Aerial Views of Mines

Former Drone Video of the Week Finalist montesinosdroneworld created this amazing drone video of the world's largest open pit copper mine.  The Bingham Canyon Mine, better known as the Kennecott Copper Mine, is located in northern Utah, southwest of Salt Lake City.  Opened in 1905, it's produced an incredible 19 million tons of the red metal, worth over $100 billion based on current prices.  Its excavation area covers about 1900 acres and is visible from the moon.  It's currently owned by international mining giant Rio Tinto.  

While Alaska was purchased by the United States from Russia in 1867 (just after the US Civil War), it was a series of gold strikes beginning in the 1890's that put the territory on a path towards statehood.  In this video, contributor gives us a bird's eye view of Independence Mine, which lies north of the Matanuska River upstream of its discharge at Anchorage.  The mine is part of Independence Mine State Park, which commemorates Alaska's Gold Rush.  The great rush peaked in 1897-98 and was more or less over by about 1903.  

The Mediterranean island of Cyprus is synonymous with copper.  Literally.  The Greek name for the island is "Kupros".   Copper mining on the island dates to thousands of years BC.  With its best mineral resources having been extracted, mining is no longer a significant part of the economy of Cyprus.  That being said, the heritage is still visible.  In this video, contributor Picture Element used a drone to film a copper mine "lake" (distinguishable by its colorful appearance) near the Cypriot capital city Nicosia.

While the Mediterranean island of Cyprus is closely associated with copper mining, the red metal is not the only mineral to be found on here.  Another is asbestos, whose fibers were used extensively for insulation before it was discovered that they are highly carcinogenic.  In this video, contributor and pilot Iaian Jordan used a drone to film the Amiantos asbestos mine near the center of the country.  Like all asbestos mines, it's been closed, leaving a substantial legacy of cleanup costs.

While Germany's reliance on coal-fired electricity has declined substantially, it continues to produce nearly 200 million tons of the mineral per year.  Most of it is strip-mined by giant bucket-wheel excavators, which reduces the need for expensive labor to extract the low-quality lignite that represents most German thermal coal production.  Some of the largest machines in the world, these giant "land-eaters" have permanently disfigured portions of the German countryside, as you'll see in this powerful drone video by hangtimefpv.  

While the Scandinavian country of Norway is not typically associated with mining, at one point it did have substantial copper resources.  Production was centered in Roros, a small town in the central part of the country.  It was the site of copper mining as early as the 17th century, and at one point was one of best sources for the red metal.  In this video, contributor Hopenorway gives us an aerial view of this mining town, which is now a UNESCO World Heritage site having ceased mining operations in the 1970's.

Salt is not only one of the world's most basic commodities, it was also amongst the first to be intensively mined.  In earlier times it was essential for food preservation, and access to steady supply was crucial to obtaining adequate nutrition.  In this video, contributor and drone pilot BK Spector flew a drone over an ancient salt mine in Israel.  It's part of Mt. Sodom, a mountain in Israel's Judean Desert.  The mountain is 80% salt by composition, and was a key source of the commodity in Biblical times. 

Gold mining was single most important activity which drove the growth of modern Australia.  It began with the great strikes on the eastern side of the continent, in New South Wales and Victoria in the mid 1800's.  The first big strikes in Western Australia occurred later in the century, and gold is still being mined there, albeit in smaller quantities.  Contributor CarrandDrone worked with the operator of the Edna May Gold Mine in WA over six months to produce this fascinating video of the modern gold mining process.

Top contributor wrenee has a well earned reputation as the Queen of the Dronie.  Her AirVuz video portfolio consists of dozens of epic drone selfies shot from exotic places all over the world.  In this video wrenee and her drone, Furbie, collaborated to shoot a spectacular dronie on the Greek island of Milos outside of an abandoned sulphur mine.  Milos is the southwesternmost of the Cyclades islands, in the western Aegean Sea.  Among other distinctions, it was the home of the Venus de Milo statue before it was moved to Paris.  

South America is of course closely associated with mining, going back to the days of the Spanish conquistadors.  While the continent's gold and silver resources have largely been exhausted, the Andean nation of Peru continues to be one of the world's most important countries for mining.  Unfortunately, some of this activity is performed illegally, at great cost to the environment.  In this video, contributor Niels Ahmes used a drone to expose an illegal mining operation in the Amazon Basin part of the country.  

Romania has a long tradition in coal mining, although (like most of Europe) most of what it produces is low quality lignite.  Today it's a mid-tier coal producer within the EU, using virtually all of its production for domestic electricity generation.  In this video, contributor Alin Constantin gives us a fascinating look at a coal mine in Filipestii de Padure, a town in the Wallachia (Muntenia) region of the country not far from the capital.  Dating to the 1800's, it was one of the first modern coal mines in the country.

