Currently now underground mining operation constitute the deepest mine in the world, with an average depth of between 2.5 km into the subsurface. The leader of the deepest mine in the world at this time is South Africa country, because there are many in the southern African countries that operate underground gold mines and two located in Ontario, Canada, this mine is Kidd Creek mine and Creighton mine. Three mine in South Africa are operated by the mining giant AngloGold Ashanti while the other mine belongs to Gold Fields.
This is the Top 10 deepest mine in the world
1. Mponeng Gold Mine
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Mponeng Gold Mine is the world’s deepest gold mine, this deepths mine of between 2,400m and 3,900m via a twin-shaft system in underground. Mponeng is a gold mining industry in South Africa located south-west of Johannesburg, operations and owned by AngloGold Ashanti.
AngloGold Ashanti’s Mponeng mine in the North West Province of South Africa is one of the world’s deepest and richest gold mines with grades at over 8 g/t. It is one of three AngloGold projects in the West Witts area.
Mineral ore mined is treated and smelted at Mponeng’s gold plant. The ore is initially ground down by means of semiautogenous milling after which a conventional gold leach process incorporating liquid oxygen injection is applied. The gold is then extracted by means of carbon-in-pulp (CIP) technology. The plant conducts electro-winning and smelting (induction furnaces) on products from Savuka and TauTonaas well.
AngloGold Ashanti’s Mponeng mine in the North West Province of South Africa is one of the world’s deepest and richest gold mines with grades at over 8 g/t. It is one of three AngloGold projects in the West Witts area.
Mineral ore mined is treated and smelted at Mponeng’s gold plant. The ore is initially ground down by means of semiautogenous milling after which a conventional gold leach process incorporating liquid oxygen injection is applied. The gold is then extracted by means of carbon-in-pulp (CIP) technology. The plant conducts electro-winning and smelting (induction furnaces) on products from Savuka and TauTonaas well.
Total inclusive mineral resources as at December 31, 2014, were 86.38-million tonnes grading 17.52 g/t of gold. And total exclusive mineral resources were 44.12-million tonnes grading 18.01 g/t of gold. Mponeng gold mine is currently undergoing expansion to extend the mine life beyond 2040.
2. Tau Tona Gold Mine
TauTona gold mine as the second deepest mine in the world. and exploits both the Carbon Leader Reef and the VCR via a three-shaft system, supported by secondary and tertiary shafts sinking to depths of between 1,850m and 3,450m. Its mining depth was extended to 3.9km underground with the addition of a secondary shaft
The TauTona mine exists within the West Witts area not so far from Johannesburg in South Africa, near the town of Carletonville and owned by AngloGold Ashanti. TauTona mine neighbors the Mponeng and Savuka mines, and TauTona and Savuka share processing facilities.
The main mining method in TauTona gold mine is longwall and a processing plant with Savuka. The plant uses conventional milling to crush the ore and Extracting Gold By Carbon In Pulp with Activated Carbon to further treat the ore. Once the carbon has been added to the ore, it is transported to the plant at Mponeng for electrowinning, smelting and the final recovery of the gold.
The main mining method in TauTona gold mine is longwall and a processing plant with Savuka. The plant uses conventional milling to crush the ore and Extracting Gold By Carbon In Pulp with Activated Carbon to further treat the ore. Once the carbon has been added to the ore, it is transported to the plant at Mponeng for electrowinning, smelting and the final recovery of the gold.
Total resources in Tautona gold mine South Africa 2,615,000 ounces, and Measured resources 510,000 ounces. Indicated resources 8,106,000 ounces in Tautona gold mine
3. Savuka Gold Mine
Savuka gold mine is the third deepest mine in the world. The mine exploits the gold contained reefs at a depth of more than 3.7km. Savuka gold mine is situated in Gauteng the region of South Africa and operated by AngloGold Ashanti
The mine is approaching the end of its productive life with majority of the ore having been exhausted. Minimal mining operations are being carried out at the mine currently. gold reserves and West Wits operations Savuka mine is part of AngloGold's West Wits operations in the Gauteng region. The West Wits operations also include the Mponeng and TauTona mines.
