Bingham Canyon mine landslide - GIF

[Altair]

Bingham Canyon mine landslide.




Previously:

Landslide causes house to topple over - GIF
Landslide derails train - video
Excavator bangs ground to cause landslide - GIF
Excavator collapses hillside - GIF

[Frank S]

going to be a long time before anything is mined at the bottom of that pit again

[RetiredFAE]

Happened on 10 April 2013. from The Earth Matters Website at: https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/bl...2%80%99s%20pit.


The total volume of rock that fell during the slide was 52 million cubic meters, they report, enough to cover Central Park with 50 feet of rock and dirt. The slide occurred in two main phases, but researchers used infrasound recordings and seismic data to discover 11 additional landslides that occurred between the two main events. Modeling and further seismic analysis revealed the average speeds at which the hillsides fell: 81 miles per hour for the first main slide and 92 mph for the second, with peak speeds well over 150 mph.

Well, a lot of rock and it was moving right along! The mine has since reopened both to tourists and mining operations.

[hemmjo]

That whole operation, not just the landslide, helps to explain part of why copper is so expensive. What is even more fascinating to me is that copper is reportedly the first element discovered. Imagine the fascination of the one who discovered it.

https://alansfactoryoutlet.com/a-tim...scovered-them/

[Karl_H]

It looks to me that the entire area had been drilled for explosives prior to the slide.