I'm still playing with different software that aligns multiple images into one large image. This image combines over a dozen photos and somewhat "scrunches" the left to right distance. The pit is over 2 miles left to right and over a mile across. Mining equipment can be seen upon zooming the photo and gives a sense of scale.
...and the pit is shaped that way because??
ReplyDelete2nd Q: Why are some portions of the slopes smooth, not terraced?
ReplyDeleteP.S. - Great Pic =:o)
ReplyDeleteQ&A
ReplyDelete1a-Photo-wise, the pit shape is due to lens distortion and the fact I took both vertical and horizontal shots to, you know, see if it could minimize the "rounding". Photoshop has some great features to help prevent this but I believe I messed up when I mixed the orientations.
1b-Geology-wise, the ore body runs in a band from right (east side of valley) to left with the mineral bearing rock following the original bottom of the valley. The shape just follow the ore.
Q&A
ReplyDelete2-Originally of course the pit was created with terraced steps on all the walls. The smooth areas are pit wall failures---sounds worse than it actually is. Hundreds of optical prisms are mounted on suspect areas around the pit and two robo-lasers "shoot" the prisms constantly to alert the geotechnical folks to pit wall movement. There are also real-time radars for truly critical areas that automatically sound an alert. Typically failures can be predicted months in advance.