SALT LAKE COUNTY, Utah — Officials with Rio Tinto Kennecott say they anticipated a landslide inside their Bingham County Canyon mine Monday, allowing workers to be removed to a safe distance.
The collapse occurred in the southeast corner of the mine just before 9 a.m.
"The landslip was expected based on geotechnical monitoring that is constantly undertaken at the mine and therefore all personnel had been removed from the area in advance to ensure their safety," a Rio Tinto Kennecott spokesperson told FOX 13.
In April 2013, a massive landslide covered almost the entire bottom of the mine, which is the largest open-pit copper mine in North America.
