Five Big American Holes
by The mining industry has dug some very big holes for itself all over America.
Some of the biggest American holes are:
1. The Berkeley Pit, Butte, Montana.
The Berkeley Pit operated as an open cast copper mine between 1955 and 1982. It is one mile long by half a mile wide with an approximate depth of 1,780 feet (540 m). Water has been accumulating in the pit. It has reached and has reached a depth of about 900 feet (270 m). The water is highly toxic, it is highly acidic and is laden with heavy metals. It would pose a hazard if it escaped into the local water table. Remedial measures have been taken to slow the accumulation of water in the Pit. Intriguingly scientists have discovered new fungal and bacterial species that adapted to the harsh conditions inside the pit.
The Berkeley Pit in 1984. Source: Wikipedia
2. El Chino (”The Chinaman”) Mine near Silver City, New Mexico
El Chino is an open cast copper mine. It was once the largest open cast mine in the world. The present-day open-pit mining operation was begun in 1910. It is the third oldest open pit copper mine in the world after the Bingham Canyon Mine and Chuquicamata.
El Chino mine. Source: Wikipedia
3. The Hull-Rust-Mahoning Mine, Hibbing, Minnesota
This is the largest open cast iron mine in the world. At its peak during World War 1 and World War II this mine supplies as much as 25% of all iron ore mined in the United States. Although still in use the mine now concentrates on lower grade ores. Over 519 million tons of waste material and 690 million tons of iron ore have been removed from the mine area since ore shipments began in 1895. The pit is more than three miles (5 km) long, two miles (3 km) wide and 535 feet (163 m) deep.
The Hull-Rust-Mahoning Mine. Source: Wikipedia
4. Bingham Canyon, near Salt Lake City, Utah
This mine is an open cast copper mine. Production began in 1906. The mine is over 0.75 miles (1.2 km) deep, 2.5 miles (4 km) wide, and covers 1,900 acres (7.7 km²). It is the world’s largest man-made excavation.
Bingham Canyon. Source: Wikipedia
5. Lavender Pit, Bisbee, Arizona
Lavender Pit. Source: Wikipedia
Lavender Pit was an open cast copper mine. It was worked from 1954 to 1970. The turquise which was mined as a side product was regarded as one of the finest in the world.
Lavender Pit. Source: Wikipedia
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Post Commentmartie
On November 21, 2009 at 4:55 pm
those are some big holes alright!
cebuanaeyez
On November 21, 2009 at 8:31 pm
This is very interesting! Reminds me of the movie, “The Hills have Eyes”