Bingham Canyon Open Pit Copper Mine
National Historic Landmark

Bingham Canyon Open Pit Copper Mine

Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah
Listed
November 13, 1966
Type
Site
Period
Civil War
Ref No.
66000736

About this property

The Bingham Canyon Mine, more commonly known as Kennecott Copper Mine among locals, is an open-pit mining operation extracting a large porphyry copper deposit southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah, in the Oquirrh Mountains. The mine is the largest human-made excavation, and deepest open-pit mine in the world, which is considered to have produced more copper than any other mine in history – more than 19,000,000 short tons (17,000,000 long tons; 17,000,000 t). The mine is owned by Rio Tinto Group, a British-Australian multinational corporation. The copper operations at Bingham Canyon Mine are managed through Kennecott Utah Copper Corporation which operates the mine, a concentrator plant, a smelter, and a refinery. The mine has been in production since 1906, and has resulted in the creation of a pit over 0.75 miles (1,210 m) deep, 2.5 miles (4 km) wide, and covering 1,900 acres (3.0 sq mi; 770 ha; 7.7 km2). It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966 under the name Bingham Canyon Open Pit Copper Mine. The mine experienced a massive landslide in April 2013 and a smaller slide in September 2013.

Location

Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah
40.52654, -112.15357

Categories

INDUSTRY
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Overview
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The Land
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The Civil War
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The Soldiers
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Native Heritage
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Settlement
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Nearby Historic Sites

Copperton Historic District
Listed
3.9 mi
Utah Copper Company Mine Superintendent's House
Industrial
3.9 mi
Copperton Community Methodist Church
Industrial
4.4 mi
Tooele Valley Railroad Complex
Industrial
7.1 mi
Clegg, Peter, House
Industrial
7.5 mi

Questions about this property

When was Bingham Canyon Open Pit Copper Mine listed on the National Register?

Bingham Canyon Open Pit Copper Mine was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 13, 1966.

What type of historic resource is Bingham Canyon Open Pit Copper Mine?

Bingham Canyon Open Pit Copper Mine is classified as a site in the National Register of Historic Places.

Is Bingham Canyon Open Pit Copper Mine a National Historic Landmark?

Yes. Bingham Canyon Open Pit Copper Mine has been designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL), the highest level of federal recognition for historic properties in the United States.

What is the period of significance for Bingham Canyon Open Pit Copper Mine?

The period of significance for Bingham Canyon Open Pit Copper Mine is recorded as the civil_war era, specifically around 1863.

Can I research the history near Bingham Canyon Open Pit Copper Mine?

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