Mining in Savuka South Africa is carried out through a three-shaft system including the main, secondary and tertiary shafts. Different mining methods, including longwall, conventional and sequential grid mining, were used to recover the ore. The longwall operation was converted to sequential grid mining recently.
The processing plant includes a conventional mill circuit which crushes the ore into a suitable size. The crushed ore is fed into the Carbon-In-Pulp circuit.
The processed ore is sent to the Mponeng gold processing plant, where final elution is carried out using electrowinning and smelting. The recovered gold is then moulded into gold bars.
4. Driefontein Mine
The Driefontein mine it is currently the fourth deepest mine in the world with its depth extended up to 3.4km. Driefontein mine is located in South Africa’s West Wits Line goldfield, about 60km south west of Johannesburg and owned by Gold Fields
Driefontein is a conventional South African underground mine . The Driefontein mine consists of eight producing shaft systems extracting ore from three reefs, namely Ventersdorp Contact Reef (VCR), Carbon Leader Reef (CLR) and the Middelvlei Reef. Driefontein uses a combination of longwall and scattered mining methods.
Driefontein mine operates three gold processing plants. A centralised elution and carbon treatment facility, capable of processing carbon from all three of the Driefontein plants,
The mineral processing technology in the Plant is based on SAG milling circuit followed by cyanide leaching. The SAG milling circuit was commissioned in September 2003 and replaced the conventional crushing and milling circuit while the filtration and zinc precipitation processes were replaced by the state of the art carbon in pulp (CIP) plant.
Plant is only treating surface waste rock material at 200 kt per month. It is delivered by rail from rock dumps to the plant feed bunkers. The plant flow sheet incorporates two SAG mills and a ball milling circuit, Gold Cyanide Method and a carbon in pulp (CIP) plant. Loaded carbon is transported to the central Elution Circuit at 1 Plant.
Life of Mine (LoM) It is estimated that the current Mineral Reserves will be depleted in 2040
5. Kusasalethu Mine
The Kusasalethu gold mine it is currently the fifth deepest mine in the world. Kusasalethu gold mine depth of 3,276m below the surface Kusasalethu gold mine (formerly Elandskraal, an amalgamation of Elandsrand and Deelkraal mines) is a gold mine on the West Wits Line near Carletonville, Gauteng, South Africa, and 75 km west of Johannesburg. The Deelkraal Section of the mine is situated about 5km
The Kusasalethu gold mine is owned by the Harmony Gold Mining Co. Ltd. and is the amalgamation of the Deelkraal mine and Elandsrand mines, bought from AngloGold in 2001.
Kusasalethu mine comprises twin vertical and twin sub-vertical shaft systems. The sub-vertical shafts, which access the deeper parts of the Ventersdorp Contact Reef, have been extended to a depth of 3 600 metres by the Kusasalethu deepening project. Mining at Kusasalethu is undertaken using conventional mining methods in a sequential grid layout and ore mined at Kusasalethu is treated at the Kusasalethu Plant
As at 30 June 2014, Harmony’s attributable gold equivalent mineral reserves amounted to 49.5Moz of gold, a 3.9% decrease from the 51.5Moz declared on 30 June 2013. The 3.9% decrease collectively represents depletion during the year, a change in reserves from surface sources together with some scope changes at some of the underground operations.
6. Moab Khotsong Mine
Moab Khotsong Gold Mine as the sixth deepest mine in the world, with its mining depth ranging between 2.6km and 3.054km below surface. Moab Khotsong mine is the newest deep-level Gold Mining Africa. It is situated near Orkney, Klerksdorp and Viljoenskroon, about 180km southwest of Johannesburg.
Moab Khotsong gold mine is one of AngloGold Ashanti's Vaal River operations in the South Africa. The mine exploits the Vaal Reef (VR) through three mining layers, namely the Top, Middle and Lower Mines. Moab Khotsong employs a scattered mining method with an integrated backfill support system.
Total inclusive resources as at December 31, 2014, were estimated at 38.87-million tonnes grading 16 g/t of gold. Total exclusive resources were 24.22-million tonnes grading 15.17 g/t of gold. To increase the mineral resource base and extend the mine's life up to 2040.
