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Chuqui is nothing less
than the largest open pit copper mine in the world. At 5 kilometers long
by 3 kilometers wide and nearly a kilometer deep, everything about the
operation is massive. The cloud of dust from the fleet of nearly three
hundred huge trucks is visible for miles.
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To get an idea of the
size of the tiers, in the cluster at the lower right are about 20 buildings
that serve as workshops for minor repairs so that equipment doesn't have
to return to the top.
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The oil tanker in this
photo helps illustrate the size of the dump trucks.
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Karen stands next to
this dump that was retired years ago. It carried a payload of 170 tons.
the smallest in use today carries 240 tons; the largest carries 400 tons.
They work around the clock, and consume 250 gallons of diesel in an 8 hour
shift. A single oil change takes 100 gallons.
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In the repair shop,
Karen stands in front of one of the largest of these trucks and ponders
the question does size matter. Along the road we had seen these truckloads
of tires. Each truck takes six of them, and they cost $24,000 US each.
They last about 5 months.
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NEXT
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