How Nevada Produces BILLIONS in Gold

When people think of gold mining, they likely picture bearded men with gold pans in mountain streams or Discovery Channel's Gold Rush.
In reality, it's neither!
In this video, we tour the entire gold mining process at Round Mountain Mine, owned and operated by Canadian gold giant Kinross.
We start where most mining operations begin-drilling, blasting, and loading with enormous shovels.
But with most gold here being microscopic, how do they extract every ounce from the rock they mine? That's where the milling and processing comes into play, and followed along every step of the way.
At the end of it all is the gold pour-where they carefully pour the gold, silver, and other metals extracted into bars for transport into the world.
To learn more about Kinross, check out their website below!
www.kinross.com/operations/de...

[@GotRox]

Quite the operation. I spent 30 years there, and was one of the first operators of shovel 344 and 345. Good job on the video and the “regular joe” explanations. 👍🏻

[@AaronWitt]

Amazing!! Thanks for making it happen

[@JamesGGP]

How much u make

[@mattk7865]

What was it like living in the Nevada desert for so long?

[@Control-Alt-Delete619]

@@mattk7865 fast women, fast equipment, and fast gold! 💪👍🍻🇺🇲

[@pinkpapafranku]

​@mattk7865 I'm in the NV desert now. It sucks. It's already triple digit temps in May. Everything is dusty. When its windy you feel as if you're in a convection oven. There is almost no weather, but it can be catastrophic when it rains. And there's not enough greenery around (but it is a desert after all) People in Vegas really suck for the most part, but you'll also find some of the best people on earth there. Overall I'd rate the NV desert (outside of the cities) an 8/10 solely for the good people, but otherwise sucks

[@flippnorge7105]

All of a sudden Parker’s 50k ounces doesn’t seem that much… nice vid as always!

[@absolut7769]

Yea no Parker isnt in the big leagues when it comes to gold mining

[@Shxlbyyy]

Ain't no Alaskan gold mine run by one crew, that's for sure 💀

[@williamtipene1995]

Watch what they do in Australia

[@thems_the_brakes]

@@absolut7769 Parker is doing absolutely fine for himself. There's a very decent chance (likely in fact) that he makes more than the CEO of this company.

[@Control-Alt-Delete619]

This is actual gold mining, not a soap opera. 🍻🇺🇲

[@matthewcomfort5894]

every time I see a mining video I cannot believe it's actually cost effective, but I guess it is or they wouldn''t be doing it

[@seldoon_nemar]

it's also an economy of scale thing. the bigger the truck the bigger the volume of PAY-load, per trip, overall cost of ton miles drops. it also takes decades to get to an operation of this scale. to _start_ a mine at this scale is monsterously expensive and takes years of coordination, because even the equipment suppliers do not carry inventory for example. Those big haul trucks are fairly generic, but an operator can't just call up and order 10-20 units and expect rapid delivery. A multimillion dollar shop needs to be built to even finish delivery assembly.

[@Landstalker1999]

The almighty God created starving African children for a reason. God is wise and resourceful.

[@piehamcake1]

@@Landstalker1999 Man created poverty

[@antonzhdanov9653]

Dude, mining is one of the most profitable businesses out there. Yeah, it's very expensive on big scale but still insanely profitable.Mine doesn't close bcs it's not profitable, it becomes not profitable when there is nothing to dig anymore.

[@antonzhdanov9653]

​@@seldoon_nemarNah, not really. Things like gold, platinum or amber can be dug with simple pump and washer facility with cost in range of 50k$ and be pretty much profitable.

[@ToxicMrSmith]

Thats around 35.6bn worth of gold for anyone wondering

[@joelswfx]

Ah yes but how much are they spending on electricity to produce it, that number is probably halved….

[@davidmella1174]

@@joelswfx yeah mining is all about maximizing margins or else the operation is futile

[@d.h.601]

Mmmmmmm cyanide

[@Nirotix]

800,000,000 Million/year approx.

