open-pit mining
Huge earthen excavation
Open-pit mining is a method of extracting minerals or ore from the earth by digging a large, terraced hole rather than tunneling underground.
The technique works when deposits lie near the surface: The copper comes from open-pit mining operations in Chile.
Also called open-cast or strip mining, it reshapes landscapes dramatically, leaving massive excavations visible from space.
- quarryPit for extracting rock
- excavationAct of unearthing
- oreMetal-bearing rock
- copperReddish-brown metallic element
- coalCombustible sedimentary rock
bulldozer · dragline · earth mover · heavy equipment · pit · crater · terraced · bench · overburden · tailings · blast · dynamite · dust · environmental impact · machinery · extraction · mineral · deposit
- Gold RushCalifornia Gold Rush, gold flakes, gold nuggets, gold pan, gold panning
- Coal Miningcoal mines, coal seam, underground mines, colliery, underground
- metal miningcopper mine, open-pit mine, underground mine, ore veins, mineral veins
- copper miningcopper ore, copper production, smelting, refining, open pit
- Iron Rangeiron ore, taconite, Virginia, Chisholm, iron deposits
- mininggold, mines, gold mines, mine, coal
opening, opened, mining, openness, opener, reopen, unopened, miners, mineralogy