Kennecott Copper Mine - April 25, 2009

For our date this week, we went to the Kennecott Utah Copper Bingham Canyon Mine. (We were out on the west side of the valley because we'd stopped by John & Shawnells for a quick visit with their family & Uncle Norm and Aunt Marylynn). It was a very overcast day and after we'd paid the $5 fee and were winding our way up the mountain into the clouds, I was a bit worried that we wouldn't be able to see anything. The only thing we couldn't see was the top of the mine - the mountain ridges were obscured by clouds, but the mine itself was visibile! Hooray!



There is a mine overlook with some outdoor displays - like the haulage truck tires which are huge. And then there is a visitor center that is jam packed with displays about copper and about the mine and mining process. We brought a picnic lunch and ate in the car and then went back into the center to finish looking at all the displays.

I love this picture - shows how HUGE those haul trucks are because that is NOT a little white truck in the picture next to it.

This art made with copper was just inside the visitor center door - I loved the mountain background and it shows just how huge the electric shovels are - even BIGGER than the haul trucks and I think those are as big as a small house!

We were also super interested in the Alaska history behind the Utah Kennecott copper mine, because James' home town, Cordova, Alaska, has a lot of history with Kennecott copper - the Alaska mine. The railroad that brought copper ore out of the Kennecott mine ended in Cordova and then would go out on boats. Last summer we visited the Alaska ghost-mine and that was super fun. Sadly, this one little corner display was all the history there was about the Alaska Kennecott copper mine.

We really enjoyed our visit to the mine & HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who likes big machinery and self-guided displays.