Bingham Canyon Mine in Utah’s Oquirrh Mountains grew from mineral discoveries noted in 1848 into one of the American West’s defining industrial sites. After claims increased following 1863 and the railroad arrived in 1873, Utah Copper Company began large-scale open-pit mining in 1906 under Daniel C. Jackling and Enos A. Wall, using methods that made low-grade ore profitable. The pit became widely regarded as the world’s largest human-made excavation and deepest open-pit mine, while nearby communities rose and later vanished as it expanded. It has produced more copper than any other mine in history and remains a major but environmentally consequential mining and processing operation.