A form of surface mining, especially for coal, that is very destructive to the landscape.
A method of mining in which soil and rock cover are removed to obtain the sought-after material.
the mining of ore or coal from an open mine
Removing surface layers over coal seams using giant, earth-moving equipment; creates a huge open-pit from which coal is scooped by enormous surface-operated machines and transported by trucks; an alternative to deep mines.
Cutting deep trenches to remove minerals such as coal and phosphate found near the earth's surface in flat or rolling terrain. See surface mining.
A method of surface mining used where the coal seams are very shallow and laterally extensive
The scraping off of all soil and sedimentary rock above a coal seam in order to gain access to the seam.
Form of surface mining in which bulldozers, power shovels, or stripping wheels remove large chunks of the earth's surface in strips. See area strip mining, contour strip mining, surface mining. Compare subsurface mining.
