Type of mining in which the soil/rock above mineral deposits is removed
The Siilinjärvi carbonatite complex,[1] an open-pit mine owned by Yara International, in Siilinjärvi, FinlandCoal strip mine in Wyoming
Surface mining, including strip mining, open-pit mining and mountaintop removal mining, is a broad category of mining in which soil and rock overlying the mineral deposit (the overburden) are removed, in contrast to underground mining, in which the overlying rock is left in place, and the mineral is removed through shafts or tunnels.
In North America, where the majority of surface coal mining occurs, this method began to be used in the mid-16th century[2] and is practiced throughout the world in the mining of many different minerals.[3] In North America, surface mining gained popularity throughout the 20th century, and surface mines now produce most of the coal mined in the United States.[4]
In most forms of surface mining, heavy equipment, such as earthmovers, first remove the overburden. Next, large machines, such as dragline excavators or bucket-wheel excavators, extract the mineral.
Advantages of surface mining include lower cost and greater safety compared to underground mining. Disadvantages include hazards to human health and the environment. Humans face a variety of health risks caused by mining such as different cardiovascular diseases, food, and water contamination. Habitat destruction, alongside air, noise, and water pollution, are all significant negative environmental impacts caused by the side effects of surface mining.
^Wolfgang Derek Maier, Raimo Lahtinen & Hugh O'Brien: Mineral Deposits of Finland. Elsevier, 2015. ISBN 978-0124104389.
^Montrie, Chad (2003). To Save the Land and People: A History of Opposition to Surface Coal Mining in Appalachia. United States: The University of North Carolina Press. pp. 17. ISBN 0-8078-2765-7.
^"Where Is Coal Found?". World Coal Association. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
^Coal production by state and mine type 2013-2014, US Energy Information Administration, accessed 4 July 2016.
Surfacemining, including strip mining, open-pit mining and mountaintop removal mining, is a broad category of mining in which soil and rock overlying...
Mining is the extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that...
investment requirements. Surfacemining and deep underground mining are the two basic methods of mining. The choice of mining method depends primarily...
The Office of SurfaceMining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) is a branch of the United States Department of the Interior. It is the federal agency...
Mountaintop removal mining (MTR), also known as mountaintop mining (MTM), is a form of surfacemining at the summit or summit ridge of a mountain. Coal...
biodiversity, or the contamination of soil, groundwater, and surface water by chemicals emitted from mining processes. These processes also affect the atmosphere...
The expansion of gold mining to ores that are not on the surface has led to more complex extraction processes such as pit mining and gold cyanidation....
while hydraulic mining was at its height, small-scale placer mining had largely exhausted the rich surface placers, and the mining industry turned to...
extraction and haulage of coal and minerals in both underground and surfacemining. The company had manufacturing facilities in Alabama, Pennsylvania,...
remediation. As part of the life cycle of a surface coal mine, completed mine areas must undergo rehabilitation. When mining ends, operators must restore the land...
The SurfaceMining Control and Reclamation Act of 1978 (SMCRA) is the primary federal law that regulates the environmental effects of coal mining in the...
Sand mining is the extraction of sand, mainly through an open pit (or sand pit)[failed verification] but sometimes mined from beaches and inland dunes...
(also called open-cast mining) or by various surface excavating equipment or tunneling equipment. Placer mining is frequently used for precious metal deposits...
Quartz Sandstone Slate Travertine Stone quarry is an outdated term for mining construction rocks (limestone, marble, granite, sandstone, etc.). There...
EPS SurfaceMining Kosovo (Serbian: ЕПС Површински копови Косово) is a Serbian coal surfacemining company with headquarters in Obilić, Kosovo. EPS Surface...
the surface as in Canada, meaning none of it can be produced using surfacemining. The Canadian deposits will almost all have to be produced by mining or...
birth defect rates are higher in the areas surrounding surfacemining locations. Coal mining production in Appalachia declined from 1990 to 2015, but...
measures have been enacted and underground mining has given up market share to surfacemining. Underground mining hazards include suffocation, gas poisoning...
Mining in ancient Rome utilized hydraulic mining and shaft mining techniques in combination with equipment such as the Archimedes screw. The materials...
earth materials removed during an excavation process. In surfacemining (commonly called strip mining) for coal or other underground deposits, earth materials...
require that land that is surface mined must be restored to its original productivity once mining is complete. Strip mining of lignite in the United States...
the surface, or very close to it. Typical methods for extraction included drift mining and bell pits. As well as drift mines, small scale shaft mining was...
particularly suitable for surfacemining. It was explored in the 1960s but the works stopped due to flood in 1967. Attempts to continue mining in the 1990s were...
increasingly accessed via a method known as Mountaintop Removal Mining, which is a form of surfacemining that involves the topographical alteration and/or removal...
mines. More accidents occur during underground mining than surfacemining. Not all countries publish mining accident statistics so worldwide figures are...
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