Surface mining

Surface mining is a method which operates on the surface of the land. Machines remove the overburden to get at material, such as coal, below it.

Surface mining includes strip mining, open-pit mining (UK: open cast mining) and mountaintop removal mining. It is mining in which soil and rock overlying the mineral deposit are removed. It is the opposite of underground mining, in which the overlying rock is left in place, and the mineral removed through shafts or tunnels.

Surface mining gained popularity throughout the 20th century, and became the main way of coal mining in places such as Appalachia and America's Midwest.

In most forms of surface mining, heavy equipment, such as earthmovers, first remove the overburden. Next, huge machines, such as dragline excavators or Bucket-wheel excavators, extract the mineral.

Surface Mining Media

The Siilinjärvi carbonatite complex, an open-pit mine owned by Yara International, in Siilinjärvi, Finland
The Bagger 288 is a bucket-wheel excavator used in strip mining.
The El Chino mine located near Silver City, New Mexico is an open-pit copper mine.
ADDCAR 16 Logan County WV*Highwall mining the Coalburg Seam.
Mojave Northern Railroad limestone train
Reclaimed strip mine in Centre County, Pennsylvania
Acid leaching caused by sulfide ore mining