Bingham Canyon Reclamation Project

[5] In 1970, cultural changes following the civil rights movement and federal policies such as the Clean Air Act Extension led to a growing environmental consciousness in the United States and placed pressure on mining companies to devise methods of controlling the toxic by-products of extraction.

At the time of Smithson's unsolicited proposal in 1973, Kennecott Copper Corporation was contemplating different remediation projects in anticipation of federally imposed regulations.

He hoped to capitalize on the mining companies' growing receptiveness to reclamation and remediation projects that dealt with waste land in new, innovative ways.

Also, the companies possessed the sort of earth-moving equipment necessary for Smithson's increasingly ambitious land art projects since the late 1960s, such as 1970's Spiral Jetty.

Smithson further suggested that the circular base of the pit rotate, invoking a 19th-century cyclorama, so that the visiting pilgrim would be able to observe a 360 degree view of the man-made spiraling canyon while standing in one position.