[@DgurlSunshine]

@@Nirotix PAID IN CRYPTO TO FOREIGN CONTRACTORS? WATER HEIST 1312

[@kahvac]

Thank You Kinross for the tour !

[@GarbageDanks]

Here we are. Just mining the shit out of the earth for the aliens to have their free fuel.

[@SamSeth]

Thanks for the inside look. It's always enjoyable to drive through Nevada and enjoy the geology

[@BigDavesReviews]

In no time all the machines will be remote controlled and all those workers will be replaced by 2 nerds wearing sandals snacking on cheetos at an office somewhere.

[@weswest8666]

More like in sandals over seas making $3/ day

[@BigDavesReviews]

@weswest8666 Even worse. Your probably 100% right.

[@bbustin1747]

Uh uh and AI will think for them with no Cheetos 😂 Cheetos consumption will drop.

[@BigDavesReviews]

@bbustin1747 By then maybe we can figure out how to reduce fossil fuels by powering AI with Cheetos. The flaming hot kind.

[@CustomerStatesPNW]

Until something breaks down, which is a constant in mining

[@OzGeologyOfficial]

Excellent video! Thanks for making this I’m having a nice little binge on your videos. Top quality production.

[@TechGorilla1987]

@<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="350">5:50</a> - I am already surprised that they skip the larger of the crushing stages and go right to the ball-milling.

[@littlehippo5004]

They don’t skip it, they do it at the top of the pit and then that crushed rock goes by conveyor to stockpiles

[@seanchiarot]

Gotta say; I have no clue how this ended up on my for you page.... but I'm glad it did; this was quite interesting!

[@lastnamefirstname520]

You should have replied: “it was a blast”- obviously…. You get set up for comedy gold (pun intended) and miss out… 😂😂

[@oohjah]

i was waiting for that! lol

[@sveannnnnnn7578]

great video, watching from Sweden !

[@mojo.adventures]

Welcome to the Silver State! 🤠 This place will make a miner or rockhound out of you before you realize it... ask me how I know 😂 This was a great episode, nice work!👍

[@untitleduniverse1828]

🎶 "She got the gold mine, I got the shaft"

[@ryanc8188]

I'm surprised there is enough micro gold in the leaching fields to warrant that extra operation.

[@robotekusa]

99% of the gold on earth is microscopic

[@squibbelsmcjohnson]

​@@robotekusaespecially since all the easy gold was found long ago

[@piatdor]

@@squibbelsmcjohnsonfound long ago ?? Buddy. We’ve only been mining with technology for 40 years. Mining with machinery for 100 years. We’ve barely scratched the surface

[@Unduplicatable]

@@squibbelsmcjohnson lies you speak

[@squibbelsmcjohnson]

@@piatdor I said the EASY gold... Can you read 😂.. It's like oil.. All the easy stuff has long been sucked out, now it takes quite a lot more to get it out of the ground.

[@thisismyusername6717]

Damn they dont leave NONE behind😂 Awesome video!

[@alanmunroe8332]

Dec 2017 I had the opportunity to haul the boom pivot base, (63,000 lbs, 9' 6" wide x 13' long x 9' tall) for a Rope Shovel to Round Mountain NV. The Bucket weigh was in excess of 100,000lbs. The bottom door was 13'+ wide x ~20' long x ~2' tall at 35,000 lbs. It took the Cat Team 46 days to assemble the entire project😊 What an experience.😊😊

[@AaronWitt]

that's amazing!!

[@pyro323]

I was waiting for Aaron to say he had a blast blasting all that rock!

[@mikegewalt4122]

Around 35 Billion in today's price of gold. Great video!

[@mikeconnery4652]

Nice operation and thanks for the video

[@keitharnett2647]

Miami and Globe Az mining district is cool area , Plus new Resolution mine is close by 8K ft main shaft where block cave deep mine is huge deal . Thx for videos worked mining industry for years back in KY live Az now .

