Copper

A deep toxic lake fills this abandoned open-pit copper mine, now a Superfund site.

The site of Japan's first major environmental disaster.

The birthplace of Japanese coinage.

This mile-wide crater high in the mountains of Indonesia is the largest gold mine in the world.

Once a meeting point for Swahili slave traders, this ancient tree is now a monument to those killed by the slave trade.

The village's cobblestone streets are lined with shops displaying exquisite copper craftsmanship.

The largest copper mine in Arizona, this enormous open pit emerges from the hills like an alien landscape.

Rusted structures stand like ghosts of Cyprus' 6,000-year-old copper industry.

The “City of Stairs” sits high in the Andes, above the world’s largest underground copper mine.

The state's only comprehensive museum dedicated to the mineral that defined its history and economy.