Some Mines of Interest - Mining and the Environment: From Ore to Metal - page 62

CARRARA MARBLE
The Carrara marble quarries located in northern Tuscany, have been in operation for
more than 2,000 years. Carrara marble is famous for its statuary quality and has been used
by most famous stone artists such as Michelangelo, Donatello, Jacopo Della Quercia and
Canova. The name Carrara has become synonymous with marble. Carrera marble contin-
ues to be requested worldwide for buildings, statues, or objects, and about one million tons
of marble is quarried each year.
CHUQUICAMATA (CHUQUI)
The Chuquicamata mine is the world's largest open pit copper mine. The mine is elliptical
in form with a surface footprint of almost 8 km 2 and a depth close to 1,000 m. The area has
been exploited since pre-Hispanic times, and commercial production in contemporary his-
tory commenced in 1915.
DARLING RANGE BAUXITE
Alcoa of Australia mines bauxite from three separate areas and Worsley Alumina has
another mining operation, all within the Darling Range of Western Australia. The bauxite
is processed in four alumina rei neries: Alcoa's Kwinana, Pinjarra and Wagerup rei neries
and the Worsley rei nery. Apart from its bauxite resources, the Darling Range is noted
for its Jarrah Forest vegetation. Jarrah, a relatively slow growing eucalypt species, pro-
duces high quality timber. The diverse forest vegetation has been threatened by spread of
Jarrah Dieback disease caused by a fungus ( Phytophthera cinamomi ). Managing operations
to avoid spreading this disease is a major issue for these mining companies. Since the early
1970s, Alcoa has had an active mine site rehabilitation program, and has pioneered many
of the techniques that have now become standard practice in the industry.
DRIEFONTEIN
This deep underground mine is located 60 km from Johannesburg in South Africa. It pro-
duces more than 1.2 million ounces of gold each year from mines which are more than
3 km in depth.
EAST RAND MINE
Vertical shaft mines hold the record for being the deepest mines in the world. Most are
located in South Africa based on an abundance of diamond and gold deposits. As of
2003, the world's deepest mine was the East Rand mine at 3,585 meters, but as technology
improves and the search for natural resources continues, many mines are constantly being
deepened. In the next few years, the mines may well reach 5 km.