The World’s Tallest Lift Is Not In The World’s Tallest Building

The tallest building in the world is the Burj Khalifa, and it features a passenger lift that is among the fastest in the world.

However, the world’s tallest lift travels over quadruple the distance at a significantly faster rate and was constructed over 30 years before the Khalifa was finally topped out.

The Mponeng Gold Mine is the world’s deepest mine, extending 2.5 miles below the surface of the Earth and is one of the world’s busiest and most abundant gold mines.

To take over 4000 workers down to the bottom of the mine each day, two lifts are used, the taller of which travels 2,283m per descent at a speed of up to 40 miles per hour.

This colossal descent is not enough, as the workers then move to a second lift that takes them to the bottom, at around 3597m below the surface of the Earth.

For context, the Burj Khalifa at the top of its spire is 829m tall and when constructed had the tallest lift in a building in the world at 505m.

Interestingly enough, whilst the Burj Khalifa is still safely the tallest building in the world, it no longer has the tallest lift fitted to a skyscraper.

Shanghai Tower in China is the second tallest building in the world, has the joint-highest observation deck, and is the world’s tallest indoor lift at 578.5m. This covers 124 of the building’s 127 floors.

As far as outdoor elevators above ground are concerned, the world’s tallest outdoor elevator is Bailong (also known as “Hundred Dragons”) in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, which reaches 326m tall and can carry up to 46 people to the top in less than two minutes.