Large-scale gold mining produces around 80–85 % of the world’s gold. We explain how industrial gold mining works, where its risks lie and what responsible large-scale mining requires – measured against the World Gold Council’s Responsible Gold Mining Principles, the IRMA Standard or the ICMM Mining Principles. Plus: mine profiles.
Single Mine Origin Gold, or SMO Gold, is gold from one named large-scale mine, kept separate from all other gold on its way to your
In Western Australia’s Northern Goldfields, a gold mine that closed in the 1990s is running again – with 27 megawatts of solar and 24 megawatts
In the savanna of Senegal’s far southeast, the Sabodala-Massawa gold mine produced 273,533 ounces of gold in 2025 – more than any other mine in
Gold mining supports more than 100 million people – and in parts of the world it also runs on child labor, displacement and armed violence.
For every gram of gold, industrial mining moves around three tonnes of rock – some 18 tonnes for a single wedding ring. Gold is also
Industrial gold mining moves around three tonnes of rock for every gram of gold it produces – roughly 18 tonnes for a single wedding ring.
Gold mining is two industries that happen to share a name. One employs around a million people and produces roughly 85 % of the world’s
