South Africa has 6 of the worlds 10 deepest operational mines. They go down to almost 13 000 feet (3.9km) now and are going deeper still. Down to about 14300 feet at the next stage. Absolutely insane.
Just goes to show how valuable copper is to a modern industrial economy. This has always been a relatively expensive metal but in recent years the price has skyrocketed and it's reflected in the price you pay for home electric wiring. Decades ago, things as mundane as GUTTERS and DOWNSPOUTS were made of this because it was resistant to corrosion and easy to form. Sheets of it were used as roof flashing around chimneys and vent pipes. Your whole house had copper pipe including the big drain lines; it was easy to cut and could be joined with solder rather than the threaded joints required on "iron" [actually steel] pipe. Now all that's been replaced with PVC.
@@iIiWARHEADiIi Copper pipes will develop pin holes in 50 years. I have had to replace some copper pipe from my domestic hot water. I have seen pinholes develop in copper waste lines in 40 years. I made a humidifier that had copper pipe exposed to heated water and air. It lasted about 40 years and I had to replace it because of leaks. I am on my third copper coil that makes domestic hot water. That is in 52 years, so the average life of the coil is 26 years. Copper does not last forever when conveying water.
@Thomas Solonyetski the estimated value of the copper alone, not including any other minerals, is 45 Trillion Dollars. So, yeah, it's worth the gamble if it pays off.
6 Billion is nothing to Rio Tinto, we have an operation $13.9 Billion operating cash flow alone...royalties and transactions not including assets are in the trillions.
I worked as a driller @ Kidd Creek mine in Ontario Canada. Its +9600' and the shaft bottom is approx 9880'. Its the deepest mine that I've worked in and I've been in a lot of em. Nice video. Thanks!!
I am majoring in Mining Geotechnical Engineering. Here we also have Rio Tinto managed world class copper-gold ore deposit as well, which also uses block caving method. I am looking forward to be an engineer at one of this magnificent mines.
The Stora Kopparberg mine in Sweden is vaguely similar, but only about 2000 feet deep. After centuries of production, it was turned into a museum in the 1980s, with tourists initially allowed on guided tours at 600 foot depth (interesting with some tableaus in side tunnels), though now apparently only upper levels are toured.
Amazing what lengths we go to for our complex society you mean? We rely on copper mines like this for electronics, jewelry, coins... There's no power grid, let alone TH-cam, without millions of workers around the world in materials, manufacturing and maintenance...
gracefool - Bingo. The only reason ventures like this make money is because people want what they produce. It’s not like they win some sort of engineering prize if they manage to dig a deep enough hole.
In 1974-5 I worked at Creighton Mine 9 shaft. The shaft was 7138 feet deep. It took a lot less than 20 minutes to get to the bottom where I worked all one summer….
They aren't ready to start carving iirc. They have a lot of mine to develop still. they have to build custom heavy equipment underground like crushers, haul trucks, and conveyers. The video was also inaccurate a few times. The ore doesn't go up the hoist way, it will come out the side through either trucks or conveyers. So that's many more tunnels to make. Block caving is cool, but all of the expenses are front loaded. Relatively cheap to operate, but $$$ to set up.
Thanks for the explanation! Though I honestly didn't expect it after two years 😂 I had honestly forgotten all about this video or this comment. @@sketchyAnalogies
@@jimmychanga4130 it's chicken feed for rio tinto. They also make investments because they know it will go through. That is why they are so big and wealthy. Also, rio tinto is a Spanish company that still runs the oldest copper mine in the world.
thank you for your simple work, undergraduate student work, mining sites usually are not hidden beneath the earth surface for great safety since one human life is more expensive than saving the earth surface nature, which always in a continuous change through the course of human life, most countries do not classified mining as a secret work rather it is a public wealth that must be published. We do know Bloomberg business work but in this video no business data have been expressed include deposit amount, other than cooper metals, annual production, internal or external buyers and other business information.
I work in a coal mine #8 seam...best job in the world. Working underground is great. With any job some days are worse than others but there's been a lot of Sundays I got double time ($75 hr) for an hour or 2 of work then sleep the rest of the shift...lol. That doesn't happen at many other jobs. If I lose this job I don't know if I could ever work at a normal job...lol
They mine this way in Australia, very uneasy can feel and hear the ground moving and crumbling above you, also creates massive subsidence on surface because the whole ground is caving into a sinkhole in theory, also can create air gaps when rock gets hung up then when it falls creating huge blasts of air killing people. But hey it's cheaper
Macassa mine in Kirkland lake Ontario was 7325 feet deep And was at one time the deepest single lift shaft in the western hemisphere . Creiton mine in Sudbury Ontario.over 7000 ft deep. Kidd creak mine in Tiimmins Ontario is the deepest base metal mine in the world almost 3000 metres.
