Telfer Mine, Western Australia

Landsat 9’s Operational Land Imager-2 captured this image of the open pits and ponds of Telfer Mine and the surrounding rust-colored soil on Dec. 15, 2023. The soils have a reddish tint from the iron oxides that have accumulated from millions of years of weathering. This part of Western Australia is known for being rich in natural […]

Aug 1, 2024 - 23:00
 0  6
Telfer Mine, Western Australia
An overhead view of a mine in the dry outback of Australia. Most of the image is dominated by rusty red soil. Miners have excavated the soil in places, revealing an off-white color in these open pits. Some water is visible as well, in ponds.
NASA/Michala Garrison, USGS

Landsat 9’s Operational Land Imager-2 captured this image of the open pits and ponds of Telfer Mine and the surrounding rust-colored soil on Dec. 15, 2023. The soils have a reddish tint from the iron oxides that have accumulated from millions of years of weathering. This part of Western Australia is known for being rich in natural resources, including petroleum, iron ore, copper, and certain precious metals. Beneath the soils, veins of gold and silver run through sedimentary rocks, such as quartz sandstone and siltstone, that formed about 600 million years ago, when much of Australia was under water.

Text credit: Emily Cassidy

Image credit: NASA/Michala Garrison, USGS

What's Your Reaction?

like

dislike

love

funny

angry

sad

wow