7. South Deep Gold Mine
The South Deep gold mine is the seventh deepest mine in the world with a depth of 2,995m below surface. The South Deep mine is one of the largest gold mines in the South Africa and in the world. The mine is located in the north-east of the country in Gauteng , and 45km south-west of Johannesburg South Africa
South Deep Gold Mine owned and operated by Gold Fields, comprising two shaft systems that mine various auriferous conglomerates from open ground and pillars that occur at depths between 1,575 m and 3,500 m below surface. The shaft systems comprise the older South Shaft complex with its main shaft and two sub vertical shafts, and the newer flagship complex, known as Twin Shafts. Ore is processed at a central metallurgical plant. The mining rights comprise a total of 3,566 ha
The mine produced 200 500 oz of gold in 2014, during this time, production South Deep gold mine decreased by 34% compared with 302 100 oz in 2013 and all-in cost (AIC) dropped by 2% to US$1 732/oz, compared with $1,763/oz in 2013. The mine life of South Deep is expected to be extended up to 2092.
8. The Kidd Creek Mine
The Kidd Creek mine is the eighth deepest mine and the deepest mine in the world. The mining depth at Kidd Creek extends up to 2,927m beneath the surface.The Kidd Creek copper/zinc mine is located near Timmins, Ontario, Canada and The mine is owned and operated by Xstrata, which acquired it from Falconbridge in 2006.
Kidd Creek is based on a rich, steeply dipping volcanogenic sulphide deposit located in the Archaean Abitibi greenstone belt. Three ore types predominate in Kidd Creek mine : massive, banded and bedded (MBB) ores (pyrite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, galena and pyrrhotite); breccia ores containing fragments of the MBB ores; and stringer ores consisting of irregular chalcopyrite stringers cutting a siliceous volcaniclastic host.
Blasthole stoping with cemented backfill is used to extract the ore underground, Kidd Creek being the world’s second-largest user of cemented backfill (after Mt Isa in Australia). Blastholes are drilled using Ingersoll Rand, Mission and Cubex drills and broken ore is hauled underground by Tamrock load-haul-dump units
The mine produces more than 7,000t a day. A $111m extension project called Mine D Phase 2 was completed in December 2011, which is expected to extend the mine's life up to 2018. The Mine D project extended Kidd Creek below the shaft No 3
9. Great Noligwa mine
Great Noligwa gold mine as the ninth deepest mine in the world, the average mining depth of Great Noligwa is 2.4km below surface and the maximum mining depth is 2.6km below surface. Great Noligwa gold mine adjoins Kopanang and Moab Khotsong and is located close to the town of Orkney near the Vaal River and this mine operated by AngloGold Ashanti
The complexity of the ore at Great Noligwa mine has necessitated a scattered mining strategy comprising a twin-shaft system serving eight main levels at an average depth of 2,400m. The reef is accessed from the footwall haulage and return airway development, with cross-cuts spaced every 180m to the reef horizon.
Given the geological complexity of the orebody at Great Noligwa mine , a scattered mining method is employed. The mine shares a milling and treatment circuit with Moab Khotsong and Kopanang, which applies conventional crushing, screening, SAG grinding and carbon-in-leach (CIL) processes to treat the ore and extract gold.
In 2014, the Great Noligwa gold mine produced 83,000oz gold , because these mines affected by earthquake,
10. Creighton Mine
Creighton mine is the tenth deepest mine in the world with its mining depth extending up to 2.5km and The mine is owned and operated by Vale. Creighton mine an underground nickel mine located in the City of Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
The Creighton Deep exploration Project is believed to have almost doubled the proven and probable reserve to 32Mt grading 1.9% to 2.2% nickel and two percent to 2.3% copper. In 2012 the mine produced 797,000t of ore grading 1.80% copper and 1.84% nickel
Current mining methods include shrinkage mining and mechanised undercut-and-fill mining. The large-diameter blasthole method combined with vertical retreat mining has also been introduced recently. Extracted ore is crushed underground and sent by rail to the Clarabelle Mill for processing.
3. Savuka Gold Mine
Savuka gold mine is the third deepest mine in the world. The mine exploits the gold contained reefs at a depth of more than 3.7km. Savuka gold mine is situated in Gauteng the region of South Africa and operated by AngloGold Ashanti
The mine is approaching the end of its productive life with majority of the ore having been exhausted. Minimal mining operations are being carried out at the mine currently. gold reserves and West Wits operations Savuka mine is part of AngloGold's West Wits operations in the Gauteng region. The West Wits operations also include the Mponeng and TauTona mines.
