Production in the Escondida Mine began in 1990. Total mined copper production through 2014 was 22 million tons, 21% of all copper mined in Chile.

It’s easy in these images to see the extent to which the open-pit mining operation is expanding. But it’s harder to appreciate how deep the pits are. The main pit at Escondida is 645 meters deep. If you could stack two Eiffel Towers inside the pit, the top one would just barely peek over the edge.