Kennecott Copper, owned by Rio Tinto Corporation has one of the largest copper mines in the Ochre Mountains of Utah. It's tailings pond and smelter is located on the south shore of Gilbert Bay of the Great Salt Lake. Metals deposition by this smelter and others formerly in the valley have contaminated the sediments of the Great Salt Lake. However, cleaner smelting technologies, combined with the cessation of mining of lead and zinc, have led to reduced levels in the sediments.


Limnology: The study of inland waters
Photo 28 May 2012