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Before 1869, fewer than 100 miners, mostly
Irish, Welsh, Cornish, and Anglo-Americans, lived in crude cabins and
dugouts along the canyon walls. By 1870, the population in the canyon
had more than doubled, to 276. In 1871, Bingham Canyon's population was
large enough to be organized as a voting precinct of Salt Lake County.
News
of the mineral rich Bingham Canyon reached the world in 1873 and beckoned
immigrant miners. An underground mining boom was on! The town of Bingham
Canyon was incorporated in 1904. That was the same year the Bingham Merc,
the canyon's greatest community landmark, opened. The Merc became the
central point of the canyon and it flourished until it closed in 1956.
With
the introduction of large-scale, open-pit mining methods in 1906,
immigrants from all over the globe came to Bingham Canyon to seek their
fortunes and find the "American Dream". By 1912, Bingham's
population was 65 percent foreign-born. In 1914 the population had grown
to 10,000. At their peak, the towns of Bingham Canyon, Copperfield,
Highland Boy and numerous smaller mine camps had between 15,000 and 20,000
residents. In 1927, the Utah Copper Company started to build a planned
residential community called Copperton at the mouth of Bingham Canyon.
Today only two of the original towns exist, Copperton and Magna.
The
Bingham Canyons Mine Visitor Center
Standing
about 6700 feet above sea level, at the mine overlook within the Bingham
Canyon Mine, you can see, hear and feel the breathtaking and awesome
magnitude of the largest man-made excavation on earth. More than three
quarters of a mile deep and 2 1/2 miles wide, this mine, which is on the
National Register of Historic Sites, is just one of the two man-made
objects on earth that can be seen by astronauts from outer space. The
other is the Great Wall Of China.
From
the overlook visitors can watch 255-to-360-ton capacity haulage trucks
deliver copper ore to the in-pit crusher, where the material is reduced to
the size of a soccer balls before being loaded onto a five-mile conveyor
that carries the ore to the Copperton Concentrator.
More
than six billion tons of material have been mined to produce more than 16
million tons of copper metal since surface mining operations began in
1906. In addition, vast quantities of by-product gold, silver and
molybdenum have also been produced from this mine.
By
visiting the modern visitors center you can view displays of artifacts and
learn the history of this world famous mine. You can also watch a 16
minute video presentation that takes you into other Kennecott Utah Copper
plant facilities to follow the production of copper from low grade ore in
the mine, to 99.99 percent pure copper in the refinery.
Directions
And Other Information
8 a.m. to 8 p.m. - seven days a week
The Visitors Center is open April through October, weather permitting
Please arrive by 7pm. No cars will be admitted after 7 pm.
No reservations are necessary
The tax-deductible admission fees are $5 for automobiles, $25 for
mini-tour buses and $50 for a bus.
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