Always On My Mine Trivia Quiz

Answer: Atacama Desert

The producer of the most copper of any open pit mine in the world, Chuquicamata is located in Northern Chile as part of the Atacama Desert, the most arid desert in the world, found just on the edge of the Andes as they snake down the continent. It's a fairy unique spot as far as mines go since, at nearly three kilometres above sea level, it's not only a high mine, but a deep one, opening in the 1950s and reaching a depth of 850 metres (meaning it's still nearly two kilometres above sea level at its deepest).

At one time it was the most abundant active mine in the world. It was overtaken by the nearby Minera Escondida, also in the Atacama, also known for its massive copper stock.

Answer: The Last Supper

A colossal system of subterranean passages, the Royal Salt Mines of Poland, or the Wieliczka Salt Mines, first opened to the harvesting of common table salt back in the 13th century, and its value and importance couldn't be overstated. So valuable was the resource that locals constructed elaborate chambers, carving them from the stone and using them for all manner of utility. Visitors, today, can enjoy a service in one of the mines' four chapels, one of which contains a recreation of Da Vinci's "The Last Supper" carved into a relief.

Though the Wieliczka Salt Mines stopped producing salt in 1996, it was made into a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978 and has since become one of Poland's most frequented and most unique tourist spots.

Answer: Silver

Found near the Sea of Japan in the mountains that make up the northern coastline of Honshu, Japan, the Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine is found in the picturesque Shimane Prefecture. Opening in the 16th century, the mine remained an important part of local industry for the better part of four hundred years, closing down due to waning supply at a time when it couldn't remain competitive with world silver mining.

At its peak, however, it contributed to a significant amount of Japanese currency through eras of increased trade in East Asia.

It's because of its importance that it would become a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007, helping maintain the three castles built to protect it, the nearby ports, and as the mine itself.

Answer: Gypsum

Although it's obvious that the catacombs of Paris were constructed as a massive ossuary over the course of several centuries, many might be surprised to know that a number of subterranean corridors off the city's left bank were also specifically dug out to collect gypsum and limestone, both of which were used in colossal quantities to construct the city's buildings. Gypsum, specifically, was heated in Montmartre a mixed with water to create Plaster of Paris, and while this was a known technique in Rome and Athens during ancient times, its prevalence in the French capital led to the name sticking.

The mines would be decommissioned in the 18th century before being used as a burial ground in due time.

Answer: Cathedral

Found a short drive north of Bogota, Colombia, the salt mines of Zipaquirá and Nemocón were dug out of mineral-rich mountains created hundreds of millions of years ago, and while they were mined for their salt deposits as far back as the 5th century BCE, they would eventually become a place of great religious significance for locals and those on pilgrimage, mainly because of the unique cathedral built there in the 1950s, dedicated to the patron saint of miners (Our Lady of the Rosary).

In the 1990s, to increase attendance and build into a large salt park complex, a new cathedral was built in the same mines...just 200 feet underneath the old chamber.

Answer: Broken Hill

Established in the 1880s, Broken Hill became a key outback destination specifically for mining due to the region's prevalent ore deposits, and while it became indicative of a tough and almost-forbidding life in the Outback, it also grew to be quite the unique destination. The massive lode of ore here was found to be rich in silver, making it one of the largest single sections of silver mining in the world for a time; it sustained the industry, healthily, until the 1990s.

A thousand miles away, deeper into the Outback in Coober Pedy, you'd also find a significant amount of mining, but the lands there are known much more for their opals.

Answer: Wales

Built approximately four hundred metres underground, the Deep Sleep Hotel opened its doors in 2023 in an abandoned mine in Wales, becoming the deepest-ever hotel in the world. To get there, you'd need to drive into Snowdonia, home to Wales' highest peak, to locate Cwmorthin quarry.

This location, originally created to mine slate in the early 19th century, connected with the Oakeley quarry nearby in due time to become the largest slate producer in the world. Today, the mines there are quiet, and there may be nowhere better to get the deepest sleep you can, two-fifths-a-kilometre under the Welsh mountains after a lengthy trek through the caverns.

Answer: Valley of Rubies

Found a couple hundred miles north of the city of Mandalay in Central Myanmar, Mogok was founded in the 13th century due in part to its gemstones; hunters found the spot and spread word of its plentiful rubies, and thus the town was born in the shadow of the mountains nearby.

The town remained quite lowly-populated until the British stepped in and opened the mines there, leading to a dearth of gemstones of all sorts (though primarily rubies and sapphires). The rubies there, in particular, are amongst the world's highest quality. Kyawthuite, while rare and in small quantities, was discovered there.

Answer: Nickel

One of Northern Ontario's most populated cities, Sudbury can be found just north of the north shores of Lake Huron and marks a key stop on the Trans-Canadian Highway as it heads up towards Lake Superior and Manitoba. It also happens to be situated on a convenient spot on the Canadian (Precambrian) Shield, which in itself is rich in minerals of all sorts.

Although a key spot for logging in early days, its nickel mining industry was one of the most profitable in the world, eventually diminishing towards the end of the twentieth century. Nonetheless, the Big Nickel, found near Dynamic Earth, was erected in 1951 and remains a key landmark for the city

Answer: 12 kilometres

Sure, it's not a mine you can go spelunking into, but in terms of big holes in the Earth, the Kola Superdeep Borehole is abut as far as it goes. Reaching a depth of twelve thousand two hundred sixty-two metres into the Earth it bottomed out (so to speak) in 1989 during experiments meant to research the components of the Baltic Shield.

When funding for the project drained away in the mid-1990s, the borehole was sealed off and abandoned. It is there still, however, for anyone willing to trek out to a remote part of North-Western Russia near the Norwegian border.