The legacy of mining activity in the Rio Tinto basin

Overview of the Rio Tinto mining landscape showing the impact of millennia of copper, gold and silver extraction. A pool of intense red water occupies the foreground, while drainage pipes testify to ongoing efforts to manage acidic waters. The multicolored terrain, with its shades of red, orange, yellow and brown, reveals the different mineral layers exposed by mining activity. In the background a dam contains contaminated waters, while the hills show the scar left by mining operations that made this region one of the most important mining districts in European history.

Rio Tinto mining landscape, copper gold mines, acidic water drainage, industrial archaeology