Well, the biggest man-made one, anyhow. A few weeks ago Darrel and I took the boys to the Bingham Copper Mine. Grace opted to play with a friend instead of looking at a big hole in the ground with lots of dump trucks in it--good call on her part (and ours). She would have been bored crazy. And I say crazy because that's what we all would have been had we been stuck in the car with her all the way there and back...and all during the sight-seeing at the mine. But the rest of us found it fascinating. Here are some things we learned:Rio Tinto (the company that owns the copper mine and a soccer stadium in Sandy) owns a ton of mines around the world. I was most interested to see so many mines in Australia and that the Australian mines were all near the coast.
It's really hard to fully grasp the size of a huge object when you're looking down on it from above. The tire by which Spencer and Justin are standing is from a giant dump truck in the picture below.
These tires are replaced every 9 months. Talk about burning rubber!
These tires are replaced every 9 months. Talk about burning rubber!
Justin loves trucks! Wait a minute...we already knew that.
There are many minerals besides copper mined there. Gold, silver, aluminum and molybdenite (try spelling that one), to name a few. It's amazing how many ways we use these substances in everyday life. The metals and crystals are lots of cool colors.
They have a great collection of toy/model trucks. Justin was IMPRESSED!
All in all, it was the best hole we've ever seen. We just hope Justin doesn't get any ideas about re-landscaping our yard from this.
Looks like you had a blast! We always meant to take Charlie there but never made it. :(
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