Mining in Savuka South Africa is carried out through a three-shaft system including the main, secondary and tertiary shafts. Different mining methods, including longwall, conventional and sequential grid mining, were used to recover the ore. The longwall operation was converted to sequential grid mining recently.
The processing plant includes a conventional mill circuit which crushes the ore into a suitable size. The crushed ore is fed into the Carbon-In-Pulp circuit.
The processed ore is sent to the Mponeng gold processing plant, where final elution is carried out using electrowinning and smelting. The recovered gold is then moulded into gold bars.
4. Driefontein Mine
The Driefontein mine it is currently the fourth deepest mine in the world with its depth extended up to 3.4km. Driefontein mine is located in South Africa’s West Wits Line goldfield, about 60km south west of Johannesburg and owned by Gold Fields
Driefontein is a conventional South African underground mine . The Driefontein mine consists of eight producing shaft systems extracting ore from three reefs, namely Ventersdorp Contact Reef (VCR), Carbon Leader Reef (CLR) and the Middelvlei Reef. Driefontein uses a combination of longwall and scattered mining methods.
Driefontein mine operates three gold processing plants. A centralised elution and carbon treatment facility, capable of processing carbon from all three of the Driefontein plants,
The mineral processing technology in the Plant is based on SAG milling circuit followed by cyanide leaching. The SAG milling circuit was commissioned in September 2003 and replaced the conventional crushing and milling circuit while the filtration and zinc precipitation processes were replaced by the state of the art carbon in pulp (CIP) plant.
Plant is only treating surface waste rock material at 200 kt per month. It is delivered by rail from rock dumps to the plant feed bunkers. The plant flow sheet incorporates two SAG mills and a ball milling circuit, Gold Cyanide Method and a carbon in pulp (CIP) plant. Loaded carbon is transported to the central Elution Circuit at 1 Plant.
Life of Mine (LoM) It is estimated that the current Mineral Reserves will be depleted in 2040
5. Kusasalethu Mine
The Kusasalethu gold mine it is currently the fifth deepest mine in the world. Kusasalethu gold mine depth of 3,276m below the surface Kusasalethu gold mine (formerly Elandskraal, an amalgamation of Elandsrand and Deelkraal mines) is a gold mine on the West Wits Line near Carletonville, Gauteng, South Africa, and 75 km west of Johannesburg. The Deelkraal Section of the mine is situated about 5km
The Kusasalethu gold mine is owned by the Harmony Gold Mining Co. Ltd. and is the amalgamation of the Deelkraal mine and Elandsrand mines, bought from AngloGold in 2001.
Kusasalethu mine comprises twin vertical and twin sub-vertical shaft systems. The sub-vertical shafts, which access the deeper parts of the Ventersdorp Contact Reef, have been extended to a depth of 3 600 metres by the Kusasalethu deepening project. Mining at Kusasalethu is undertaken using conventional mining methods in a sequential grid layout and ore mined at Kusasalethu is treated at the Kusasalethu Plant
As at 30 June 2014, Harmony’s attributable gold equivalent mineral reserves amounted to 49.5Moz of gold, a 3.9% decrease from the 51.5Moz declared on 30 June 2013. The 3.9% decrease collectively represents depletion during the year, a change in reserves from surface sources together with some scope changes at some of the underground operations.
6. Moab Khotsong Mine
Moab Khotsong Gold Mine as the sixth deepest mine in the world, with its mining depth ranging between 2.6km and 3.054km below surface. Moab Khotsong mine is the newest deep-level Gold Mining Africa. It is situated near Orkney, Klerksdorp and Viljoenskroon, about 180km southwest of Johannesburg.
Moab Khotsong gold mine is one of AngloGold Ashanti's Vaal River operations in the South Africa. The mine exploits the Vaal Reef (VR) through three mining layers, namely the Top, Middle and Lower Mines. Moab Khotsong employs a scattered mining method with an integrated backfill support system.
