I stitched this image together using a shareware program from Smoky City, it works really well. The problem with open pit photos is the haul trucks move between each photo you take, and this confuses the hell out of most image matching software.

The Batu Hijau operation mines copper ore from an open pit on top of a mountain in jungle covered terrain on Sumbawa. Sumbawa is the next island across from Lombok. This is the current pit, only a baby compared to how it will look at the end of mining in 2015. Simon is doing some work on how the facilities should be decommissioned when the mine eventually shuts down. The biggest issue is the very high rainfall in the area and the quality of water which may run off from the exposed mineralised rocks.

All of the waste rock storage piles have to be protected against erosion with large drains and vegetation. This is what the steep drain sections look like when it is dry.

And this is what they look like a few hours later when it starts to rain. Definitely one for Shane to have a go at on a lilo (blow up air mattress).

The site has been constructed with a number of dams and high capacity pumping stations, to ensure that any water running off from the mine site can be contained, and pumped back into the process system before it gets to the downstream jungle.