Huge Holes in the Earth: Open-Pit Mines Seen From Space

本帖最後由 bchew 於 2009-12-22 09:32 AM 編輯

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People have become significant earth movers, outpacing all sources of natural erosion. More and more
/ Z5 t  L# L3 U/ z9 Cof our footprint can be seen from space in many forms, including cities, reservoirs,agriculture and
deforestation. Among the most impressive human scars on the planet are open-pit mines.5.39.217.77:88985 k7 r% d0 j( u' [4 |, ?4 ~$ R. y
We’ve gathered some of the biggest, most spectacular and interesting mines, as captured by
. E' l6 `2 q, Z+ H' n( {公仔箱論壇astronauts and satellites on the following pages.
  Z& u/ a+ R# \8 k公仔箱論壇5.39.217.77:88985 A5 ~8 F7 |6 H
Above: Berkeley Pit, Butte, Montana
This former copper mine operated between 1955 and 1982. Gold and silver were also mined. 公仔箱論壇; m6 m3 _4 Q: v2 J: d* `  {
An elaborate system of pumps and drains kept the local water level low enough for mining. 0 z2 v" _  C9 x; d& T6 B9 X$ D
Today, the 1,780 foot-deep pit is filled with around 900 feet of very contaminated water filled
# Y# @5 K! e8 i7 F& F) Hwith metals and chemicals such as arsenic, cadmium, pyrite, zinc,copper and sulfuric acid. The
water can be as acidic as battery acid,and copper can actually be “mined” directly from the water.
Currently, the 1-mile-by-0.5-mile pit is listed as a federal Superfund site with the potential to
3 @5 k" c2 Q! @9 f; w5.39.217.77:8898contaminate surrounding ground water, and,surprisingly, is also a tourist attraction, complete
with gift shop and$2 admission fee.
7 w& _: k# V2 f3 z$ P5.39.217.77:8898This photograph was taken Aug. 2, 2006, by astronauts aboard the International Space Station.5.39.217.77:88983 |7 N7 Q5 N0 l/ ?0 U6 U

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Escondida Mine, Chile
+ W  n7 A# P/ [tvb now,tvbnow,bttvbThe Escondida mine, opened in 1990 at 10,000 feet in northern Chile’s Atacama desert, currently produces
more copper than any other mine in the world, with 1.5 million tons in 2007, worth more than $10 billion and
representing nearly a tenth of world copper production. More than 6,000 people work at the mine.
This image was captured in 2000 by the Advanced Space borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer 5.39.217.77:8898/ M# ]+ V$ [0 I9 i4 u$ G& x( j
aboard NASA’s Terra satellite.
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Bingham Canyon Mine, Utah' @" h$ E" N* d. a; R9 t0 P
Located 20 miles outside Salt Lake City in the Oquirrh Mountains, the Bingham Canyon copper pit has produced
( D- x/ g# j% ?0 b  Zmore than 18million tons of copper over its lifetime, more than any other mine in the world. The pit is about 2.75
miles wide and 4,000 feet deep. Two Empire State buildings stacked one on top of the the other wouldn’t reach * A, |7 D8 s& c
the top. By 2015, the mine will be 500 feet deeper, and a third Empire State building will fit inside. The terraces # q; n: o# [3 n+ J( ~4 F
inside the pit,which provide a base for the digging equipment and also stabilize the slopes, can be more than 80
5 W* O- o) N2 @" G2 ifeet high. Opened in 1904, the site has been named a historic landmark.
This photograph was taken Sept. 20, 2007, by astronauts aboard the International Space Station with a digital
# o/ C9 q3 a! A. d# e公仔箱論壇camera and an 800mm lens.+ Z/ X9 C$ v% m3 h8 P- d& U4 a" {
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Yuba River Goldfields, California.
The Yuba Goldfields are a strange culmination of years of pressure-jet mining for gold upstream in the Sierra Nevada, tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb2 ]* V$ K* C: f+ K( h4 G
dredging the tailings out of the river, and mining the tailings for gold and then later for gravel. The result is an odd
! E+ J+ p9 \0 v3 w) M5.39.217.77:8898landscape of reddish-brown and gray hills of gravel with water-filled ravines in between.4 J% ^3 B' N5 x: W, l
Shortly after gold was discovered in the Sierra Nevadain 1848, panning gave way to highly destructive hydraulic ' P6 w* L0 r! i/ T2 _
mining, which involves blasting sediment away with high-powered jets of water. Gold was extracted from the gravel, 公仔箱論壇% _6 o/ m# C) G/ o6 u
which was then dumped and carried downstream by rivers into the Sacramento Valley. The Yuba River ended up with # H; s" O' M1 ?1 `
685 million cubic feet of the mine waste, which raised the level of the river, overflowed the banks and buried farms.公仔箱論壇" l9 y" g% v" A
Dredging of the Yuba began in 1893, and soon after,mining companies began to sift and re sift through the debris to
; v% E- k6 ~1 |6 |extract ever-smaller bits of gold. By 1970, all economically feasible gold removal had been completed, and mining of the 公仔箱論壇( e+ \" J$ q/ P* I# M( n
gravel for concrete began. Today, ownership of the land is disputed among mining companies, private owners and the government.公仔箱論壇; Z1 P1 E$ e% e: r5 B6 K
This image was taken by the Advanced Space borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer on NASA’s Terra satellite Aug. 29, 2001.5.39.217.77:88981 S. Q' a: h# M* N7 B- W$ h7 f

