Panama

Approximately 120km to the west of Panama City , Panama , Cobre Panamá is a huge open pit copper mine . With around 4bn tonnes of probable resources , split into four zones , Cobre Panamá is one of the largest mines worldwide .

The mine has a capacity to yield more than 300,000 tonnes of copper a year , along with other precious resources such as gold and silver .

Gobi desert , Mongolia

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credit : phys . org . Aerial view of Cobre Panama mine in Panama , operated by First Quantum Minerals of Canada , which the government ordered to halt operations

In Southern Mongolia , within the Gobi Desert , lies Oyu Tolgoi , which means ‘ turquoise hill ’. The mine represents the largest financial commitment in Mongolia ’ s history , with production beginning in 2013 .

The mine produces as much as 2.7mn tonnes of copper , 1.7oz gold , and 1900 tonnes of silver , using underground and pit mining techniques to process as much as 85,000 tonnes of rock a day – this results in 500,000 tonnes of copper a year . miningdigital . com 61