Although new extraction sites have been discovered in the past few years, the top three best Aussie gold mines have remained the same. Australia is known for being the world's second-largest producer of gold. The continent has over 65 active gold mines, of which 14 are considered to be the biggest on the planet.
Top 3 Best Aussie Gold Mines
1. Cadia Valley Gold Mine
Cadia Valley Gold Mine is currently the biggest mine in Australia. The first deposit was discovered in 1992, by the Newcrest Mining company. The gold output of the mine, for 2018-2019, was 912,778 troy ounces.
The extraction site is also the second-largest open-cut mine in the country after the aptly named Kalgoorlie-Boulder Super Pit.
2. Boddington Gold Mine
Boddington Gold Mine is one of Australia's biggest gold mines. Its owner, Newmont Goldcorp, commenced the extraction operations in 1987. The initial project was created as a partnership between Newmont Goldcorp, AngloGold Ashanti, and Newcrest Mining. In 2009, Newcrest Mining choose to leave the partnership and Newmont Goldcorp bought AngloGold Ashanti's shares, becoming the sole owner of the mine.
The mining location is currently expected to have another 20 years of operational life. During 2019, the mine outputted 703,000 troy ounces, a figure that has remained largely the same up to 2021 Q1.
3. Fosterville Gold Mine
The Fosterville Gold Mine is known for outputting high-grade material at a relatively low cost. During 2019, the mine produced 620,000 troy ounces of gold, and approx. 20,000 troy ounces more throughout 2020.
While not necessarily one of the largest gold mines in Australia, it remains one of the most profitable.
Best Gold Mines in Australia. Image by Darkmoon_Art from Pixabay
Best of the Australian Gold Mines
More About Cadia Valley
Discovered in 1992 by Newcrest Mining, Cadia Valley Gold Mine is an open-cut gold mine in New South Wales, 450 km west of Sydney.
The gold deposit is located within the Lachlan Fold Belt, and is one of Australia's largest open cut mines.
More About Boddington
This mine is located approximately 130 kilometers southeast of Perth, Western Australia. The gold deposits were first found in 1971. The build for the mine site took nine years to complete because different experts did not work together well to keep up with quality standards while staying on budget. This huge mine has six levels with topographic changes. Level 1 is 392 meters below sea level.
More About Fosterville
The Fosterville mine is a joint venture between Newmont Mining Corporation and Sumitomo Corporation through their subsidiaries, Sumitomo Corporation Australia Limited and Akron Mines Pty Ltd. The mine is located 3 km from Dunolly in north-eastern Victoria, approximately 120 km north of Melbourne.
Exploration results for known mineralised structures within the dunolly greenstone belt indicate significant potential for discovery of new gold deposits. A number of discoveries have been made since mid 2000's and have been incorporated into current mine plans to extend the life of Fosterville open pit operation beyond 2020 when it was originally scheduled to close.
Open cut mine.
Summary
As the second-largest producer of gold, Australia has more than 65 large active gold mines. 14 of those are the largest that contributed greatly to the 327 tonnes of gold produced in 2020. Overall, Australia produced 327 tonnes of gold in 2020 alone, which is approx. 10.5 million ounces.
We consider the three Best Aussie gold mines are:
1) Cadia Valley Gold Mine
2) Boddington Gold Mine
3) Fosterville Gold Mine