriname

African operations in Ghana

Asia Pacific operations in New Zealand, Western Australia and Indonesia

III.  Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (“FCX”):  Phoenix, Arizona.

Currently holds 32.5 million ounces gold in reserves.

North American mines in Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona

South American mines in Peru and Chile

African mines in Democratic Republic of Congo

Indonesian mines in Grasberg Minerals District