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Images related to Bou Craa, Western Sahara

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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South Africa’s Largest Open-Pit Mine
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South Africa’s Largest Open-Pit Mine

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

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Bou Craa Phosphate Mine, Western Sahara
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Bou Craa Phosphate Mine, Western Sahara

The mine is one of the few human patterns visible from space in this almost entirely uninhabited western extremity of the Sahara Desert.

Published Sep 23, 2018

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Catoca Diamond Mine, Angola
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Catoca Diamond Mine, Angola

The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image of the Catoca diamond mine on June 21, 2001. Besides the Catoca diamond mine, ASTER observed an active fire burning northeast of the mine.

Published Jul 20, 2008

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Brazil’s Carajás Mines
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Brazil’s Carajás Mines

The red-brown earth exposed by open pit mines contrast with the greens of the surrounding Amazon forest.

Published Feb 23, 2019

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Carajás Mine, Brazil
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Carajás Mine, Brazil

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

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Morenci Mine, Arizona
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Morenci Mine, Arizona

Published Nov 8, 2007

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Saving Straddie’s Sand
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Saving Straddie’s Sand

After seven decades, sand mining operations have stopped in Australia’s North Stradbroke Island.

Published May 7, 2020

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Mining Peru’s Cerro de Pasco
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Mining Peru’s Cerro de Pasco

The city’s economic engine is also a worrisome source of pollution.

Published Mar 16, 2019

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Mining Permits across West Virginia
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Mining Permits across West Virginia

Mountaintop removal mining dramatically changes the topography across thousands of acres. Mountaintop removal mining alters this topography by reducing the elevation of the ridge lines, flattening out the steep slopes, and also by filling in hollows and stream beds with the excess rock and dirt that once topped the mountains.

Published Dec 28, 2007

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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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Sunrise Dam Gold Mine
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Sunrise Dam Gold Mine

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

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Rio Tinto Borax Mine
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Rio Tinto Borax Mine

One of Earth’s richest borate deposits is at the center of the largest open-pit mine in California.

Published Nov 11, 2013

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Rössing Uranium Mine
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Rössing Uranium Mine

One of the world’s largest uranium mines is located in an arid desert near Namibia’s ephemeral Khan River.

Published Mar 23, 2013

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Growth of Mountaintop Mine, West Virginia, 1984-2009
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Growth of Mountaintop Mine, West Virginia, 1984-2009

Landsat 5 observed the growth of one of the largest surface mines in the state it expanded from ridge to ridge.

Published Mar 3, 2010

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 Iron Mines in Michigan
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Iron Mines in Michigan

Orange ponds on the Upper Peninsula near Empire and Tilden Mines are hard to miss—even from space.

Published Aug 28, 2014

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Potash Mine Near Moab, Utah
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Potash Mine Near Moab, Utah

Hundreds of acres of bright-blue evaporation ponds are used to produce potassium-containing salts for fertilizers.

Published Jun 25, 2014

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Diamonds in the Sub-Arctic Rough
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Diamonds in the Sub-Arctic Rough

Deep in Canada’s Northwest Territories, miners have carved out a living from an ancient kimberlite field.

Published Jul 26, 2014

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San Jose Mine, Chile
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San Jose Mine, Chile

Acquired September 16, 2010, this natural-color image shows Chile’s San José copper and gold mine where a mine collapse trapped 33 miners.

Published Sep 26, 2010

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