Images related to Escondida Copper Mine, Atacama Desert, Chile

Open Pit Mines, Southern Arizona
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Open Pit Mines, Southern Arizona

This astronaut photograph illustrates three open-pit copper mines located west-northwest of the town of Green Valley, Arizona.

Published Feb 8, 2010

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Cananea Copper Mine, Sonora, Mexico
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Cananea Copper Mine, Sonora, Mexico

One of the largest open-pit copper mines in the world, the Cananea mine produced over 164,000 tonnes of copper in 2006. The active, 2-kilometer-diameter Colorada Pit is recognizable by the concentric steps, or benches, cut around its perimeter.

Published Apr 21, 2008

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Toquepala Copper Mine, Southern Peru
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Toquepala Copper Mine, Southern Peru

The rugged, mineral-rich Andes support some of the world’s biggest mines (gold, silver, copper, and more). This image looks down the bullseye of Peru’s Toquepala copper mine, a steep sided and stepped open-pit mine.

Published Oct 13, 2003

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Grasberg Mine, Indonesia
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Grasberg Mine, Indonesia

Located in the Sudirman Mountains of the Irian Jaya province of Indonesia, the Grasberg complex is one of the largest gold and copper mining operations in the world.

Published Aug 1, 2005

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A Copper Megamine in South America
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A Copper Megamine in South America

The Cerro Verde mine in Peru produces nearly one billion pounds of copper per year.

Published Jan 8, 2017

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Bingham Canyon Mine, Utah
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Bingham Canyon Mine, Utah

The Bingham Canyon Mine is one of the largest open-pit mines in the world, measuring over 4 kilometers wide and 1,200 meters deep. Mining first began in Bingham Canyon in the late nineteenth century, when shafts were sunk to remove gold, silver, and lead deposits that played out by the early 1900s. It would take the advent of open-pit mining in 1899 to turn the Bingham copper deposit into an economically favorable resource.

Published Oct 22, 2007

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Morenci Mine, Arizona
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Morenci Mine, Arizona

Published Nov 8, 2007

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New Cornelia Mine, Arizona
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New Cornelia Mine, Arizona

Although this photograph may appear to be a small pit mine as seen from the air, it is actually a pit mine that is about a mile wide and just over a thousand feet deep as photographed by astronauts orbiting the Earth on board the International Space Station. The New Cornelia Mine is located just south of Ajo, Arizona. Small-scale mining of copper in this area began with the Spaniards and Mexicans as early as 1750. This large-scale, systematic operation began in 1912 and expanded rapidly for the next 50 years. Since the mid 1980s, activity has been limited because of low prices for copper on the world market. Note the tailings deposits to the east (right) and the larger containment ponds for extraction processes to the northeast.

Published Jun 23, 2002

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Berkeley Pit: Butte, Montana
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Berkeley Pit: Butte, Montana

Mined for gold, silver, and copper, the region of Butte, Montana, had already earned the nickname of “The Richest Hill on Earth” by the end of the 19th century.

Published Nov 13, 2006

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Jwaneng Diamond Mine, Botswana
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Jwaneng Diamond Mine, Botswana

otswana ranks first among the world’s gem-quality diamond producers, and diamond mining makes up 70 percent of the nation’s export revenue. The Jwaneng Diamond Mine, in south-central Botswana, sits atop the convergence of three kimberlite pipes—diamond-rich geologic formations. Because the pipes meet just below the surface and cover some 520,000 square meters (128.5 acres) at ground level, the diamonds are mined from an open pit rather than a mine tunneled below the surface.

Published Oct 26, 2008

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Escondida Mine, Chile
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Escondida Mine, Chile

The Escondida copper, gold, and silver open-pit mine began operations in 1990.

Published Dec 12, 2000

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