Otherwise known as the Kennecott Copper Mine, the Bingham Canyon Mine was the largest example of what could be done with human ingenuity and engineering. This open-pit mine is in the Oquirrh Mountains of Utah, situated just southwest of Salt Lake City, and has managed to retain a niche in the annals of history as the largest man-made excavation on Earth. Its dimensions are stunning: about 4 kilometres across, plunging over 1.2 kilometres deep, nearly large enough to be viewed from space. Since its beginning in 1906, the mine has extracted over 19 million tons of copper, easily making this one of the most productive mining operations in history. It is owned by the Rio Tinto Group, a British-Australian multinational organisation, and its activities are under the management of Kennecott Utah Copper LLC, a division of Rio Tinto.
However, copper is not the only commodity mined here; the mine has extracted significant quantities of gold, silver, and molybdenum as its valuable by-products. It takes a stunning amount of coordination and technology just to keep the operation moving, with great haul trucks capable of carrying hundreds of tons up and down labyrinthine roads cut into its sides. To spectators at the official observation site, those giant haul trucks look tiny-toy-sized compared to the vast pit surrounding them. Such a long life has not been without its troubles. Events such as the well-documented 2013 massive landslide shifted millions of cubic meters of rock and temporarily halted operations to continue the risks involved in mining at such a scale(Michal Wozniakowski-Zehenter, 2024).
Finally, Bingham Canyon has pioneered technological advances in excavation, waste management, and ore processing throughout its century-plus existence. Today, the operation employs real-time slope stability monitoring systems and is pioneering efforts in automation and sustainable mining practices that are setting standards for the global industry(“Exploring the World’s Largest Open Pit Mines,” 2025).
Have you ever had the opportunity to work on a Rio Tinto project? Share your experiences and insights in the comments below!
Reference:
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Exploring the World’s Largest Open Pit Mines: Engineering Marvels. (2025, March 28). Discovery Alert. https://discoveryalert.com.au/news/largest-open-pit-mines-global-impact-2025/
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The Largest Open Pit Mines in the World. (2024, December 9). https://www.identecsolutions.com/news/largest-open-pit-mines-in-the-world