[@kevinmackay5233]

I spent some time in Elko, NV and a lot of mine workers and people who work on the machines for the mine come from back east for six months at a time, and then move back to states like Missouri. Talked to a few of them in a bar one night, most of them are young guys in their 20s and early 30s but some of them are almost 60+ and have been working those hot, dry deserts for decades

[@martinbernal5693]

What happens to the byproduct? It’s just sand at that point or is it more complicated than that?

[@mkegadgets4380]

Very interesting video. Step one….. removing the overburden look forward to your next video

[@tommybokelman5565]

One of The biggest open pit gold mine in the United States is in Mojave City California. I've been waiting for a video on that one

[@dgsantafedave1]

Mine, Mine all Mine!!!! Love that cartoon!

[@crazeddevastation]

You were so close to us. Need to come visit NGM Carlin.

[@heinekenczech]

Awesome vid. Thank you.

[@69FTWB]

It’d be super cool if you looked at the tailings ponds of some of these mines. I know its not the most glamorous part of gold mining but it’s super cool (to me…I work on a TMA) millions and millions of yards of rock/clay/sand placed super precisely

[@socalcasedog]

Cool perspective of where I work.

[@shopshop144]

After the gold bars get to the point as in this video, 80% gold, is that the end of the road for Kinross, or do they refine the gold further else where? Good video!

[@BloatedBearucraticNightmare]

Do they backfill in compact the holes

[@treadwell8481]

Should see if coeur will let you tour the kensington gold mine in Juneau, Ak.

[@Jasonbourne69]

Didn’t know Trojan made explosives but I guess they were already good with explosions

[@Jasonbourne69]

1:43

[@stevetemple1616]

😜

[@justusm7171]

We see what you are constantly thinking about A-Aron, separate the race 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣. Love the edits bruh.

[@nicholasmorello6370]

I live a hour and a half from there. Always wondered how they did it. Thanks.

[@fragdude]

What a massive effort. I wonder if the various extraction methods ever stop/start depending on the price of gold (presumably some of the extraction methods cost more/less per ounce)? Or is the price of gold always high enough for it to be worth running the operation always at full steam ahead of time

[@peteratkinson1939]

very good video

[@p.guillermoterrera7543]

Destruyendo ,El ambiente ,acabando con toda la vida ,dejando,solo la Tierra sin vida ,tremenda ambicion sin limited.

[@andersonlynn3686]

You mean there’s no made up drama and bunch of breakdowns , nice professional setup and video .

[@BloatedBearucraticNightmare]

Does that plant make bars all day and night? or Do they pour like on a schedule? or Just when they have enough gold to pour so many bars?

[@gabriellemos2406]

Come to Kinross in Brazil too. 🇧🇷

[@delviscandelario5749]

The video is very interesting, many people would like to have a kilo of gold and see here how much is produced, what life is like.

[@jonnysawatzky]

Great video guy's, maybe a bit to much brol, or maybe show brol with more voice over😊

[@damaddog8065]

Nice work.

[@listcheck]

We need more of these mines all over

[@FjHenderson]

How does it take to get to the bottom of the pit from the top?

[@lindokuhlemasilela4331]

Hi, I’m from a small town in South Africa, Mpumalanga called Kinross.

[@motel581]

Aaron was fan boyin hard here lol so excited

[@JoseEspinoza-cb6kr]

you have to come to the cooper Minnie in az

[@Jack-ne8vm]

Make the waste dumps or heap leach look like pyramids. Something to see from the air. How about making a video of decommissioning a big mine? Does a lot of it get buried in the pit?

[@johnroney3556]

Great informative video on the complete process. I use to work at a small gold mine and mill in the early 80's. As a young kid in my 20's i learned so much about all the different phases of mining. From geology to labor to mechanic to mill man to cook, i did a lot of different jobs. Mining gets into your blood, its not just a job but a way of life.

