English: The pit that gives the mine its name appears in the centre of the image, and some of the steep pit’s walls appear in
shadow while others are illuminated by the
Sun. Related mining operations form a rough semicircle on the eastern side of the pit; a cluster of buildings east-north-east of the pit is Fimiston Mill, where
ore is processed. Waste dumps and grey-white tailings
ponds sprawl over the arid landscape. Tailings are the
rocks and chemicals left over after the
gold is extracted. Because the chemicals used to separate gold from rock are often caustic, tailings usually pose hazards to
human and/or
environmental
health and must be treated carefully. The
metropolitan area of Kalgoorlie, marked by street grids and manicured green spaces, extends almost to the mine’s central pit. An
airport, marked by a long
runway, appears along the
city’s southern margin. Founded during a late-nineteenth-century
gold rush, Kalgoorlie, like the neighboring mine, occurs near an area nicknamed the “Golden Mile,” which is considered especially rich in gold deposits. As the beige and reddish colors in the image indicate, vegetation in the area is sparse.