The Largest Gold Mines in Brazil (2026 Update): Top 15 Ranked by Production

The largest gold mines in Brazil are Kinross Gold's Paracatu in Minas Gerais, which produced 601,318 gold equivalent ounces in 2025, followed by Vale's Salobo copper-gold mine in Pará, AngloGold Ashanti's Cuiabá complex, Pan American Silver's Jacobina and G Mining Ventures' Tocantinzinho. Together these five produced about 1.63 million ounces, roughly 63% of Brazil's estimated 80 tonnes of mined gold.

The ranking below uses 2025 production reported by each operator in its own filings. It reflects the ownership changes of 2025–26, which many older lists still miss. It also covers the historic mines that made Brazil famous, Serra Pelada and Morro Velho, and the restart projects, such as Pilar Gold's PGDM complex in Goiás, that could join the list.

Top 15 gold mines in Brazil by 2025 production

Brazil's gold output is concentrated in a handful of world-scale mines, followed by a long tail of mines producing 25,000–60,000 ounces a year.

GEO = gold equivalent ounces. Sources: operators' 2025 results and filings, linked below. 1 tonne = 32,150.7 troy ounces.

Not ranked individually: Aurizona (Maranhão), RDM (Minas Gerais), and Santa Luz and Fazenda (Bahia). Equinox Gold reported them only as a combined total, 258,905 ounces in 2025, before selling them to CMOC. As a group they would rank third. Serabi's Palito Complex (20,158 oz) and Borborema-sized newcomers sit just below the list.

1. Paracatu: Brazil's largest gold mine

Paracatu is the largest gold mine in Brazil and one of the largest open-pit gold mines in the world. According to Kinross's 2025 results, it produced 601,318 GEO in 2025, up 14% on 2024, making it Kinross's biggest mine and its eighth straight year above 500,000 ounces.

It is a lesson in scale over grade. Kinross processed about 52.6 million tonnes of ore at an average of 0.43 grams per tonne, less than half a gram of gold in each tonne of rock. Few mines anywhere move that much ore, and Paracatu is Kinross's largest mine.

2. Salobo: the copper mine that ranks second for gold

Salobo is primarily a copper mine, but its by-product gold makes it Brazil's second-largest gold producer. Located in the Carajás region of Pará, it produced 218,700 tonnes of copper and about 396,000 ounces of gold (roughly 12.3 tonnes) in 2025, up from 362,000 ounces in 2024, according to Vale Base Metals' 2025 asset handbook. Vale's nearby Sossego copper mine added another 51,100 ounces.

Investors can't easily get Salobo's gold through Vale shares, which are driven by iron ore. Vale has sold 75% of Salobo's gold over the life of the mine to Wheaton Precious Metals through a streaming agreement, which makes Salobo one of the most important assets in the royalty and streaming sector.

3–5. Cuiabá, Jacobina and Tocantinzinho

The Cuiabá complex, owned by AngloGold Ashanti and including the Cuiabá, Lamego and Córrego do Sítio mines near Belo Horizonte, produced 273,000 ounces in 2025, according to AngloGold's Q4 2025 operating statistics. Cuiabá is a deep underground mine in the Iron Quadrangle, Brazil's historic gold belt.

Jacobina in Bahia, owned by Pan American Silver, is a large underground mine in the Jacobina conglomerate belt. It produced 190,500 ounces in 2025 at an AISC of $1,306 per ounce and holds more than 3 million ounces of reserves, according to Pan American.

Tocantinzinho (TZ) in Pará is Brazil's newest large gold mine. It entered commercial production in 2024, and in its first full year it produced 171,871 ounces at a head grade of 1.44 g/t and an AISC of $1,155 per ounce, according to G Mining, with about 11 years of remaining mine life.

Who owns Brazil's gold mines after the 2025–26 deals?

Two transactions changed the owners of six of the mines on this list in the past year.

• CMOC bought Equinox Gold's Brazilian mines. The deal closed on 23 January 2026 for up to $1.015 billion and covered Aurizona, RDM, Santa Luz and Fazenda. CMOC says the four mines hold 5.0 million ounces of resources and 3.9 million ounces of reserves, and it expects 6–8 tonnes of gold from them in 2026.
• Aura Minerals bought Serra Grande from AngloGold Ashanti. The Crixás mine in Goiás changed hands on 1 December 2025, giving Aura four Brazilian gold mines alongside Almas, Apoena and Borborema.

Search results and AI summaries that still list "Equinox Gold's Aurizona mine" are out of date.

