The 25 largest working gold mines by headcount
What the list says
16 of the 25 are surface operations, 8 of the 25 are underground operations, 1 of the 25 is a processing facility. The states with the most reported employees at working gold mines are Nevada (10,768), Alaska (2,205), Utah (952), South Carolina (926), Colorado (581), California (527).
Headcount is a rough guide to size, not output. MSHA counts employees per mine ID, and a large operation can be split into several IDs (a mill, a pit and an underground mine may each have their own), so the real giants are bigger than this list shows. Contractors may also be counted differently from mine to mine.
How these numbers were made
- MSHA data: the public Mines data set, retrieved 2026-10-13. It covers only mines that report to MSHA, so small placer and recreational sites are missing.
- Gold is the primary or secondary commodity of every mine listed, so a few large copper or polymetallic mines (Bingham Canyon in Utah is one) appear because they also produce gold.
- Mines marked abandoned are left out. Mines filed under a sole proprietor are left out of rankings for privacy.
- Employees are the number each mine reports to MSHA, shown as-is.
Data refreshed 2026-10-13. Spotted a mistake? Email admin@orelist.com with the page address.
More guides
Which states have the most gold mines?Who owns the land under abandoned gold mines?Counties with the most historic gold minesLargest historic gold mines in USGS recordsSurface vs underground gold mines in the USGold panning rules on public land: what the agencies say