Image: Super Pit Mine, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia

Description: The pit that gives the mine its name appears in the centre of the image, and some of the steep pit’s walls appear in shadow while others are illuminated by the Sun. Related mining operations form a rough semicircle on the eastern side of the pit; a cluster of buildings east-north-east of the pit is Fimiston Mill, where ore is processed. Waste dumps and grey-white tailings ponds sprawl over the arid landscape. Tailings are the rocks and chemicals left over after the gold is extracted. Because the chemicals used to separate gold from rock are often caustic, tailings usually pose hazards to human and/or environmental health and must be treated carefully. The metropolitan area of Kalgoorlie, marked by street grids and manicured green spaces, extends almost to the mine’s central pit. An airport, marked by a long runway, appears along the city’s southern margin. Founded during a late-nineteenth-century gold rush, Kalgoorlie, like the neighboring mine, occurs near an area nicknamed the “Golden Mile,” which is considered especially rich in gold deposits. As the beige and reddish colors in the image indicate, vegetation in the area is sparse.
Title: Super Pit Mine, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia
Credit: NASA Earth Observatory
Author: Jesse Allen
Usage Terms: Public domain
License: Public domain
Attribution Required?: No