Phalaborwa mine
Le 30 avril 2008, par Jeff,
The Phalaborwa Copper mine exploits carbonatites from a ca. 1.2 Ga pipe, which represents the core of a complex including syenites, pyroxenites and other weird rocks that I’ll try and post here one day. Until 2000, it was exploited as an open-cast pit, that is now some 2 km wide and 700 m deep. In 2000, wall stability became an issue and they moved to undeground mining.
A good idea indeed. If you now visit the pit, you can see a fairly massive flank collapse, on the North-West of the pit : from Google Earth...
.. and from the public lookout point (identified on the GE photo above) :
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