You've read the "Poldark" novels or seen the TV show adaptation, you'll appreciate that Cornwall in England was once very much mining country.  For centuries, tin and later copper extracted from Cornwall mines helped propel the economy of England.  Mining in Cornwall is now completely relegated to history; the last mines closed near the turn of the 21st century.  In this video by contributor Inspirecornwall, you'll get an epic bird's eye view of Caradon Hill, once the site of innumerable mines.

Simplistically, the economic georgraphy of Ukraine is an agricultural western half and an industrial eastern half.  The Donbas region of eastern Ukraine is home to vast coal reserves, and while coal production has declined steeply since the demise of the USSR the region still has maintained a strong industrial base which in large measure evolved from its coal production.  Arsen Poshotian created this beautiful drone video from the heart of the Donbas, which is named for the Donets River which flows through it.  

The Mediterranean island of Sardinia (a region of Italy) was home to some of  the most important mining activity in Europe for centuries.  Most closely associated with silver, it later became an important source of lead extraction.  While the island's mines have been shuttered, mining remains an important part of its heritage, and the  abandoned mines have become tourist attractions.  In this drone video by AD Drone, you'll get a bird's eye view of the Montevecchio Mine, one of Sardinia's most famous.

The development of the Southwestern United States was crucially driven by resource exraction, and the area continues to be home to some of the world's largest mining operations.  Nevada was first put on the figurative map with the discovery of the Comstock Silver Lode in 1859, which had an effect comparable to the discovery of gold in neighboring California in 1848.  In this video, contributor TampaRandy gives us a drone's eye view of Virginia City, the epicenter of the great silver strike.  

As much as any state in the USA, Arizona's development was driven by mining.  As was the case with most western states, prospectors were initially lured by gold deposits.  The state subsequently became known more than anything for copper, of which it remains the largest producer in the country.  In this video, contributor and drone pilot Keith Thompson gives us a drone's eye view of an Arizona mine which produced another base metal, lead.  The Old 79 Mine, located near Hayden, was shuttered in 1962.

For a bird's eye view of a modern salt mining operation, look no further than this video by award-winning contributor and drone pilot Postandfly.  The world's largest commercial salt mining operation is located on the Ojo de Liebre Lagoon, in the mid-section of the Baha Peninsula of western Mexico.  The saltworks produce 7 million tons of the commodity per year and employs a labor force of about 1,600. It's also part of the El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve, an important sanctuary for gray whales. 

Contributor and pilot AS Aerial Cinematics created this beautiful drone video of an important industrial landmark in England's West Midlands Region.  Cobb's Engine House, also known as the Windmill End Pumping Station, is located near the town of Rowley Regis.  It was built around a giant steam engine which pumped water from nearby mines, which supplied coal that fueled Britain's Industrial Revolution.  The station was closed in the 1920's, and its steam engine moved to an industrial museum in the USA.

Brian Priest Aerial Images created this brilliant drone video of the giant Northumerlandia earth sculpture in northern England, which was created from material excavated from an adjoining surface coal mine.  The sculpture, which is in the shape of a reclining nude female, was created from material excavated from one of England's largest open cast coal mines.  It's in County Northumberland, which played a key role in the Industrial Revolution by producing massive quantities of coal.  

The Balkans have been an important area for mining activity in Europe for centuries.  In this drone video by contributor Alex_Markov, you'll get a bird's eye view of a modern copper mine in Bulgaria.  The Elastite is situated in the Sofia province in the western part of the country.  Operated by the Geotechmin Group, it's estimated to have 650 million tons of recoverable ore.  With an average grade of .3%, that translates into about 2 million tons (about 2 billion kg or 4 billion lbs.) of the red metal.  

Contributor and FPV pilot Airblastr created this incredibly cinematic FPV video of a dive down one of the great landmarks of the USA's rich mining history.   The Anaconda Smelter Stack, better known as the Big Stack, istands at a height of 180 meters (about 585 ft.).  The tallest surviving masonry structure in the world, it was a critical process component for the smelter at the great Anaconda copper mine in Great Falls, Montana.  Built in the early 20th century, this was once the world's largest copper mine.   

In this video by top contributor Airblastr, you'll see that drone videos of mines don't have to be outdoor affairs.  He flew a micro drone via first person view (FPV) in the lift room of the Anselmo Mine in Butte, Montana.  One of America's most important historic mines, Anselmo extracted zinc, lead, and copper from underground deposits, pulling them to the surface with the machinery in this lift room.  It's near the town of Butte, the western town which has as much claim as any to be the historic mining capital of the USA.  

