Ranked: Large Gold Deposits and Projects

This graphic highlights some of the world's largest gold deposits and projects, detailing their grade, location, ownership, and development stage. Note that some deposits are categorized by resource classification (43-101 based resources) while others combine all categories (JORC based resources).

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Top 3 Largest Gold Deposits:

  1. KSM: Located in British Columbia, Canada, KSM is the world's largest undeveloped gold project. It holds 88.7 million ounces in the measured and indicated category and 71.5 million ounces in the inferred category, totaling 160.2 million ounces. The project also contains significant copper, silver, and molybdenum and is currently in the development stage, with a pre-feasibility study released in 2022.
  2. Olympic Dam: Owned by BHP, this massive deposit in South Australia is one of the world's largest and most significant ore bodies, containing vast quantities of copper, uranium, gold, and silver. The deposit includes 88.4 million ounces of gold across all categories and is currently in production.
  3. Pebble: Located in Alaska, Pebble is one of the largest undeveloped copper and gold projects, also containing substantial molybdenum and silver resources. It has 53.8 million ounces of gold in the measured and indicated category and 28.1 million ounces in the inferred category, totaling 81.9 million ounces. The project is in the development stage but faces significant opposition from environmental groups, indigenous communities, and commercial fishing interests due to potential ecosystem impacts, particularly on salmon habitats.

Considering Grade:

While the top three deposits are notable for their size, their average gold grades are relatively low. For instance, the Sukhoi Log deposit contains 67 million ounces with an average grade of 1.9 g/t, nearly four times that of KSM (0.51 g/t) and almost eight times that of Olympic Dam.

The highest-grade deposits on this list are Mponeng, Tshepong South, and South Deep, all located in South Africa. Mponeng stands out with an impressive average grade of 13.13 g/t and 26.4 million ounces. Tshepong South has a grade of 11.24 g/t and 15.9 million ounces, while South Deep, despite a significantly lower grade of 4.93 g/t, holds 28.2 million ounces.

Company Category Project Size Grade
Seabridge Gold Inc M&I KSM 88.7 M 0.51
BHP Group Ltd M&I + I Olympic Dam (OC Sulphide) 88.4 M 0.26
Seabridge Gold Inc Inferred KSM 71.5 M 0.33
Polyus M&I + I Sukhoi Log 67.0 M 1.9
Freeport-McMoRan Inc M&I + I Grasberg 58.9 M 0.56
Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd M&I Pebble 53.8 M 0.34
Rio Tinto plc ADR Common Stock M&I + I Oyu Tolgoi 47.8 M 0.31
Polyus M&I + I Olimpiada 46.0 M 2.9
NovaGold Resources Inc M&I Donlin Gold 39.0 M 2.24
Polyus M&I + I Natalka 30.0 M 1.9
Northern Star Resources Ltd M&I + I KCGM 28.3 M 1.60
Gold Fields Ltd P&P South Deep 28.2 M 4.93
Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd Inferred Pebble 28.1 M 0.25
SolGold plc M&I Cascabel 26.8 M 0.28
Harmony Gold Mining Company Ltd M&I + I Mponeng 26.4 M 13.13
Anglogold Ashanti PLC M&I La Colosa 23.4 M 0.87
Tudor Gold Corp M&I Goldstorm 21.7 M 0.92
Gold Fields Ltd M&I South Deep 20.0 M 4.57
Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd (Ontario) P&P Detour Lake 19.9 M 0.76
Newmont Corporation P&P NGM 18.6 M 2.56
Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd (Ontario) M&I Detour Lake 18.5 M 0.79
Newmont Corporation Inferred Lihir 17.5 M 2.40
Lumina Gold Corp M&I Cangrejos 16.8 M 0.48
Newmont Corporation M&I Cadia 16.5 M 0.32
Polyus M&I + I Blagodatnoye 16.0 M 1.3
Harmony Gold Mining Company Ltd M&I + I Tshepong South 15.9 M 11.24