The Highest Mines in the World

Minerals have significant roles in humanity’s daily life; in buildings and road constructions, creating electronic devices, vehicles, plumbing, manufacturing home appliances and equipment, jewelry, and many more. Mining is undeniably a huge portion or even a backbone of many countries’ economies. Here are the following mines with the highest elevation in the world. Gold rushes are perhaps the most remarkable part of any country’s history.

Aguilucho

Elevation: 4,991 meters

Location: Chile

Owner: Grupo Cenizas

Type: Open-Pit copper mine

Aguilucho is in Atacama Region in northern Chile, approximately 45 kilometers to the east of Copiapó city. This is one of the most productive gold and copper belts in Chile, and its region is known for epithermal veins, porphyries, and tourmaline breccias projects, and old mines.

Bolivar Mine

Elevation: 4,958 meters

Location: Bolivia

Owner: Compañía Minera Bolívar

Type: Underground lead, silver, tin, and zinc mine

The Mine comprises 12 mining concessions and is a connecting portion of the 15,217-hectare Bolívar Property land package within the municipality of Urique, in the Piedras Verdes mining district of Chihuahua State, Mexico.

Mina Acumulacion Mariela

 

Elevation: 4,949 meters

Location: Peru

Owner: Apumayo

Type: Open-pit gold mine

Mina Acumulación Mariela is an open-pit mine in the Mariscal Nieto Province, in the Moquegua Region of Peru, one of the country’s highest mountain roads. The Mine has an elevation of 5.298m above sea level.

Santa Rosa

Elevation: 4,866 meters

Location: Peru

Owner: COMARSA

Type: Open-Pit gold and silver mine

This is in an open-pit mine in the Puno Region, Puno Province, in the south of the Acora District, in Peru. It has an elevation of 5.133m above sea level.

Caylloma

Elevation: 4,500 meters

Location: Peru

Owner: Minera Bateas

Type of Mine: Underground copper, gold, lead, silver, and zinc mine

The site is approximately 225 km northwest of Arequipa, Peru, at an elevation of 4,500 meters. However, the mine processing plant is situated in the Caylloma Mining District, 14 kilometers northwest of the town of Caylloma. The Mine connects to the national power grid, and the Mine’s silver- and base metal-rich epithermal deposits have been mined intermittently for over 500 years since the times of the Inca Empire. Production in the past is estimated at more than 200 million ounces of silver.

Toromocho

Elevation: 4,813 metres

Location: Peru

Owner: Minera Chinalco Peru

Type: Open-pit copper, molybdenum, and silver mine

This large copper mine is in the center of Peru, in Junín Region. It represents one of the largest copper reserves in the country and globally, having estimated reserves of 1.52 billion tonnes of ore grading 0.48% copper, 0.019% molybdenum, and 336 million oz of silver.

Solitaria

Elevation: 4,811 metres

Location: Peru

Owner: Compania Minera San Valentin S.A.

Type: Underground copper, lead, silver, and zinc mine

Initially called “Solitaria,” this Mine is in the Quebrada de Cumichango, about 35 km north of Jagüe city and 280 km to the northwest of Chilecito city in General Sarmiento Department.

The mining area consists of (amphibole, quartzites, mica, etc.), crystalline schists of directions and belonging to the Precambrian variable inclinations; pegmatites and Lamprofirs ore can be seen in them.

Raura

Elevation: 4,791 metres

Location: Peru

Owner: Minera Raura

Type: Open-Pit and underground copper, lead, silver, and zinc mine

The Raura Lead Mine is both surface and underground mining in Lima, Peru. The mineralization at this site is believed to have started from the Pliocene epoch 5.33 to 2.58 million years ago. It was only discovered in 1890 and made its initial production in 1900. There is one known shaft. The ore mined comprises sphalerite, pyrite, and galena, with waste material consisting primarily of magnesite, tremolite, and quartz. The ore body extends 400 meters long and 75 meters thick.

Corihuarmi

Elevation: 4,791 metres

Location: Peru

Owner: Minera IRL

Type: Open-pit gold mine

Corihuarmi is an open-pit gold mine located about 5,000 meters above sea level in the Andes Mountains of central Peru. It was built for $20 million, and its production started in March 2008, and up to March 2017, it has produced 280,184.46 ounces of gold.

Henderson

Elevation: 3,266m

Owner: Climax Molybdenum

Type: Underground molybdenum mine

This is a large underground molybdenum mine west of Empire town in Clear Creek County, Colorado, USA. It is the main producer of molybdenum globally and in 2007 alone produced 40 million pounds of molybdenum, with a value of $1.1 billion. The ore averages 0.2% molybdenum. The molybdenite is correlated with pyrite and quartz. The deposit is like other porphyry molybdenum deposits, such as the Climax mine in Colorado and the Questa mine in New Mexico.

Freeport-McMoRan owns the mine.

Cripple Creek and Victor Gold Mine

Elevation: 3,198m

Owner: Newmont USA

Type: Open-pit gold and silver mine

Historically the Cresson Mine, the Cripple Creek, and Victor Gold Mine is an active gold mine near Victor’s town, in the Cripple Creek mining district in the US state of Colorado. It is the richest gold mine in the state’s history and remains a significant gold producer in Colorado. It has produced 322,000 troy ounces of gold in 2019 and reported 3.45 million troy ounces of Proven and Probable Reserves as of December 31, 2019. The mine is owned and operated by AngloGold Ashanti through its subsidiary, the Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mining Company (CC&V). But in 2015, it was sold to Newmont Mining Corporation.