How All The Metal From A Single Mine Looks

Nababeep South Mine, Nababeep (1882 to 2000). Over 500m deep, 302,791.65 tonnes of copper extracted

Blue Mine, Springbok (1852 to 1912). 3,535 tonnes of copper extracted

West O’okiep Mine, Okiep (1862 to the early 1970s). Over 500m deep, 284,000 tonnes of copper extracted

Tweefontein Mine, Concordia (1887 to 1904). Over 100m deep, 38,747.7 tonnes of copper extracted

Jubilee Mine, Concordia (1971 to 1973). Over 100m deep, 6,500 tonnes of copper extracted

This visual representation from Cape Town photographer Dillon Marsh shows just how much metal a mine can produce for a project on For What It’s Worth. In For What It’s Worth, Marsh attempts to quantify mining, “an industry that has shaped the history and economy of the country so radically.”

Marsh took pictures of five famous mines in South Africa, and then using data about extraction rates, calculated the size of a single, solid orb to represent the amount of metal that had been mined in total. Then using a rendering engine and some quick adjustments for scale, Marsh inserted each orb into the landscape.

“Mines speak of a combination of sacrifice and gain,” he says. “Their features are crude, unsightly scars on the landscape—unlikely feats of hard labor and specialized engineering, constructed to extract value from the earth but also exacting a price.”

via PetaPixel