According to U.S. copper data 1.85 million metric tons was consumed of unmanufactured copper in 2018. If this mine can feasibly produce a 1/4 of total consumption, at a cost of $2.77 per pound currently... Then 🤑$$$ inside of 3-4 years. That is if permits, malfunctions and operation costs don’t become their demise! And I thought oil companies took big risks. Wow!
Copper is not the only product they will get out of the mine. There will be gold, silver, lead, zinc, moly, the list goes on that all add into the money they will make. There's really little risk so to speak besides getting the permit. They know exactly what's there so the benefit outweighs the initial costs. You also have to consider that copper is considered vital to national and economic security along those line more is needed for the push for clean energy as well.
As a geology student, I have a little more respect for people who work at harvesting natural resources after finding out gambles some of these companies take to obtain minerals and other commodities. 6 Billion is a lot, but even regular natural gas wells can run well into the millions before the first round of hydrolic fracturing takes place.
Those core samples are amazing. I wish the public had more access to view those core samples. Kinda like NASA not revealing many pictures of outer space
Yeah and mining companies get very very touchy about their assets. They don't talk about where they explore or search for assets or what they find. Tight kipped until operations start. It also influences price of copper, which is important to them, as well as stock price.
Single lift shaft deepest in the western hemisphere, Kirkland Lake Ontario 7325 ft Timmins Ontario Kidd mine 9300 ft the deepest copper mine in the world.
Creighton mine Sudbury has a shaft depth of 7080 feet .... one continuous run ... kid creek Timmins is 10000'.... heat is a huge factor . Ridiculous hot down there
I have worked in the underground potash mines in Saskatchewan. Friggin hot like the warmest summer day you can imagine. When you sweat don’t rub your forehead or eyes, or they burn from the potash dust. I learned the hard way 😂😂
This video is so incomplete. Give us some data, show some tools that they use , interview some of the miners, work schedule etc. There is so much cool staff you could have told us
Hear its not easy to get in there. Think they employ all of copper cliff. Id love to work there aswell. Think they want people that have been to university mostly from what ive gathered so far.
Not sure how they've coloured their pipes/cables, but you can have a high pressure air, power cable/HV cable/communications cable, water and the massive yellow bag is the ventilation.
It might be a safe method of mining but it also might not be. Theres phenominon called rock bursts that can occur under active fault zones that are associated with fault and orebodies and they could start occuring being in that deeo or in an active geologic area. Its not the top or "back" one need worry about but rather thrust or energy released by fault slippage and the ribs and floor heave from immense pressure and release of energy. It may or may not happen here, im not in the know about their geology here
It makes sense that this man starts the job without the permits because if he didn't someone else would have, and if/when the permits clear that he is going to be stinking rich. Some politician is going to get filthy rich getting this man the permits he needs for this job to continue.
And don't forget the land ABOVE the copper deposit. If that deposit becomes a giant hole, the whole land above it could collapse. I wish videos would explain more and dumb-down less.
do you see how tall buildings are? and inside there's a lot a space. how come the ceiling doesn't collapse? because there are support structures. you don't need to be smart to know that.
I grew up practically next to that mine and method there planning to use is called block cave mining it really is bad idea, the rock down there is so tough that when try try this they're gonna get boulders the size of houses, and I know for sure no one is gonna be willing to unjam it
My first job was on a South African Gold Mine at 17 years old and it was at 13,000 ft deep....I thought it was normal as I did not know any better...I am a third generation miner....
Just imagine when finding another planet with resources we can use besides what we use now. .that's why I wish had me a spaceship and find and claim that planet and build a mega powerful world through resources from the planet .I wouldn't need too much of what we use steel Cooper metal iron coal diamond etc that planet have what we need right too get too its planet in five weeks that will take us what we have 500 years too get there.unbelievable
For years local businesses have helped resolution to open their underground mining facilities. Local businesses from Globe, Miami, Superior, San Carlos. Randy Seppala allowed other companies from other areas to work at resolution underground projects. You forgot us Randy Seppala, shall locals write letters to our new Senator?
gilbert de la torre What does that mean? Allowed other companies from other areas to work? Why shouldn’t they be allowed to hire whomever they want? Do they not own the land?
