Located at 8,000 feet in the Oquirrh Mountains 20 miles Southwest of Salt Lake City, the
Bingham Canyon copper mine is the largest man-made excavation on the planet, its hole
reaching more than half a mile deep and its rim nearing three miles in width. It has produced
more copper than any mine in history. The mine’s Garfield smelter stack, situated at the edge
of the Great Salt Lake about 10 miles away, is the tallest free-standing structure west of the
Mississippi River. and is 35 feet shorter than the Empire State Building. It was the Guggenheim
family that capitalized Bingham Canyon in 1906 to allow open-pit mining to begin there. The
next year, the Guggenheims’ American Smelting and Refining Company (ASARCO) built the
Garfield smelter to refine Bingham’s copper ore, and owned and ran it until 1959.
Hand-made book of 21 aerial images shot by the photographer on April 21, 2006. Printed on Epson Enhanced Matte paper using archival Epson Ultrachrome 3 pigment inks, adhered with archival Gudy 831 double-sided pressure adhesive. Archival stability well exceeds c-print standards. Custom box by John
DeMerritt Bookbinding, Emeryville, CA. Edition of 10, signed on rear cover.