Can you see the Bingham Copper mine from space?
Founded in 1903, Kennecott’s Bingham Canyon Mine is one of the largest man-made open-pit excavations in the world. The operation is so immense, it can be seen from space. The mine operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
How deep is the Bingham Canyon Mine?
3,900 feet
The Bingham Canyon Mine is one of the largest open-pit mines in the world, measuring more than 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) wide and 1,200 meters (3,900 feet) deep. Located about 30 kilometers (18 miles) southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah, the mine is a major producer of copper, gold, silver, and molybednum.
Is Bingham Canyon Mine active?
The mine has been in operation since the beginning of the 20th century and is expected to remain in operation until at least 2032. Bingham Canyon accounts for all the molybdenum and silver produced in Utah and nearly all the copper and gold.
Why is the Bingham Canyon Mine so large?
The Bingham Canyon Mine, more commonly known as Kennecott Copper Mine among locals, is an open-pit mining operation extracting a large porphyry copper deposit southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah, in the Oquirrh Mountains….Bingham Canyon Mine.
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Products | Copper |
| Type | Open-pit |
| History | |
| Discovered | 1848 |
Where is the oldest gold mine in the world?
Sakdrisi site
A group of German and Georgian archaeologists claims the Sakdrisi site in southern Georgia, dating to the 3rd or 4th millennium BC, may be the world’s oldest known gold mine.
Where is the world’s deepest pit in the United States?
Bingham Canyon mine located south-west of Salt Lake City, Utah, US, is the deepest open pit mine in the world. The Bingham Canyon pit is more than 1.2km deep and approximately four kilometres wide.
Is Bingham Canyon Mine still in operation?
Did the Motherload mine ever open?
The highest grades of ore were largely depleted by the early 1930s. The Glacier Mine closed in 1929. The Mother Lode was next, closing at the end of July 1938.
Did the Mother Lode mine open?
The mines ended up producing almost $200 million dollars worth of copper before shutting down in 1938. The town ended up being abandoned for 60 years. The National Park Service and Friends of Kennecott organization work together to preserve as many of the buildings as they can.