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			Photo #: ISS016-E-31056 Date: Mar. 2008 Geographic Region: MEXICO Feature: CANANEA, AGUAJE, COPPER MINE



	Cananea Copper Mine, Sonora, Mexico One of the largest open-pit copper mines in the world, the Cananea mine produced over 164,000 tonnes of copper in 2006. The mine is located approximately 40 km south of the border between the USA (Arizona) and Mexico (Sonora). Copper and gold ores at Cananea are found in a porphyry copper deposit, a geological structure formed by crystal-rich magma moving upwards through pre-existing rock layers. A porphyry - an igneous rock with large crystals in a fine-grained matrix - is formed as the magma cools and crystallizes. While crystallization is occurring, hot fluids can circulate through the magma and surrounding rocks via fractures. This hydrothermal alteration of the rocks typically forms copper-bearing and other minerals. Much of the Cananea mine's ore is concentrated in breccia pipes - mineralized rod or chimney-shaped bodies that contain broken rock fragments. The active, 2 km in diameter Colorada Pit (image top right) is recognizable in this astronaut photograph by the concentric steps or benches cut around its perimeter (see larger image). These benches allow for access into the pit for extraction of ore and waste materials. Water (black) is visible filling the bottom of the pit, and several other basins in the surrounding area. The city of Cananea - marked by its street grid - is located to the northeast of the mine workings. A leachate reservoir is located to the east of the mine (image lower left) for removal and evaporation of water pumped from the mine workings - the bluish-white coloration of deposits near the reservoir suggests the high mineral content of the leachate. The mine workings at Cananea are significant in the recent history of Mexico, as poor working conditions there in 1906 led to a miner's strike that resulted in 19 deaths. This event is generally considered to a major catalyst of the Mexican Revolution of 1910, as well as the beginning of Mexico's labor movement. Current environmental and economic conditions at the mine led to a worker strike that halted mine operations in 2007.

Images:	All Available Images Low-Resolution 282k
Mission:	ISS016
Roll - Frame:	E - 31056
Geographical Name:	MEXICO
Features:	CANANEA, AGUAJE, COPPER MINE
Center Lat x Lon:	31.0N x 110.2W
Film Exposure:		N=Normal exposure, U=Under exposed, O=Over exposed, F=out of Focus
Percentage of Cloud Cover-CLDP:	10
Camera:	E4
Camera Tilt:	25	LO=Low Oblique, HO=High Oblique, NV=Near Vertical
Camera Focal Length:	400
Nadir to Photo Center Direction:	SE	The direction from the nadir to the center point, N=North, S=South, E=East, W=West
Stereo?:		Y=Yes there is an adjacent picture of the same area, N=No there isn't
Orbit Number:	1190
Date:	20080303	YYYYMMDD
Time:	195645	GMT HHMMSS
Nadir Lat:	32.0N	Latitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Nadir Lon:	111.2W	Longitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Sun Azimuth:	188	Clockwise angle in degrees from north to the sun measured at the nadir point
Space Craft Altitude:	182	nautical miles
Sun Elevation:	51	Angle in degrees between the horizon and the sun, measured at the nadir point
Land Views:	MINE
Water Views:	RESERVOIR
Atmosphere Views:
Man Made Views:
City Views:	CANANEA

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