*I am not an expert but when they blast underneath, what stops the surface that loses support foundation from carving in?* *And $6 billion invested in this? Who pumps in $6b in a project that won't yield a single profit for the next 6-7 years? How much copper value is down there plus all expenses considered?*
Japan has negative interest rates, America had 0% interest rates for 7 years under Obama to prop up the stock market and maintain the illusion of prosperity. It also made it incredibly easy for companies to borrow money, as even a tiny interest rate is better than 0%. They even mention this in the beginning. This leads to malinvestment and mis-allocation of capital in the long run. It is not a coincidence that this started in 2008.
South Africa has 6 of the worlds 10 deepest operational mines.
They go down to almost 13 000 feet (3.9km) now and are going deeper still. Down to about 14300 feet at the next stage.
Absolutely insane.
Choda
Currently we’re at 4km @ Mponeng mine. Let me tell you when I say it’s sweltering hot at those levels😮💨😮💨
Yeah but nobody care its a 3rd word country propt up by 1st world country's.................
He left us hanging about how they mitigate the heat!
Ventilation
They open a window
With thirst Buster's
Urine and cottage cheese.
Lots.
Basically underground air conditioning. Massive units on the surface pump chilled air down through the ventilation system.
Just goes to show how valuable copper is to a modern industrial economy. This has always been a relatively expensive metal but in recent years the price has skyrocketed and it's reflected in the price you pay for home electric wiring. Decades ago, things as mundane as GUTTERS and DOWNSPOUTS were made of this because it was resistant to corrosion and easy to form. Sheets of it were used as roof flashing around chimneys and vent pipes. Your whole house had copper pipe including the big drain lines; it was easy to cut and could be joined with solder rather than the threaded joints required on "iron" [actually steel] pipe. Now all that's been replaced with PVC.
because PVC is 1000x better
@@xjackdareaperx PVC degrade over the time in water. Copper could work infinite time if was treated properly after the installation.
@@iIiWARHEADiIi Copper pipes will develop pin holes in 50 years. I have had to replace some copper pipe from my domestic hot water. I have seen pinholes develop in copper waste lines in 40 years.
I made a humidifier that had copper pipe exposed to heated water and air. It lasted about 40 years and I had to replace it because of leaks. I am on my third copper coil that makes domestic hot water. That is in 52 years, so the average life of the coil is 26 years.
Copper does not last forever when conveying water.
We need an update on this its 2022 now.
Damnit I thought playing poker for high stakes took balls but 6 billion before you get permits that dude has balls the size of dump trucks.
Gotta be a risk taker to make big paper
@Thomas Solonyetski the estimated value of the copper alone, not including any other minerals, is 45 Trillion Dollars. So, yeah, it's worth the gamble if it pays off.
6 Billion is nothing to Rio Tinto, we have an operation $13.9 Billion operating cash flow alone...royalties and transactions not including assets are in the trillions.
By that dude you mean the Queen?
Yeah and if they spend that 6 billion and they start mining and they find out the vein ain't as big as they thought then they're really screwed
I worked as a driller @ Kidd Creek mine in Ontario Canada. Its +9600' and the shaft bottom is approx 9880'. Its the deepest mine that I've worked in and I've been in a lot of em. Nice video. Thanks!!
Salute to these workers 🙋. Doing really hard to improve their livelihoods
Turn captions on at 4:52, enough said haha
Is sounds like he said dick
Lol. That was great
Really interesting episode thanks!
I have only ever worked in iron ore mines I find underground mining so fascinating
I am majoring in Mining Geotechnical Engineering. Here we also have Rio Tinto managed world class copper-gold ore deposit as well, which also uses block caving method. I am looking forward to be an engineer at one of this magnificent mines.
0:15
No what's crazier is sky diving from a plane through the mine shaft..
Johnathan Doughs reply for 300 bucks like for 2000
The Stora Kopparberg mine in Sweden is vaguely similar, but only about 2000 feet deep. After centuries of production, it was turned into a museum in the 1980s, with tourists initially allowed on guided tours at 600 foot depth (interesting with some tableaus in side tunnels), though now apparently only upper levels are toured.
That’s my buddy Andy with the handle bar mustache. You’re a hero Andy! Love you!