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Toquepala Copper Mine, Peru
Located in the Andes Mountains in southern Peru, the Toquepala mine is 1.5 miles wide and 2,300 feet deep.
The mine’s main output is copper, but it also produces gold, silver and molybdenum. The railroad that was
constructed to carry the ore 60 miles to the coast can be seen winding down a canyon left of the center,
heading southwest from the mine. This image was captured by astronauts aboard the International Space 5 j( G  _% l7 h
Station on Sept. 22, 2003.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb7 Z  X5 j+ t1 E2 K6 {& ~

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7 ]' z( v- U' F5 ^! J7 gFreeport Mine, Indonesia5.39.217.77:8898' [7 \4 x1 r+ m% j8 u& b8 X
The Freeport Mine, also known as the Grasberg complex,is a huge mining operation in Indonesia’s Sudirman tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb+ j& c* O$ N+ }: p; v( g2 ~* F
Mountains. Copper was discovered here in 1936, and gold was first found in 1988. Today,the mine is one of
' H  X! ]4 L0 V; L& O5.39.217.77:8898the largest gold- and copper-extraction operations in the world. The open pit is 2.5 miles wide, and there is
  q4 \& _2 J/ @tvb now,tvbnow,bttvbextensive underground mining in the area as well. Glaciers are also visible in the image.
! {: G6 {8 l; L  }, IThis photograph was taken June 25, 2005, by astronauts on the International Space Station.

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Cananea Mine, Mexico
The Cananea mine is located 25 miles south of the United States border in Sonora, Mexico. The active Colorada
. O0 X1 _8 d" u; etvb now,tvbnow,bttvbPit in the upper right is 1.6 miles across. It is one of the largest copper producers in the world and also contains TVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。. X) Q) q: K1 \8 @; \
gold. Those two metals are often found together where hot magma forced its way up into the overlying bedrock.
' i7 S+ {/ ?6 R( Y5 gThe magma crystallized there while hot fluids circulated through it and into fractures in the surrounding rock,altering 9 b# x+ C' A2 x8 j8 _3 F0 L
the rock to produce copper-rich minerals and gold.TVBNOW 含有熱門話題，最新最快電視，軟體，遊戲，電影，動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。/ x7 L- b9 \9 h  i
A 1906 miner’s strike at Cananea turned violent and resulted in 19 deaths, contributing to events that led to the
& E  v* t7 w+ t公仔箱論壇Mexican Revolution in 1910. Another strike stopped work at the mine in 2007.3 ]- E7 P& }! Y
This image was taken by astronauts aboard the International Space Station on March 3, 2008.! S% b+ j, D% N  W, G- \. j
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Phosphate Mines, Jordan5.39.217.77:8898' N8 [6 L' ?& \/ a" ?) r
Phosphate mining is an important industry in Jordan,which has abundant deposits of the mineral on approximately 60 tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb: C% w  d+ w. e4 J! {- v
percent of its territory. Phosphorus is essential to living things, and food can’t be produced without it. Some scientists
( a& ]9 |) S! J, I* gfear a shortage of this critical resource is impending and have predicted the world will reach “Peak Phosphorus,” the
point at which production will begin to decline, just 30 years from now. There is currently no synthetic alternative.5.39.217.77:88982 Q8 I2 M( O- ^5 }$ \! V: N
This image was capture by the Advanced Space borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer on NASA’s Terra
satellite Sept. 17, 2005. It is a false-color composite of visible and infrared images. Vegetation appears red, water is 5.39.217.77:8898- @% S$ g) o5 I* e) ~
blue, and rock and soil can be anywhere from buff to black. The mining operation is the area just left of center in the
lower part of the image that appears striped.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb! J7 b9 a' V0 G
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New Cornelia Mine, Arizona
- K$ U1 `. P: p; FCopper was first mined from this area just south of the mining town of Ajo, Arizona, around 1750. The open-pit mine pictured 5.39.217.77:88982 \5 A1 c. ?& ]2 ]0 l6 i
above began being excavated in earnest in 1912. It was shut down in 1983 when the price of copper dropped. The scalloped
land just to the right of the mine is covered in tailings, and the large gray rectangles above that are containment ponds where 5.39.217.77:8898; ^3 j$ O  v7 O' M, |
the metal was extracted.公仔箱論壇' l$ U$ Y! s+ t" J
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Hambach Coal Mines, Germany
The bright white-and-dark-blue–striped areas on the right side of this image are opencast coal mines in mid western Germany.
. W  P0 F# g1 NOne of the mines is currently being worked by the Bagger 293, the largest machine in the world.The bucket-wheel excavator
is twice as long as a soccer field and a stall as a 30-story building, and digs up 30 million tons of lignite per year.
. O$ R6 E2 r& vThis image, captured by the Advanced Space borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer aboard NASA’s Terra satellite ) i, y, h" f  R/ ]2 D
Aug. 26, 2000, is a simulated natural-color image. The bright-green rectangular patches are crops, the gray patches are
bare ground, and the bluish-gray areas are towns.

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