The Gruyere mine is operated and managed by Gold Fields, which paid $350 million for its half share in 2016. The mine has produced more than 1.5 million ounces since starting production in mid-2019.

Mines in Indonesia, Russia, New Guinea, and Chile round out the top-five gold mines in the world. The Carlin Trend and Cortez gold mines, both in Nevada, are ranked sixth and 10 th worldwide.

Shaft 7 of the Kloof mine is a classic ultra-deep Witwatersrand gold operation which is more than 3km deep, the DM reported, increasing the difficulty in extracting the workers.