GIANT MINING TRUCKS AT LARGEST OPEN PIT GOLD MINE IN AUSTRALIA AT KALGOOLIE, 2001-07-27 (photo)

A truck driver walks past a giant mining truck at the largest open pit gold mine in Australia, called the Fimiston Open Pit, also known as the Super Pit, in the gold-mining town of Kalgoolie, located around 500 kilometres east of Perth July 27, 2001. The trucks, that can carry a payload of 226 tonnes, cost around A$3 million (US$1.5 million) each, and the tyres around A$26,000 (US$13,000) each. The pit is around 4 kilometres long, 1.5 kilometres wide and 650 metres deep, and produces up to 850,000 ounces of gold per year. It is expected in it's life span of 16 years, to produce more than 10 million ounces of gold (300 tonnes). Open pit mining in the area known as the Golden Mile is complicated by the presence of an estimated 3,000 kilometres of old mine shafts that date back to 1893. DG/DL