Mining Magazine August 2015 | Page 21

08 ) Chuquicamata Copper Mine

For more than a century , the Chuquicamata Copper Mine in Santiago , Chile has been producing massive amounts of copper . Owned and operated by Codelco , the gigantic mine measures at 4.3 kilometers long , three kilometers wide and more than 850 meters deep , making it the second deepest open-pit mine in the world . According to Codelco , the company is planning to transition operations to underground by the end of 2018 , which is estimated to contain 1.7 billion tons of copper reserves .
LARGEST OPEN PIT MINES IN THE WORLD

07 ) Grasberg Mine

In terms of gold mines , the Grasberg Mine is the Holy Grail of the mining world . The man-made hole ranks as the largest producing gold mine in the world and the second largest producing copper mine . The gargantuan Grasberg mine is also one of the deepest mines , measuring an astonishing 550 kilometers deep . Located in the Papua province of Indonesia , the gold mine is operated by Freeport Indonesia – a subsidiary of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold – and consists of both open-pit and underground operations , producing gold , copper and silver .
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