All mining companies exist to provide resources for the ongoing development of our world, but some of the mining companies provide a larger portion of these resources than others. The ten biggest mining companies come from many different parts of the world. Some of them specialize in a specific type of production while others offer a diversified portfolio of mining operations.
The ten biggest mining companies in the world are:
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Alrosa, Russia, Diamonds
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Anglo American, UK, Diverse
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Barrick Gold, Canada, Gold
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BHP Billiton, Australia, Diverse
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Codelco, Chile, Copper
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Vale, Brazil, Diverse
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Freeport McMoran, USA, Copper and Gold
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Newmont Mining, USA, Gold
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Norilsk Nickel, Russia, Nickel
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Rio Tinto, UK, Diverse
Alrosa is the world's biggest diamond company and produces about 25% of the world's supply of rough diamonds. The company is majority owned by the Russian government. While the majority of its diamonds mines are located within Russia, it is also involved in mining in both Angola and Namibia. It is also expected to offer an IPO in 2011.
Anglo American is one of the world's largest mining companies. Producing diamonds, copper, nickel, iron ore and metallurgical and thermal coal, it's also the world's largest producer of platinum, producing about 40% of the world's supply. Based out of London, United Kingdom, it has active mining projects on all continents with exception of Antarctica.
Barrick Gold is the world's largest gold mining company in the world, producing roughly 33% of total supply. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Barrick has projects in many different countries around the world including the US, Russia, Australia, Chile and Argentina. It recently also started production of Copper and Silver.
BHP Billiton is the world's largest mining company, and third largest company overall. Based out of Australia, the company produces iron ore, diamonds, coal, manganese, gold, aluminum, copper, nickel, uranium and silver. With operations in 25 countries globally and 72 active properties, BHP Billiton is slated to further increase production in many different projects globally.
Codelco is fully owned by the Chilean government and is dedicated to producing copper. It currently produces about 11% of the world's supply, making it the largest producing mining company in the world. Based out of Santiago, Chile it is also the world's largest producer of molybdenum and rhenium.
Vale is the second largest mining company in the world. It is the largest producer of iron ore and the second largest of nickel. They also produce manganese, ferroalloys, bauxite, potash, kaolin, alumina and aluminum. Based out of Brazil, it has projects on all
continents except for Antarctica.
Freeport-McMoran is the world's lowest cost producer of copper and one of the largest producers of gold. They also produce molybdenum and silver. Established in Phoenix, AZ, USA, the majority of its projects are located in North and South America, though it has three mining operations elsewhere including one in Spain, one in Congo and one in Indonesia.
Newmont Mining is one of the world's largest producers of gold. With active mines in the US, Indonesia, New Zealand, Peru, Australia, Ghana, Bolivia, Canada and Mexico, it also producers a smaller amount of copper and silver. Headquartered in the US, it is the only gold company on the S&P 500.
Norilsk Nickel is the world's biggest producer of nickel and palladium. Based out of Russia, it has active projects in Australia, Botswana, South Africa, Finland and Canada. They are also a top ten producer of platinum and copper. Other mined resources include gold, cobalt, selenium, tellurium, rhodium, silver, iridium and ruthenium.
Rio Tinto has operations in six continents, and is the fourth largest publicly listed mining company in the world. Based out of both the UK and Australia, it produces iron ore, bauxite, alumina, aluminum, copper, molybdenum, gold, diamonds, coal, uranium, titanium dioxide, borates, salt and talc.
These ten biggest mining companies in the world employ hundreds of thousands and make the constantly development of our world a reality. It is thanks in large part to their massive production capacity that there are no shortages of the minerals they produce.