What the global mining industry looks like

@cally_emily

From drone footage to selfies, here is a real life snapshot of the global mining industry.

We’ve all seen pictures of super pits and sunburnt earth, but newcomers to the mining industry often find so much more beyond these clichés. So what does mining life around the world really look like? We take a peek at the best images that represent our experiences in mining.

The equipment

These are the big guns that mining is renowned for: shovels, draglines, explosives and, who could forget, the colossal bucket wheel excavator. We take them for granted as part and parcel of mining life, but we forget that most people never get the opportunity to see (much less operate) equipment of this magnitude.

Please enter an image description.

Pilbara sunset, photo by @antfahey

Please enter an image description.

Volvo vs. Cat, photo by @mardiansyah.jr

Please enter an image description.

Roy Hill painted several trucks pink to support awareness of women's breast cancer. 

Please enter an image description.

Bucket wheel excavator @mrhomadhanus 

Please enter an image description.

Inspection time by @ocky_riadi 

Please enter an image description.

Photo by @ranggadhia

Please enter an image description.

Project sampling Nickel loss - 1100 degrees Celsius, photo by @yaasiinsalam10 

Please enter an image description.

Bucket chair by @tamz666

Please enter an image description.

Parked up, photo of a Kennecott copper D10

The personalities

Mining would be nothing without the people. Let’s take a look at some of the highlights.

Please enter an image description.

Those fly out day feels! Photo by@ma.arif_zaynal

Please enter an image description.

Man and machine, photo by @dhennyajie

Please enter an image description.

A windy shot by @jesscraigie87

Please enter an image description.

Mining in the Arctic with @jstasovac

Please enter an image description.

Team in high-vis PPE, photo by @tari29

Please enter an image description.

@frothonlife and his stunt double

Please enter an image description.

Who needs a beach when you have an Iron Ore mine? Photo by @kyromillar85

The scenery

The raw beauty of the Australian mining landscape is often overlooked and unappreciated. In reality, the scenery can be quite striking; a spectacle, even.

Please enter an image description.

Blasting with a view

Please enter an image description.

Morning view from the rig by @tari29

Please enter an image description.

The conveyor pumping out coal at Grosvenor Coal Mine - Queensland. Photo by @nick.hatzi

Please enter an image description.

Atacama salt flat, the largest lithium deposit currently in production, Mexico.

Please enter an image description.

Amazing colours of the pit by @gaunty91

Please enter an image description.

Utah potash mine

Please enter an image description.

Morenci Copper Mine, located in Arizona, photo by @rcsiegrist

Have you got a photo you’d like to share of your life in mining? Tag #facesofmining to get featured on our Instagram page.