Comments about ‘Kennecott hopes to expand copper mine’

I don't mind if they dig deeper, but I just hope they find somewhere to dump the slag besides the east-facing slopes of the Oquirrhs.

Just say no!

@JustAnotherAverageGuy,

Since the current method of refining doesn't generate the traditional black-rock slag that used to be poured out west of the smelter, I assume you are talking about the yellow and brown overburden slopes east of the mine. Although they are not "natural" in appearance, they do remind me of a Picasso version of Big Rock Candy Mountain, just north of Marysville, UT.

Of Course, the 17,000 jobs and $1 billion dollars contributed to the Utah economy each year are a nice benefit too.

I'm fine with so long as Rio Tinto agrees to clean up the mess much better than the "natural" overburden slopes. I think they should use 50% of the profits to pay for clean-up.

The hole is already there, and the overburden slopes have become a signature landmark for over 60 years. In fact, there is no one alive today that can recall those beautiful copper and gold tones not being present on that face of the Oquirrh Mountains. We don't need to harass this company. Kennecott has a relatively good record environmentally and have sustained 10s of thousands of families for years. They have been a good partner.

Yeah maybe the tailing pile is a bit of an eyesore. The thing that the 'just say no' crowd doesn't take into consideration is the fact that closing the mine would not reduce the demand for copper. In that case the copper would be mined else ware, most likely in countries like China where there are almost no environmental regulations, nor any consideration for the safety and well being of the miners. Not to mention the loss of benefits to our community. There is copper in the computer you are using to look at these comments and copper used to supply the electricity to that computer. Take a few minutes to think things through before making a determination based purely on emotion.

nice article and pictures

Drill here, drill now!