[@thomasmiracle7826]

My mom hauls gold ore out of the mine outside spring creek there in Nevada what will blow your mind is Canada owns all that gold

[@donovanbuffalo-macdonald6235]

The ball on the back of the shovel is like what syncrude does in fort Mac but over here we use whips on the counterweight for self spot

[@richardbeee]

Wow! That was cool. Now I can put a visual of the mine with the high grade specimens that I recently saw for sale. Nice job. Just for clarity though, cyanide dissolves the gold. Gold will cling to mercury. I'm a retired assayer and refiner of precious metals. Loved my first pit shot also. Incredible!😊

[@AaronWitt]

thank you!!

[@tristenklein5940]

Any idea what the time frame is from the day the mine purchases the CAT Shovel to the time it actually begins operation? How about the time frame involved in assembling the shovel onsite?

[@austinotto3551]

I work for cat I have worked on two of the shovels at round mountain but I’ve built some but I don’t know about time from factory to the mine but assembly is about two month give or take a couple weeks

[@AaronWitt]

They’re usually ordered years out. Assembly takes a few months

[@mzee5533]

With experienced guys a single shovel assembling is 3months max. I was in the assembling team of the same Bucyrus 495HR2 it took us 3 months and all of us were newbie’s to the shovel we only had 3 experienced guys from 🇨🇱.

[@thomasesteb9589]

Great clip 👍

[@anon58973]

Wouldn't a little bit of alchemy be easier than this process?

[@ernierundall1336]

Great video

[@caljustis1579]

Is it just me or was the ground moving at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="180">3:00</a>? Seems kinda sketchy to have that bucket and truck on that

[@griffhenshaw5631]

Love it...the 1st time I was at round man there was a hill. 2nd time small hill. Now a hole. So e nice spots up the hills and a hot springs. Darrough near by. Loved old mines all my life. Pit mining is efficient but kinsey have the same panache. I was in the granite business. Quarry to finished gravestones. It's more similar to this type of mining. Just blasting was black powder as slower expansion and wouldn't fissure the stone. Family was in the cement business which used ball mills. Quite away from old stamp mills. Round mtn is a very impressive operation. More or less like process in old VC for example but modern and huge.

[@redhammer6601]

why is the ground moving at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="182">3:02</a> lol? just a camera effect? if not thats scary lol

[@tedc7714]

What's the procedure for a run a way haul truck??? And what is the final result per ton of rock.

[@barnyardbrio7597]

that is incredible

[@Reloykaotica]

for anyone interested in how much 15 million ounces cost as of 8 days ago when this video came out it is roughly 3.6 Billion

[@catatonia1]

Over the same period of time the Super Pit in Kalgoorlie Western Australia produced 50 million ounces of Gold

[@billbradley2480]

Wow that’s about 1245 ounces of gold and silver etc per day produced since 1985.

[@Lracer61]

Great video!

[@greggreg2263]

How much would it cost to build an operation like this from scratch?🤑

[@user-le5zd4uj2h]

I curious what happens when a big truck breaks down during the haul back and the road service mechanic can’t fix it, how would u tow them out?

[@mikejones-nd6ni]

Whos this ran by? Crazy operation.

[@user-by8ii6zo3o]

Thank you!

[@jeanettewest]

Didnt show primary crusher, bedt part.

[@mattfrancis4720]

You should try and do a video on Stillwater mine in Big timber Montana. Just out of Bozeman, Montana. It’s an underground hard rock mine. Pretty cool place. I worked there for a while!

[@AaronWitt]

I grew up spending summers not far in Red Lodge

[@TTiGGj0YmAF]

Amazing gold land..! USA

[@macgoob3214]

For context the average gold bar (like the o e he holds) costs $750k+ USD

[@jasonftw5177]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="515">8:35</a> “the goal here is to separate the race”😂

[@imperialhonorguard1483]

accidentally based

[@Rapture9999]

During an internship with Barrick they let me detonate the charges one afternoon. Was awesome

[@AaronWitt]

nice!!

