Monday, February 28, 2011

round the world -- Super Pit (Kalgoorlie)

RedNomad has a travel linky going on at her blog, which I'm joining in. She asks us to pick one post from our blogs which has something travel-related -- a holiday destination, a local sight etc. -- so we can all do some armchair travelling!

Fabio and I lived in Kalgoorlie for a few years, which tends to happen when your life revolves around mining.
And the thing that people MOST want to see when they visit Kalgoorlie is the Super Pit (or the brothels, but I'm not going to advertise those, even inadvertently)
If ever you get to Kal, go to the Super Pit. Seriously.
Take a tour if you can.

Also -- if you click on the photos, they'll come up a bit larger, to help you see the details.


This view is years old. The viewing platform gets moved regularly as the Pit extends.
In the right foreground, you can see some little white dots. This is a blast pattern being drilled. 
It's where the explosives will go.
You can also JUST see something that looks like a tiny white crane.
It's actually a huge piece of machinery that does something to do with the drilling.
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Another view of the 'bench' that's being drilled ready for firing. 
The tiny dots are machinery and vehicles.
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And a close-up.
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Fabio, the kids and my sister, looking from the viewing platform. The mesh is there to stop drongos from climbing over, and also to protect the public from flying rock.
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If you look at the first picture again, you can JUST see a tiny yellow blob slightly above the centre of the photo. This is it, in close-up.
Looking carefully, you can see tiny people moving around in front of that enormous yellow thing.
There are a couple of dumpies (huge dump trucks) in the background as well.
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A dump truck, with a 'normal' sized vehicle parked in front of it. See the different colours in the dirt? And the 'benching'? It's a pretty amazing sight.
I wish you could be taking this virtual tour with Fabio -- he knows what all the machinery is, and what it does, and knows all kinds of cool things to point out. 

9 comments:

  1. Brothels and giant pits, sounds like my kind of trip! Haha, but really, that place looks really fascinating. I think I would enjoy :)
    Stopped over from the hop and glad I did. Have a great one!
    http://texagermanadian.blogspot.com/

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  2. Monster trucks, making all of us feel tiny. I have a photo somewhere of something my brother was working on once. So very huge!

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  3. This reminds me of my recent excursion to the depths of far north queensland when we spent the day down Century Mine. I will never forget the heat and the dirt!!! x

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  4. What are they mining? Gold or other minerals?
    What happens to all the tailings?
    That's some huge hole they're beavering away at.

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  5. @ Jim -- it's gold, and the dumps are slowly forming a low line of hills behind the Pit. In 2009/10, they produced 758 000 ounces.... that's a nice little earner.

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  6. WOW! That looks AMAAAAAAZING!!! Every time I see pix of WA I realise there's a gaping chasm in my experience. I've been there as a kid, and also for work but not as an adult traveller!!

    Thanx so much for playing!!

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  7. ...huge piece of machinery that does something to do with the drilling.

    This description makes more sense to me than the "real" description probably would... ;) Something to do with drilling! I get it!

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  8. Amzing pics Toni. it would be an unbelievable experience to work in there let alone visit it.

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