For a first upload to AirVuz, new contributor LiamRey created this fascinating drone video from the Isle of Man, a British Crown dependence in the Irish Sea.  The spot filed is the Foxdale Mines, which lie in the south-central part of the island.  Opened in the early 18th century, the mines produced lead, zinc, and silver.  The mines closed in 1911, although they re-opened for a brief period in the 1950's.  At their peak, the Foxdale Mines were considered one of the most productive in the British Isles.  

For centuries, the hills around the present-day Spanish town of Mazarrón were an important source of a number of base metals as well as silver.  Long abandoned, the legacy of this activity can be seen from above in this excellent drone video by AirVuz contributor belogaev_art.  The Mines of Mazarrón experienced numerous booms and busts before terminal decline from depletion set in in the early 20th century. The town of Mazarrón is located a few mi./km west of the port of Cartagena in the Murcia region of southeastern Spain.  

The UK region of Wales was once the largest source of slate, a type of stone used for roofing, countertops, and other building applications.  In this drone video by AirVuz contributor Jabomedia, you'll see the Dinorwic Quarry, once the world's second-largest slate quarry. It's located in Gwynedd, one of the northwestern counties of Wales.  Intensive slate quarrying began here in the late 1700's, and at its peak Dinorwic employed over 3,000 men.  It was closed in 1969 and is now the home of the National Slate Museum.  

For a first upload to AirVuz, new contributor Panoramix brings us this stunning drone video from a famous marble quarry in western Italy.  The quarry is in the commune of Carrara in Massa and Carrara, the northernmost of the provinces which make up Italy's Tuscany region.  For centuries, this area has been known for its distinctive blue-grey marble.  The Carrara quarries were used to film part of the chase scene which opened the 2008 James Bond film Quantum of Solace, the 24th of the series.

The Welsh island of Anglesey is forever associated with copper mining because of the ore extracted from Parys Mountain, which you'll see in this fascinating drone video by Simon Whittaker.  Parys had been a source of the red metal as long as 4,000 years ago but was essentially dormant for several millennia before being "rediscovered" in the late 1700s.  With the more advanced extraction and refining techniques that were available by then, Parys became (for a time) the world's largest copper mine.  

England's County Cornwall was one of the world's most important sources of copper and tin from the Bronze Age until the late 20th century, when its last mine was closed down.  You can see one of the area's old mines in this drone video by AirVuz contributor ChrisBaish.  It's the Wheal Prosper Mine, which is located in the county's southwestern corner in the town of Rinsey.  The mine opened in 1860 and put in three shafts, the deepest of which is about 125 meters (around 420 ft.).  The mine was not successful and closed just six years later.  

AirVuz contributor Airviewstudio brings us this excellent drone video from a famous former gold mining area in northern Spain known as Las Médulas.  It's located  in the Aquilanos Mountains (part of the Cantabrian range) in the Province of León.  The landscape here was transformed by gold mining under Roman rule beginning in the first century AD.  The mining technique, which turned Las Médulas into the largest open-pit gold mine in the Roman Empire, involved using large quantities of water to undermine the gold-rich rock formations.

Check out this fascinating drone video of an old gold mine on the outskirts of Johannesberg, South Africa.  It's called Germiston, and it's situated just to the east of the country's largest city.  Like Johannesberg itself, Germiston owes its existence to the Witwatersrand Gold Rush of 1886, one of the transformative events in the history of South Africa.  While the Germiston mine no longer produces, it has an important nearby legacy - the Rand Refinery, built in 1920, is the world's largest gold refining operation.  

Ukraine's Donbas Region is named after the Donets River, a major Don tributary which runs through the eastern part of the country.  The Donbas is closely associated with a single commodity: coal.  At their peak in the 1970's, the Donbas coal mines produced over 200 million tons of coal annually.  Due to a combination of political and economic factors, Donbas coal production is now less than 20% of its peak.  In this drone video by smakozawr, you'll get a bird's eye view of this legacy: an abandoned coal mine and its giant excavators.  

Explore the industrial history of Wales in this fantastic first person view (FPV) drone video by AirVuz contributor and FPV pilot fpvshenanigans.  He was able to fly over the Dinorwic Quarry in Gwynedd, which at one point was the world's second-largest slate quarry.  Prior to its closure in 1969, it covered over a square mile (about three square km) and produced over 100k tons of the material annually.  At its peak, the mining operations here employed about 3,000 men.  It's now home to the National Slate Museum.  

Contributor and pilot 9mmAuto created this amazing drone video of the world's largest open pit copper mine.  The Bingham Canyon Mine, better known as the Kennecott Copper Mine, is located in northern Utah, southwest of Salt Lake City.  Opened in 1905, it's produced an incredible 19 million tons of copper, worth over $100 billion based on early 2019 prices.  Its excavation area covers about 1900 acres and is visible from the moon.  It's currently owned by international mining giant Rio Tinto.