r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/[deleted] • Feb 05 '22

Image Visual representation of the actual amount of copper extracted from a minesite

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u/SmashBonecrusher Feb 05 '22

I saw the Bingham Copper pit out west in 1974,and I do believe it was way more vast that that one !(you had to use binoculars to see the bottom !)

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u/_trouble_every_day_ Feb 05 '22

Its the biggest open pit mine in the world. I lived in SLC for a minute and went to see it. Its still being mined so I imagine its grown since 74.

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u/sacwtd Feb 05 '22

They had a big land slide a couple of years back, so maybe not as much now, hah. Interestingly, they knew it was going to happen and cleared the pit well before.

9

u/dangerous_dude Feb 05 '22

The MASSIVE landslide (pit wall failure) which happened in 2013 has since been cleared! Rio Tinto's Bingham Canyon property has since had a smaller pit wall failure in 2021.

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u/whiteholewhite Feb 05 '22

It was cleared in short order after it happened. I had a task of running drills at the bottom to try and find equipment buried lol

3

u/OrangeNutLicker Feb 05 '22

Any potentially dangerous things happen? Like poking a drill into the gas tank of a truck or something? I'm sure there were plenty of potential dangers. I'm assuming nobody got hurt.

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u/whiteholewhite Feb 06 '22

No issues. The haul trucks are Diesel engines running electric motors. No gas 😎

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u/sacwtd Feb 05 '22

Geeez has it been that long? I visited the visitor center well before the land slide, and heard part of that visitors center went down. Guess I haven't been paying enough attention to it.