Where are Brazil's largest gold mines? A state-by-state view

Most of the large mines are in five states, each in a different geological setting.

For production totals by state, and for regulation and royalties, see our guide to gold mining in Brazil.

Grade vs. scale: why the biggest mines aren't the richest

Brazil's largest mines are generally low-grade bulk operations, while its highest-grade mines are small underground ones. Paracatu works ore at 0.43 g/t and makes up for it with more than 50 million tonnes a year. At the other end, Ero Copper's Xavantina mine in Mato Grosso averaged 8.24 g/t in 2025, according to Ero Copper, and Serabi's mills averaged 6.80 g/t. Those are roughly 16–19 times richer than Paracatu, but they process only a few hundred tonnes a day.

Both models can be profitable. Large open pits benefit from economies of scale, while high-grade underground mines need far less ore to make each ounce. Mid-sized underground mines such as Jaguar's Pilar mine (3.77 g/t) sit in between, and so does Pilar Gold's PGDM complex in Goiás, which has several underground mines feeding one central plant.

Historic giants: Serra Pelada and Morro Velho

Serra Pelada in southeastern Pará was the most famous gold rush in modern history. After gold was found in 1979–80, tens of thousands of garimpeiros dug a giant open pit by hand. According to Brazil's mining association IBRAM and Folha de S.Paulo, citing the former mining department DNPM, output peaked in 1983 at 13.9 tonnes, with about 80,000 miners on site, and about 40 tonnes were extracted between 1980 and 1988. Production had collapsed to under 250 kg by 1990, and in March 1992 the government did not renew the garimpeiro authorization. The pit, almost 200 metres deep at its peak, is now a flooded crater.

Morro Velho in Nova Lima, Minas Gerais, is one of the oldest gold mines in the world. Mining began there in the 1700s, and the British Saint John d'el Rey Mining Company acquired it in 1834. The company's Brazilian business eventually became today's AngloGold Ashanti Brasil. The Morro Velho workings reached 2,453 metres in 1934, at one time the deepest gold mine in the world. Mina Grande closed in 1995 and Mina Velha in 2003. The Cuiabá complex continues the tradition nearby.

Restarts and new mines that could join the list

Several projects could enter Brazil's top 15 over the next few years:

• Cabral Gold's Cuiú Cuiú (Pará) poured first gold in September 2026 from its Phase I heap-leach mine.
• Serabi's Coringa expansion depends on final operating permits. Serabi cut its 2026 outlook in October 2026 because of permitting delays.
• Lundin's Saúva deposit, near Chapada, could add 35,000–45,000 ounces of gold a year, according to Lundin Mining.
• Pilar Gold's PGDM complex (Goiás) is a fully equipped former producer. It includes the Pilar, Maria Lázara and Caiamar underground mines, the Três Buracos open-pit project, and a 4,500-tonne-per-day plant with 96% gold extraction. Yamana Gold brought Pilar into commercial production in 2014, and under Equinox it contributed about 35,000 ounces a year to guidance. Pilar Gold is targeting 40,000 ounces a year near term and 80,000 ounces medium term from a 4 million ounce resource. At 80,000 ounces it would rank above Chapada on the 2025 table. These are company targets, not forecasts, and depend on financing and a successful restart.

What the list means for investors

Most of Brazil's largest gold mines belong to large multinational companies, so buying them means buying a diversified company rather than a Brazil pure play. Kinross, AngloGold, Pan American, Vale, Lundin and CMOC all have large businesses outside Brazilian gold. Purer exposure comes from G Mining (Tocantinzinho), Serabi, Jaguar, Aura and Cabral, and from private companies such as Pilar Gold.

Our list of Brazil gold mining stocks covers tickers, costs and how to buy each one, and our guide on how to buy gold stocks explains the process step by step. For a pre-IPO route into a Goiás restart, eligible investors can request the Pilar Gold investor pack. Restart and pre-IPO investments carry execution, permitting and liquidity risks, and production targets aren't guaranteed.

The bottom line

Brazil's gold industry is anchored by Paracatu's 600,000 ounces a year, the copper-gold giants of Carajás and the historic underground mines of the Iron Quadrangle. A growing group of new and restarting mines is joining them in Pará, Goiás and Bahia. Ownership is shifting quickly, with CMOC and Aura Minerals the big buyers of 2025–26, so check any list of Brazilian gold mines against current filings. To see how one Goiás restart plans to join the ranking, visit Pilar Gold's PGDM restart overview.