A dragline excavator at the Hull-Rust-Mahoning Mine near Hibbing,MN. This mine is the largest open pit iron mine in the world. The mine is approximately 3 miles long, 2 miles wide, and 535 feet deep.
The Ekati open pit diamond mine in northern Canada. Zoom in to see the huge trucks and excavators. Visit http://www.mining-technology.com/projects/ekati/ for more information on this mine.
Cerrejón is the world's largest export open pit coal mining operation. Coal production capacity is estimated in 22 million metric tons per year. Open pit mining is an operation that starts with the cleaning of the surface and the careful withdrawal of the topsoil layer, which is stored for future rehabilitation of the involved lands.
The largest man-made hole in Africa is located 360 kilometres north-east of South African capital, Pretoria. The Palabora copper mine was excavated open-cast for 38 years: the end-result is easily visible from space: the pit now approaches 2000 metres in diameter and 762 metres deep (more than 230 metres beneath sea level).
In 2002 owner Rio Tinto declared the pit's depth meant surface e...