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
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
Northeastern Nevada has a geological feature rich with gold.
Published Aug 27, 2017
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
The pit near Phalaborwa and Kruger National Park is the most visible sign of a long history of mining in the region.
Published Jul 30, 2019
The terraced layers of red earth that make up the Carajás Iron Ore Mine contrast with the deep green Amazon Rainforest in this cloud-free image.
Published Jul 29, 2009
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
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
In February 2011, landslides decimated an open pit coal mine near Elbistan.
Published Jun 21, 2012
Deep in Canada’s Northwest Territories, miners have carved out a living from an ancient kimberlite field.
Published Jul 26, 2014
Acquired December 4, 2009, this true-color image shows the Sunrise Dam Gold Mine, roughly 55 kilometers (35 miles) south of Laverton, Western Australia.
Published Dec 20, 2009
The largest underground iron ore mine in the world has been in operation since 1900.
Published Oct 29, 2016
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