It's amazing what lengths people will goto to make money. And the amount of engineering gone into it as well is also amazing.
Amazing what lengths we go to for our complex society you mean? We rely on copper mines like this for electronics, jewelry, coins... There's no power grid, let alone TH-cam, without millions of workers around the world in materials, manufacturing and maintenance...
gracefool - Bingo. The only reason ventures like this make money is because people want what they produce. It’s not like they win some sort of engineering prize if they manage to dig a deep enough hole.
@@RealWorldPolice *sad Soviet borehole noises*
What Minecraft mod is this?
Hentai Is Art porn
the one where its ok to dig straight up
unemployed called a torch
INCO Creighton Mine in Sudbury is 7280' straight down. Cage is double deck and takes 60 men a trip.
Rio tinto, an Australian company had provided immeasurable benefit to us folk in superior and globe/Miami. We are eternally grateful
This stuff is so amazing....
In 1974-5 I worked at Creighton Mine 9 shaft. The shaft was 7138 feet deep. It took a lot less than 20 minutes to get to the bottom where I worked all one summer….
It is 2021 now, hope they got started by now.
Will not start. Democrats denied the operation, saying that desert region was an Indian cemetery centuries ago.
@@DanielSilva-jj2lz Democrats are the worst things ever.
They aren't ready to start carving iirc. They have a lot of mine to develop still. they have to build custom heavy equipment underground like crushers, haul trucks, and conveyers. The video was also inaccurate a few times. The ore doesn't go up the hoist way, it will come out the side through either trucks or conveyers. So that's many more tunnels to make.
Block caving is cool, but all of the expenses are front loaded. Relatively cheap to operate, but $$$ to set up.
Thanks for the explanation! Though I honestly didn't expect it after two years 😂 I had honestly forgotten all about this video or this comment. @@sketchyAnalogies
Fascinating! The ingenuity of man is amazing!
Did he say 6 "B"billion invested ?!?!??!?!
jrich8112 Yes
jrich8112 that's a lot of money to be throwing down without any return yet
Jimmy Changa
To me that’s just pocket change
Rio Tinto is the biggest mining company in the world. The competition doesn’t stand a chance, on how big they are
@@jimmychanga4130 it's chicken feed for rio tinto. They also make investments because they know it will go through. That is why they are so big and wealthy.
Also, rio tinto is a Spanish company that still runs the oldest copper mine in the world.
I would LOVE to go there, or to one of the deeper mines to see what it feels like.
Dark. Hot. You’re welcome.
thank you for your simple work, undergraduate student work, mining sites usually are not hidden beneath the earth surface for great safety since one human life is more expensive than saving the earth surface nature, which always in a continuous change through the course of human life, most countries do not classified mining as a secret work rather it is a public wealth that must be published. We do know Bloomberg business work but in this video no business data have been expressed include deposit amount, other than cooper metals, annual production, internal or external buyers and other business information.
Thx TH-cam recommendations
Mines like that give my anxiety
I work in a coal mine #8 seam...best job in the world. Working underground is great. With any job some days are worse than others but there's been a lot of Sundays I got double time ($75 hr) for an hour or 2 of work then sleep the rest of the shift...lol. That doesn't happen at many other jobs. If I lose this job I don't know if I could ever work at a normal job...lol
Hey man, Hope you're still digging! Just recently landed a Heavy Diesel job, working in the Stone mines, excited for a new view!
They mine this way in Australia, very uneasy can feel and hear the ground moving and crumbling above you, also creates massive subsidence on surface because the whole ground is caving into a sinkhole in theory, also can create air gaps when rock gets hung up then when it falls creating huge blasts of air killing people. But hey it's cheaper
maccasa mine kirkland lake ontario is 7325 ft deep single lift .
This is bound to pay off at some point.
I wanted to be a miner but after seeing that lift I’m terrified already
Interesting stuff 💪
awesome video.. love it
I did a shutdown for rio tinto out in Salt Lake City UT 😎pretty to hear about this
That's a SHAFT not a vertical tunnel, btw, I used to muck on the 9500' at Kidd Creek in Timmins, ON.
The cores are beautiful.
Macassa mine in Kirkland lake Ontario was 7325 feet deep And was at one time the deepest single lift shaft in the western hemisphere . Creiton mine in Sudbury Ontario.over 7000 ft deep. Kidd creak mine in Tiimmins Ontario is the deepest base metal mine in the world almost 3000 metres.
pa bits berry nyygvbmkon
Ok?
