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Lewis and Clark 200  >>  Montana  >>  Butte  >>  Community Interest  >>  Recreation Areas  >>  Berkeley Pit

Berkeley Pit Butte, Montana Location:    Continental Drive Butte 59701 406-723-3177 This web page has had 2276 unique visitors. Berkeley Pit Website butteinfo@butteinfo.org Buy Patrick Clark posters online. BigSkyMontana.us Description: The Berkeley Pit located in Butte at the intersection of I-15 and I-90, is like many Montana towns, born in the 1860's and fueled by the mining business. Gold, silver and copper strikes kept the town booming. By the early 1900's, the Anaconda Company had become the biggest employer in the area.The Berkeley Pit opened in 1955 and soon became the largest truck-operated open pit copper mine in the United States. The pit is 7,000 feet long and 5,600 feet wide, extending to a depth of more than 1800 feet. The pit enabled Butte to claim the title 'Richest Hill on Earth,' as it became the backbone of the local and regional economy. The mine was shut down in 1982, after 1 1/2 billion tons of copper were removed. Present day visitors can view the mine from a platform located above it.The underground mines were no longer used after 1975, and the pit closed in 1983. One and one-half billion tons of materials were taken out of the pit, 290 million of that was copper ore. The viewing stand offers a look at the Berkeley Pit, which is filling with water. The Berkeley Pit Viewing Stand, open from March until November is free. Mining has resumed just east of here in the Continental Pit.