Kennecott landslide impacts global copper industry, Utah economy

[DeSwiss]

By Dennis Romboy, Deseret News
Published: Monday, April 15 2013 5:55 p.m. MDT


[font color=darkgray]A landslide at Kennecott Utah Copper's Bingham Canyon Mine,
which occurred Wednesday, April 10, 2013, is shown Thursday,
April 11, 2013. Ravell Call, Deseret News[/font]

SALT LAKE CITY — Kennecott Utah Copper asked mine workers Monday to voluntarily take vacation or unpaid leave while the company considers its next move in the wake of a massive landslide that brought mining to a halt.

Employees who don't want to take time off will be provided work but may be assigned to jobs outside their usual roles. Someone who drives a truck might be asked to paint a building or do maintenance work, said Kyle Bennett, spokesman for Rio Tinto's Kennecott Utah Copper.

Meantime, the Mine Safety and Health Administration has not allowed Kennecott's geotechnical team into the open-pit mine to asses the size of the slide and the damage it caused. "Once our folks are able to get in, then we will monitor the slide pattern and make a determination on what it means long term," Bennett said.

An enormous wall of dirt rumbled down the northeast section of the Bingham Canyon Mine last Wednesday night. No workers were injured, but roads, buildings and vehicles inside the pit were damaged. The University of Utah seismograph station recorded the slide as a 2.4 magnitude shake.

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[russspeakeasy]

1. Thanks for the post. Great pix.

[DeSwiss]

4. De nada....

[kentauros]

2. What is this? Disaster Week on Discovery?

Not being insensitive, just so many disasters in one week.

I'm glad no one was in the pit or on that side when it happened. That's a huge amount of energy to register as a 2.4 Richter

[DeSwiss]

7. No, silly.....

...it's the End Times. I'm sure you've heard about it, haven't you?

- I'm not sure when the meek start inheriting, but I suppose it'll be anytime now!

[kentauros]

8. With our luck for inheriting,

someone will contest the veracity of the will

[kestrel91316]

3. Good lord. That's a gigantic mess. World's largest open pit copper mine.

That first pic looks photoshopped (but it's not). Freaky.

[petronius]

5. Those photos are surreal - even without the landslide, it's difficult to process

the scale of that excavation. Glad no one was hurt, and I hope no one gets hurt in a rush to get production restarted...

[A HERETIC I AM]

6. I hit a golf ball into that pit once.

From the SW rim.

The size of that hole takes your breath away.