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Mines

For most of us, the term "mine" conjures images of dark, cramped, subterranean tunnel networks. But some mines are quite the opposite: they're sprawling, single holes in the ground with stepped walls, open to the sky and crawling with heavy equipment. These are open-pit mines, and they represent some of the largest and most dramatic human modifications of the Earth's surface.When mineral deposits are deep underground, traditional tunnel mining makes sense. But when those deposits are relatively close to the surface, it’s a lot cheaper to scrape dirt off the top than tunnel below it. Enter the giant earth-movers that take thousands of tons of material and haul it to a series of processing facilities.

Ten big holes: the world's largest open-pit mines

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