Is the Bingham copper mine still active?

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.

When was the Bingham Canyon landslide?

10 April 2013
On the evening of 10 April 2013 (MDT) a massive landslide occurred at the Bingham Canyon copper mine near Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. The northeastern wall of the 970-m-deep pit collapsed in two distinct episodes that were each sudden, lasting ~90 seconds, but separated in time by ~1.5 hours.

How did the Bingham Canyon landslide happen?

The April 10, 2013, landslide at Bingham Canyon mine happened in the form of 2 rock avalanches 95 minutes apart. The second rock avalanche is orange in color, both from bedrock and from waste rock from mining. The slide produced enough debris to bury New York City’s Central Park 66 feet (20 meters) deep.

Who is responsible for the Bingham Canyon slide?

I discovered yesterday that Brad Ross, who “led the team charged with developing the geotechnical studies and mine planning to demonstrate the long-term viability of the mine” has written a book, Rise to the Occasion, that “tells the dramatic story of the men and women who safely led Utah’s 107-year-old Bingham Canyon …

Where is the deepest pit in Utah?

Bingham Canyon Mine
Bingham Canyon Mine, located near Salt Lake City, is the world’s deepest man-made open pit excavation. The mine is 2.75 miles (4,5km) across and 0.75 mile (1,2km) deep.

Why is Bingham Canyon yellow?

During heavy rains, these would turn into jetties rising from the collected pool of water. Smithson designed the collected pool of water at the bottom as the most striking color element in the pit because it would be bright yellow due to the toxic runoff, or acid rock drainage (also known as yellow boy).

What caused the Thistle landslide?

Record-breaking precipitation in the fall of 1982, followed by a deep winter snow pack, then warm spring temperatures and rapid snowmelt in 1983 set the stage for the Thistle landslide. Once triggered, the slide reached a maximum speed of 3.5 feet per hour and dammed Spanish Fork River within a few days.

What happened to Kennecott Copper Company?

Kennecott Corporation, the world’s leader in copper output throughout most of the 20th century, had by 1997 ceased to exist as a separate entity. That year it was divided into a group of wholly owned subsidiaries of the British metals and mining company Rio Tinto plc.

Is there a bottomless pit on earth?

Despite recurring outlandish claims, these turn out to be nothing more than urban legends, or hoaxes, upon closer inspection. It’s true that there are plenty of deep holes that exist, but none are truly bottomless. In reality, even the deepest ones have never penetrated all the way down below the Earth’s crust.

Where did the Bingham Canyon landslide happen in Utah?

A slide at Kennecott Utah Copper’s Bingham Canyon Mine which occurred Wednesday, April 10 is shown Thursday, April 11, 2013. Ravell Call, Deseret News A landslide at Kennecott Utah Copper’s Bingham Canyon Mine, which occurred Wednesday, April 10, 2013, is shown Thursday, April 11, 2013.

Was Rio Tinto Kennecott’s pit collapse in Utah predicted?

But officials at Rio Tinto Kennecott anticipated the collapse in the open pit’s southeast corner and were able to keep workers at a safe distance, according to the Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining, or DOGM. “It was predicted and occurred in an isolated area in the southeast corner in the pit.

How big was the Kennecott mine slide?

Photos posted on Facebook indicate the slide was about 150 feet across and dropped for at least 700 feet, leaving a deep gash in the mine wall and covering the pit bottom with debris. Last year, Kennecott pulled 62 million tons of ore from the 11,000-acre mine, according to its annual report on file with DOGM.

What happened to the landslide on 28 May 2021?

The image on the left was collected on 28 May 2021 and the one on the right on 31 May 2021. South is towards the top of the images. The images suggest that the main part of the landslide, on the right side in the slide in the pictures, was a wedge failure that appears to be quite deep-seated.