[@srreventon]

Nice documentary i wonder if the host attended the colorado school of mines? I have seen the open pit gold mine in hermosillo mx My fav documentary is "the largest gold mine in the world (spark)

[@tommybokelman5565]

That's a good one

[@nvrnlumby3]

One of my best friends worked down there for a bit as a mechanic. Loved it and made a great living but he was gone too much from his kids.

[@davidanalyst671]

Ive never seen those tailings leeching system before. Thats pretty wild. The Electrolytic process with electricity in the tanks would be too much hassle for so little gold I assume? How long does a pile of tailings sit there under the leeching pond? Does it get added to as the shaker tables create more tailings or was it just old tailings? This is so interesting. They spent a lot of money to build the building in order to keep the dust down. They still use anfo for blasting in the industry. Ive heard people are trying to change that up, but if it works, then it works.

[@mouzz]

Freddy Dodge : Well I think you need to install some sluices.

[@southcoastdub]

So Joe Rogan was full of it when he said all the world’s gold can fit in a small room? Those 3 bars outside were pretty impressive.

[@_monti142]

how much gold would be in 250 tons of ore

[@Pawsome_Opossum]

As of a 2017 mineral estimate report their grade is about 0.7 grams per ton of ore, which puts that at 175 grams of gold. Current gold prices are around $76 a gram, so that would be just over $13,000.

[@lavdrimdemiri8167]

Those are some horrible numbers, are you sure about that?

[@AaronWitt]

They said not much in each truck

[@vicbartsch351]

If it’s only 0.7 grams per ton that explains the heap leach they have. 3-5 grams is usually what they need to see to be worth crushing and concentrating. I’m surprised they don’t have any Knelson concentrators at this mine. More efficient than spirals I’d say.

[@Patrick-hz2im]

Im going to adopt that... "It was not my first time, but it was sweet" while pointing the finger directly at them. I call them "greenhorn hunters". You know the type. The subtle pissing contest of who has done more and knows more where they take any opportunity to verbally hint at someone being beneath them in one way or another. At least thats the vibes i always get. It drives me crazy

[@AaronWitt]

tommy toppers

[@travisk5589]

Where does the round mountain mine get their water and electricity

[@Darkmatter2134]

Just imagine all this work to produce gold for electronics that just end up in landfills in a few years.

[@stevemiller2296]

needs some dust control

[@RaceForTruth]

One scoop is 90 tons? Wow.

[@TechGorilla1987]

@<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="531">8:51</a> - With a flocculant.

[@SuperbCuts]

Never knew gold mining got this complex. Great video!

[@AaronWitt]

Thanks for watching

[@Stealth86651]

Oh man pressing the buttons never gets old

[@bariyowfathe]

❤ ilove mining ⛏️⛏️ i

[@redmesa2975]

I’m curious, from a geologic standpoint. Why is there such widespread gold mining in Nevada ? What or how did there become more gold in Nevada, than say neighboring states ?

[@vincentgrinn2665]

looking at the path the haul trucks take to get out of the mine how often does that route shift as they change working faces like obviously a mine this big should be using electric dive haul trucks with trolley wires, which ofcourse require overhead wire infrastructure that you dont want to be moving around very often does the haul roads and mine faces change around so much to make long(ish) term infrastructure an issue?

[@jimbeam2705]

You sound like a 🤡. 😂

[@Matthew-ld9wx]

400 billion dollars in gold produced since 1980 at round mountain

[@shakdidagalimal]

Really, only those three bars worth since 1985 ? So what are they working with one part per million ? <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="899">14:59</a>

[@markissboi3583]

thats a lot gold kinross has taken out the ground 15mil oz's worth over $295 billion

[@stoveguy2133]

Gramps gave me ball from 1930 Hibbing ore mine.