Copper mine. This is part of the Rio Tinto Mines in Huelva, Andalucia, Spain. This is an opencast mine that covers several square kilometres, with ores of copper, iron, silver, and other metals all being mined here. Opencast mining involves cutting these terraces into the hillside and processing the soil for the ores it contains. The area was mined in Phoenician and Roman times several thousand years ago, but it was not intensively mined until after 1871 when it became an important worldwide source of copper. Photographed in 2004.