Indonesia, Feb 09: The world’s largest and richest gold mine is Grasberg in the Papua province of Indonesia. This mine produces about 48 tons of gold annually. In addition to gold, it is one of the largest copper mines in the world.
Own airport
The ore extracted from the Grasberg mine contains a large amount of both gold and copper. The mine is located near Puncak Jaya, the highest mountain in Papua. This entire area was formed by the movement of tectonic plates and is full of mineral deposits.
About 20,000 people work
A huge amount of gold is extracted from the Grasberg gold mine every year. About 20,000 people work in this huge mine.
Separate airport and port
There is also a separate airport and port for this gold mine. Not only that, but housing complexes, schools and hospitals have also been built for the employees here.
Discovered in 1936
Looking at the history of the Grasberg gold mine, the mineral resources here were first discovered in 1936 by Dutch geologist Jean Jacques Dozi.
190 tons of silver production
The mine has been expanding since the company Freeport-McMoRan obtained a license to extract gold here in the 1960s. In 2023 alone, this gold mine produced 52.9 tons (1.7 million ounces) of gold, 680,000 tons of copper and 190 tons of silver.