15 Facts About Surface mining

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 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 and is practiced throughout the world in the mining of many different minerals.

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.

Pros of surface mining are that it has a lower financial cost and is a lot safer than underground mining because all mining operations take place above the surface.

Strip Surface mining is the practice of Surface mining a seam of mineral, by first removing a long strip of overlying soil and rock ; this activity is referred to as overburden removal.

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Contour Surface mining involves removing the overburden above the mineral seam near an outcrop in hilly terrain, where the mineral outcrop usually follows the contour of the land.

Open-pit Surface mining refers to a method of extracting rock or minerals from the earth through their removal from an open pit or borrow.

Mountaintop removal Surface mining is a form of coal Surface mining that mines coal seams beneath mountaintops by first removing the mountaintop overlying the coal seam.

Highwall mining is another form of mining sometimes conducted to recover additional coal adjacent to a surface-mined area.

One patented highwall Surface mining system uses augers enclosed inside the pushbeam that prevent the mined coal from being contaminated by rock debris during the conveyance process.

Some Surface mining companies do not have the funds to properly clean up, therefore the environment is negatively affected.

Surface mining can have a number of effects on the local environment, ranging from the negative to the positive.

Each type of surface mining has its own environmental impact, as laid out below.

Mountaintop removal Surface mining - Involves the removal of whole mountaintops, the waste rock of which is used to flatten out the surrounding land by infilling rivers and valleys.

Highwall mining - Has a lower environmental impact than mountaintop removal because of the smaller external surface area present but there is still negative side effects.