Tyrone Mine, NM reclamation (# 0789)

Tyrone Mine, an open-pit copper mine, near Silver City, NM. I expect that the plaques are a very well written description of the efforts of Freeport-McMoRan to reclaim the tailings mountains at the Tyrone mine. Oddly, the plaques were inaccessible in the middle of the day on a Sunday (but see later pictures of Chino mine).

The Tyrone Mine is massive. If you look at the satellite view, you’ll see it to be roughly 5 miles in length and 2.5 miles in width at its widest point. While I realize that I wouldn’t be posting these pictures or driving to such locations without the copper used in my camera, computer, and car, the sight of such large-scale rearranging of the environment is disturbing and reminds me of the value of consuming less. As further reminders of the impact of consumption, here are some startling aerial pictures of this and other copper mines in the area: www.miningglobal.com/mining-sites/photos-aerial-images-open-pit-copper-mines