My buddy kahlil never shuts up about macassa 😂 ole boy spent 8 years of his life there.
According to U.S. copper data 1.85 million metric tons was consumed of unmanufactured copper in 2018. If this mine can feasibly produce a 1/4 of total consumption, at a cost of $2.77 per pound currently... Then 🤑$$$ inside of 3-4 years. That is if permits, malfunctions and operation costs don’t become their demise! And I thought oil companies took big risks. Wow!
Copper is not the only product they will get out of the mine. There will be gold, silver, lead, zinc, moly, the list goes on that all add into the money they will make. There's really little risk so to speak besides getting the permit. They know exactly what's there so the benefit outweighs the initial costs. You also have to consider that copper is considered vital to national and economic security along those line more is needed for the push for clean energy as well.
No way.
Great video
4:40 little did they know something bad was going to happen to the whole world
I worked for cobre mining company i wasa under ground crusher operater it was the best job that I had All of my family's where miners😎
It’s rock hard inside the shaft
South Africans: "Hold my Castle Lager"
7000feet... whats that about 3 meters?
Interesting to think that the discovery of so much copper could bring its price down.
Rip to all the brave workers who lost their life in this mine collapse . Many of the victims can be seen in this video! So sad 😭
Didn't happen.
Wish i could work there !! I was working in a copper mine in middle east !!!
I'm always scared of this elevators.
Hope they got their permits now
As a geology student, I have a little more respect for people who work at harvesting natural resources after finding out gambles some of these companies take to obtain minerals and other commodities. 6 Billion is a lot, but even regular natural gas wells can run well into the millions before the first round of hydrolic fracturing takes place.
Frac Frac Baby. Hehe. first job I ever actually prided myself in. Still in. going strong.
Those core samples are amazing. I wish the public had more access to view those core samples. Kinda like NASA not revealing many pictures of outer space
They get pretty boring when you look at them all day haha
Yeah and mining companies get very very touchy about their assets. They don't talk about where they explore or search for assets or what they find. Tight kipped until operations start. It also influences price of copper, which is important to them, as well as stock price.
Kidd in Timmins and Chreighton mine in Sudbury both deeper single shaft.
This is what youtubes all about baby!
Single lift shaft deepest in the western hemisphere, Kirkland Lake Ontario 7325 ft Timmins Ontario Kidd mine 9300 ft the deepest copper mine in the world.
Dude what shaders do you have on?
I’ve seen this head frame from the road. It’s between Mesa and Globe Arizona
Creighton mine Sudbury has a shaft depth of 7080 feet .... one continuous run ... kid creek Timmins is 10000'.... heat is a huge factor . Ridiculous hot down there
You beat me to this comment 😁 I live in Sudbury and have worked down on the 8600' level of Creighton during development
I have worked in the underground potash mines in Saskatchewan. Friggin hot like the warmest summer day you can imagine. When you sweat don’t rub your forehead or eyes, or they burn from the potash dust. I learned the hard way 😂😂
cores show how shattered the rock is and how liquid quartz and many minerals infiltrated the cracks before hardening.
This video is so incomplete. Give us some data, show some tools that they use , interview some of the miners, work schedule etc. There is so much cool staff you could have told us
The video was really about the mine, the copper.
Are they hiring? How do I apply for a job with them?
Joe Smith I'm ready. Got 16 years in coal I'm ready for a change to metal!
try google instead of people on TH-cam.
Hear its not easy to get in there. Think they employ all of copper cliff. Id love to work there aswell. Think they want people that have been to university mostly from what ive gathered so far.
The man bucket is how you get in and outta the shaft
2020? How is it working out?
There are some pipes inside the copper mine,with yellow/blac color, what are those pipes used for? And what is the material of the pipes?
Not sure how they've coloured their pipes/cables, but you can have a high pressure air, power cable/HV cable/communications cable, water and the massive yellow bag is the ventilation.
It might be a safe method of mining but it also might not be. Theres phenominon called rock bursts that can occur under active fault zones that are associated with fault and orebodies and they could start occuring being in that deeo or in an active geologic area. Its not the top or "back" one need worry about but rather thrust or energy released by fault slippage and the ribs and floor heave from immense pressure and release of energy. It may or may not happen here, im not in the know about their geology here
If this was Africa they would want it as soon as it looks profitable.
i wouldn't have picked up a shovel without the permits first. that should've been number uno.
