The world's largest bauxite mine is found near Weipa, Queensland, Australia. The rich aluminum deposits were first recognized on the end of the Cape York Peninsula in 1955, and mining began in 1960. Weipa is just south of Duyfken Point, a location thought to be the first recorded point of European contact with the Australia continent by Dutch explorer Willem Janszoon in 1606. The image was acquired August 9, 2013, covers an area of 40.5 by 48 km, and is located at 12.5 degrees south, 141.9 degrees east.
Image credit: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team
The once-abandoned mining town of Silver Peak, Nevada began to thrive again when Foote Mineral Company began extracting lithium from brine below the floor of Clayton Valley in 1966. The Chemetall Foote Lithium Operation is currently the only operating source of lithium in the United States, used primarily in the manufacture of batteries. Last year, The University of Wyoming announced discovery of untapped underground lithium brine in the Rock Springs Uplift. Reserves could be more than 150 times greater than the Silver Peak deposit. The image was acquired 29 June 2013, covers an area of 13.2 by 14.2 km, and is located at 37.7 degrees north, 117.5 degrees east.
Image credit: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team
Lake Afrera is a hypersaline lake located in the Danakil Depression in northern Ethiopia. Rock salt has been mined at the lake for centuries. More recently, some companies used to produce salt by pumping brine into artificial ponds for evaporation and subsequent precipitation. Following the 2011 eruption of nearby Nabro volcano, the lake is contaminated with sulfuric acid, making the salt inedible. The single island in the lake, Franchetti Island, is considered the lowest-lying island in the world. The image covers an area of 20 by 33 km, was acquired April 25, 2014, and is located at 13.3 degrees north, 40.9 degrees east.
Image credit: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team
Arizona produces 60% of the total copper mined in the US; in 2007, 750,000 tons of copper came out of the state. One of the major mining districts is located about 30 km south of Tucson. Starting around 1950, open-pit mining replaced underground operations, and the ASARCO-Mission complex, Twin Buttes, and Sierrita mines became large open pit operations. Accompanying copper mineralization, silver, molybdenum, zinc, lead and gold are extracted. In addition to the pits themselves, enormous leach ponds and tailings piles surround the pits. The image was acquired May 31, 2012, covers an area of 22 by 28 km, and is located at 31.9 degrees north, 111 degrees west.
Image credit: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team
Kalgoorlie-Boulder is a city in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia. The town was founded in 1893 when gold was discovered in the so-called "Golden Mile." The area boomed, with an area population of over 200,000; by 1903 Kalgoorlie grew to 30,000, close to its present population. The concentrated area of large gold mines is considered to be the richest square mile on earth. The image was acquired November 26, 2013, covers an area of 20.2 x 21.9 km, and is located at 30.8 degrees south, 121.5 degrees east.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
The Bushveld Igneous Complex (BIC) is a large layered igneous intrusion within the earth's crust, exposed at the edge of the Transvaal Basin in South Africa. The complex contains the world's largest reserves of the platinum group metals, platinum, palladium, osmium, indium, rhodium and rhenium, along with vast quantities of iron, tin, chromium, titanium and vanadium. Numerous mines, tailings piles, and leach ponds are shown in blue in the ASTER image. The image was acquired October 24, 2006, covers an area of 38 by 52 km, and is located at 25.6 degrees south latitude, 27.4 degrees east longitude.
Photo credit: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team
Dawson, Canada was a boom town in 1898, with a population of 40,000. Discovery of gold in the Klondike fueled the massive influx of miners, merchants, and other support professions to this town on the Yukon River. The current population is just over 1,000, with over 60,000 tourists invading the town each summer. Shortly after gold discovery, large gold dredges began an industrial mining operation, leaving large tailings piles in their wake. These can be clearly seen along the creek east of Dawson. The image was acquired September 19, 2010, and is located at 64.1 degrees north latitude, 136.4 degrees west longitude.
Photo credit: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team
Picher, Oklahoma once boasted 20,000 people in this mining town in northeast Oklahoma. Now, after a 2009 tornado, and a federal cleanup program, the town is a modern-day ghost town. Picher lies in the middle of the Tar Creek Superfund site, an expanse of lead- and zinc-mining towns that extends into Missouri and Kansas. But mine cave-ins, sinkholes, and a creek that flows orange from pollution have forced abandonment of Picher and the surrounding smaller towns. The image was acquired July 12, 2006, covers an area of 17.7 by 16.8 km, and is located at 37 degrees north latitude, 94.8 degrees west longitude.
Photo credit: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team
A mine in Baiyun Ebo, Inner Mongolia, China is the site of almost half the world's rare earth production. China is responsible for over 95% of global production of rare earth elements. These elements are critical ingredients in catalytic converters, cell phones, televisions, lasers, magnets, batteries, and other high-tech gizmos. China's export restrictions have led the US, Japan and the European Union to complain to the World Trade Organization, claiming China was violating trade agreements. The US at one time was a leading producer of rare earths, but most of the mines have been closed. Recently, several US companies are in the process of attempting to re-open these mines and resume mining of rare earths. The image covers an area of 15 x 19 km, was acquired on June 30, 2006, and is located near 41.8 degrees north latitude, 110 degrees east longitude.
Photo credit: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team
