Panoramic view of Chuquicamata, a state-owned copper mine located at 2,850 metres (9,350 ft) above sea level just outside Calama, north of Chile. It is by excavated volume the largest open pit copper mine in the world. The huge hole was started in 1882 as a mine to extract gold and copper. It is 4.5 kilometres (2.8 mi) long, 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) wide and with a depth of 850 metres (2,790 ft) it is the second deepest open-pit mine in the world (after Bingham Canyon Mine in Utah, USA)..
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