It makes sense that this man starts the job without the permits because if he didn't someone else would have, and if/when the permits clear that he is going to be stinking rich. Some politician is going to get filthy rich getting this man the permits he needs for this job to continue.
Ohmg 20minutes to go down
I wanna work there
idk about blowing up the ceiling that sounds like a horrible idea and a massive cave in
Orion Riedel well you have to assume if they spend over six billion dollars planning this project they'd know what they're doing
And don't forget the land ABOVE the copper deposit. If that deposit becomes a giant hole, the whole land above it could collapse. I wish videos would explain more and dumb-down less.
do you see how tall buildings are? and inside there's a lot a space. how come the ceiling doesn't collapse? because there are support structures. you don't need to be smart to know that.
Orion Riedel they obviously know what they're doing. You're not the one mining lol
I grew up practically next to that mine and method there planning to use is called block cave mining it really is bad idea, the rock down there is so tough that when try try this they're gonna get boulders the size of houses, and I know for sure no one is gonna be willing to unjam it
Where are they located so I work
Is the ore body the only one or are there others near by?
Steven Rowlandson I hope, Mexico finds the world's largest copper mine in the world and they become richer than USA
the whole area has copper mines. Take a look on Google maps and you will see plenty of open pit mines.
I imagine this method is far more dangerous..
it was no longer investment, but hope for return.
I always prefered underground mines over open pit mines
This way of mining sounds dangerous.
Do they have to do it that way?
Life is dangerous.
COOL
My first job was on a South African Gold Mine at 17 years old and it was at 13,000 ft deep....I thought it was normal as I did not know any better...I am a third generation miner....
It is 20.9 km guys
no 2.9km
Yeeeeeeeeet this is for school
is it worling now?
Just imagine when finding another planet with resources we can use besides what we use now. .that's why I wish had me a spaceship and find and claim that planet and build a mega powerful world through resources from the planet .I wouldn't need too much of what we use steel Cooper metal iron coal diamond etc that planet have what we need right too get too its planet in five weeks that will take us what we have 500 years too get there.unbelievable
block caving...
Interesting
Vale Inco 9 shaft at Creighton Ontario was 7,280 feet deep in the 1970's deeper now.
Well its 2020 did they get the permit
so its 2020....did they started with the copper? or just still undermining :D
Nope, because they dug it under a couple of protected sites just sort of hoping they'd get the rights to the land above so they could carry on.
They get to it. Whoops we were wrong no copper actually there.
Oh yeah yeah
For years local businesses have helped resolution to open their underground mining facilities. Local businesses from Globe, Miami, Superior, San Carlos. Randy Seppala allowed other companies from other areas to work at resolution underground projects.
You forgot us Randy Seppala, shall locals write letters to our new Senator?
gilbert de la torre What does that mean? Allowed other companies from other areas to work? Why shouldn’t they be allowed to hire whomever they want? Do they not own the land?
They sunk $6 billion never thinking that they could get $4.77 a pound for copper. Copper prices have gone thru the roof.
I believe this mine will never work. It only took a few natives to interrupt the beginning of the process.
How’d they find it lol
Wow
Is that located in Baghdad az ???
Superior, AZ
Is it just me or does it seem like a really bad idea to blow up the rock above the tunnel?
Dig baby dig
4:50 turn on the captions and have a laugh
hope it's really a BIG one
Why do I feel we are going to run out of earth😬
Just head on over to asteroids ☄️ and millions of other planets... There are many to around.
*I am not an expert but when they blast underneath, what stops the surface that loses support foundation from carving in?*
*And $6 billion invested in this? Who pumps in $6b in a project that won't yield a single profit for the next 6-7 years? How much copper value is down there plus all expenses considered?*
Coppers demands been up for years
Japan has negative interest rates, America had 0% interest rates for 7 years under Obama to prop up the stock market and maintain the illusion of prosperity. It also made it incredibly easy for companies to borrow money, as even a tiny interest rate is better than 0%. They even mention this in the beginning.
This leads to malinvestment and mis-allocation of capital in the long run. It is not a coincidence that this started in 2008.
Also, the mine is relatively cheap to operate. It just front loads the total lifecycle costs
Wonder if this mines working yet
never been done before but there is a permit for that. sounds crooked
i think the permit is just for mining in general