1) Grasberg mine, Indonesia
Located in the province of Papua, this is the largest gold mine, and third largest copper mine in the world.
This is the place where Indo-Australian and Pacific tectonic plates meet. This mining system consists of an underground mine, an open pit mine and four concentrators. This mine employs about 19,500 people.
Yanacocha mine, Peru
This mine in the Northern Highlands is known as the second largest gold mine in the world.
Run by Newmont Mining Corporation, it operates about 3,800 meters above sea level.
Kiruna mine, Finland
This mine is like no other due to its modern setup. It’s the world’s largest underground iron ore mine.
Its ore body is 8km thick, 4 km long and has a depth of 2km. Till date only one third of the ore body has been extracted.
Orapa mine, Botswana
Due to its natural structure and topography, this mine has been given the name of ‘Orapa’ meaning ‘the resting place of lions’.
It’s the largest diamond mine in the world and consists of 2 pipes found to have form about 93 million years ago.
Kalgoorlie mine, Australia
Also known as the ‘Super Pit’ and ‘Kalgoorlie-Boulder mine’, this is the largest open cut gold mine in Australia.
Its pit has an oval-ish shape and gold is mined by means of conventional drilling and blast mining.