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Thursday, June 30, 2011

Picture of the Day - Boron Mine

This image shows part of the U.S. Borax Boron Mine as viewed from one mile south on Highway 58. This mine supplies half the world's supply of borates and is probably the world's largest borate mine. This open pit mine of which the pit is not visible from the highway outside of Boron, CA, is California's largest open pit mine. Me being my inimitable self upon noticing the two white domes immediately thought of the two concrete containment domes at San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant and the brief, but humorous and off-color role in which they played in the movie The Naked Gun wherein Leslie Nielson's character Frank Drebin is reminded of how much he misses his ex-girlfriend upon noticing the domes.

3 comments:

  1. This is not far from Trona, where they also produce large amounts of borax. I spent many summers there...great place, learned much of my geology & desert knowledge at that time.

    Goat

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  2. I used to work at this mine. Way too hot in the summer. The 2 domes is where the bulk product is stored before being loaded onto the rail cars. The rail goes to the LA harbor, to the only privately owned dock in the LA harbor and bulk loaded for shipment overseas.

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  3. I thank both of you for your great input here adding more flesh and substance to the meager details of the tiny body of my humble contribution here.

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