Mining - Records

Records

As of 2008, the deepest mine in the world is TauTona in Carletonville, South Africa at 3.9 kilometers, replacing the neighboring Savuka Mine in the North West Province of South Africa at 3,774 meters. East Rand Mine in Boksburg, South Africa briefly held the record at 3,585 meters, and the first mine declared the deepest in the world was also TauTona when it was at 3,581 meters.

The Moab Khutsong gold mine in North West Province (South Africa) has the world's longest winding cable, able to lower workers to 3 054 metres in one uninterrupted four-minute journey.

The deepest mine in Europe is the 16th shaft of the uranium mines in Příbram, Czech Republic at 1,838 meters, second is Bergwerk Saar in Saarland, Germany at 1,750 meters.

The deepest open pit mine in the world is Bingham Canyon Mine in Bingham Canyon, Utah, United States at over 1,200 meters. The largest and second deepest open pit copper mine in the world is Chuquicamata in Chuquicamata, Chile at 900 meters, 940,600 tons of copper and 17,700 tons of molybdenum produced annually.

The deepest open pit mine with respect to sea level is Tagebau Hambach in Germany, where the base of the pit is 293 meters below sea level.

The largest underground mine:Kiirunavaara Mine in Kiruna, Sweden, 450 kilometers of roads, 40 million tonnes of ore produced yearly, depth 1,270 meters, is also one of the most modern underground mines. The deepest borehole in the world is Kola Superdeep Borehole at 12,262 meters. This, however, is not a matter of mining but rather related to scientific drilling.