Photographer: Thomas McGuire
Summary Author: Thomas McGuire
The U.S.
Borax Mine in the barren
Mojave Desert is California's largest
open-pit mine. It's located near the community of
Boron, about 100 mi (160 km) northeast of Los Angeles. This mine supplies a major portion of the world's refined
boron and
borate compounds.
Borax has a wide variety of uses including detergents, ceramics, cosmetics, medications, and even as a food additive, although this use is now banned in the United States due to its mild toxicity. Natural borax sources also include the historic deposits in
Death Valley, California, (
Twenty Mule Team Borax) and remains of
alkaline lakes in desert environments all over the world.
The inset photo shows crystals of the borate mineral
ulexite, a complex boron mineral compound (hydrated sodium calcium borate hydroxide) common at this mine. It's known as natural
TV stone for its interesting
fiber optic properties.
Photo Details: Top: Camera: DiMAGE A2; Focal Length: 50.8mm (35mm equivalent: 200mm); Aperture: ƒ/9.0; Exposure Time: 0.0080 s (1/125); ISO equiv: 64; Software: Adobe Photoshop Elements 9.0 Macintosh.
