Salt Lake City , Utah

Located south-west to Salt Lake City , Utah , Bingham Canyon Mine is the largest manmade hole on the planet , producing the most copper of any mine in history , an estimated yield of 19mn tonnes .

The pit measures more than 1.2km deep and 4km wide , covering 3sqm of distance – and is visible to the naked eye from orbiting spacecraft .

Each year , the mine produces 300,000 tonnes of copper , 13.7 tonnes of gold , 137 tonnes of silver , and almost 9100 tonnes of molybdenum , totaling around $ 2bn per year .

Investment is currently in place to expand the mine further in the next decade .

68 May 2023