Total inclusive resources as at December 31, 2014, were estimated at 38.87-million tonnes grading 16 g/t of gold. Total exclusive resources were 24.22-million tonnes grading 15.17 g/t of gold. To increase the mineral resource base and extend the mine's life up to 2040.
7. South Deep Gold Mine
The South Deep gold mine is the seventh deepest mine in the world with a depth of 2,995m below surface. The South Deep mine is one of the largest gold mines in the South Africa and in the world. The mine is located in the north-east of the country in Gauteng , and 45km south-west of Johannesburg South Africa
South Deep Gold Mine owned and operated by Gold Fields, comprising two shaft systems that mine various auriferous conglomerates from open ground and pillars that occur at depths between 1,575 m and 3,500 m below surface. The shaft systems comprise the older South Shaft complex with its main shaft and two sub vertical shafts, and the newer flagship complex, known as Twin Shafts. Ore is processed at a central metallurgical plant. The mining rights comprise a total of 3,566 ha
The mine produced 200 500 oz of gold in 2014, during this time, production South Deep gold mine decreased by 34% compared with 302 100 oz in 2013 and all-in cost (AIC) dropped by 2% to US$1 732/oz, compared with $1,763/oz in 2013. The mine life of South Deep is expected to be extended up to 2092.
8. The Kidd Creek Mine
The Kidd Creek mine is the eighth deepest mine and the deepest mine in the world. The mining depth at Kidd Creek extends up to 2,927m beneath the surface.The Kidd Creek copper/zinc mine is located near Timmins, Ontario, Canada and The mine is owned and operated by Xstrata, which acquired it from Falconbridge in 2006.
Kidd Creek is based on a rich, steeply dipping volcanogenic sulphide deposit located in the Archaean Abitibi greenstone belt. Three ore types predominate in Kidd Creek mine : massive, banded and bedded (MBB) ores (pyrite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, galena and pyrrhotite); breccia ores containing fragments of the MBB ores; and stringer ores consisting of irregular chalcopyrite stringers cutting a siliceous volcaniclastic host.
Blasthole stoping with cemented backfill is used to extract the ore underground, Kidd Creek being the world’s second-largest user of cemented backfill (after Mt Isa in Australia). Blastholes are drilled using Ingersoll Rand, Mission and Cubex drills and broken ore is hauled underground by Tamrock load-haul-dump units
The mine produces more than 7,000t a day. A $111m extension project called Mine D Phase 2 was completed in December 2011, which is expected to extend the mine's life up to 2018. The Mine D project extended Kidd Creek below the shaft No 3
9. Great Noligwa mine
Great Noligwa gold mine as the ninth deepest mine in the world, the average mining depth of Great Noligwa is 2.4km below surface and the maximum mining depth is 2.6km below surface. Great Noligwa gold mine adjoins Kopanang and Moab Khotsong and is located close to the town of Orkney near the Vaal River and this mine operated by AngloGold Ashanti
The complexity of the ore at Great Noligwa mine has necessitated a scattered mining strategy comprising a twin-shaft system serving eight main levels at an average depth of 2,400m. The reef is accessed from the footwall haulage and return airway development, with cross-cuts spaced every 180m to the reef horizon.
Given the geological complexity of the orebody at Great Noligwa mine , a scattered mining method is employed. The mine shares a milling and treatment circuit with Moab Khotsong and Kopanang, which applies conventional crushing, screening, SAG grinding and carbon-in-leach (CIL) processes to treat the ore and extract gold.
In 2014, the Great Noligwa gold mine produced 83,000oz gold , because these mines affected by earthquake,
10. Creighton Mine
Creighton mine is the tenth deepest mine in the world with its mining depth extending up to 2.5km and The mine is owned and operated by Vale. Creighton mine an underground nickel mine located in the City of Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
The Creighton Deep exploration Project is believed to have almost doubled the proven and probable reserve to 32Mt grading 1.9% to 2.2% nickel and two percent to 2.3% copper. In 2012 the mine produced 797,000t of ore grading 1.80% copper and 1.84% nickel
Current mining methods include shrinkage mining and mechanised undercut-and-fill mining. The large-diameter blasthole method combined with vertical retreat mining has also been introduced recently. Extracted ore is crushed underground and sent by rail to the Clarabelle Mill for processing.
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