LARGEST - Man's Excavation - Kennecott Utah Copper Mine - Bingham Canyon, Utah [Removed]
N 40° 32.124 W 112° 08.899
12T E 402748 N 4487817
On 4/10/2013 a massive landslide totally destroyed the Mine Visitor Center. Because of advance warning everything at the Visitor Center had been removed to a safe location. A new Visitor Center will probably not be available until after 2014.
Waymark Code: WMBEHH
Location: Utah, United States
Date Posted: 05/11/2011
Views: 15
Kennecott Utah Copper Bingham Canyon Mine is the World's first Open-Pit Copper Mine and Man's Largest Excavation. The mine has been in production since 1906, and has resulted in the creation of a pit over 0.75 miles (1.2 km) deep, 2.5 miles (4 km) wide, and covering 1,900 acres (7.7 km²). According to Kennecott, it is the world's largest man-made excavation. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966 under the name Bingham Canyon Open Pit Copper Mine.
Minerals, in the form of copper ore, were first discovered in Bingham Canyon in 1848. A significant development took place in 1903, when Daniel C. Jackling and Enos A. Wall organized the Utah Copper Company. Utah Copper immediately began construction of a pilot mill at Copperton, just beyond the mouth of the canyon, and the company actually started mining in 1906. The success of Utah Copper in mining the huge but low-grade porphyry copper type orebody at Bingham Canyon revolutionized the copper industry, and set the pattern for the large open-pit porphyry copper mines that today dominate the copper industry worldwide. Today, mining operations continue at full-swing in the mine. For years, the largest open-pit mine in the world, it is still the largest copper mine and among the world's largest open-pit mines.
As of 2010, Kennecott Utah Copper is the second largest copper producer in the United States and provides about 13-18% percent of the U.S.'s copper needs. Kennecott’s Bingham Canyon Mine is the largest man-made excavation in the world, and is visible with the naked eye from space.
The coordinates will take you to a view area, the information sign and Visitors center which is inside the open pit mine. Here you can view the operations of the mine.
To get to the mine take Highway 111 toward the southwest part of the Salt Lake Valley. (12800 South State Route 111) This will get you to the main entrance and toll booth, follow the road 4 1/2 miles to the visitors center. Here you will see the mine, signs and displays of items from the mine. Here is a link to the visitors center: (
visit link)
The photos are from the viewing area located in the mine part way into the pit.