slag heap
Industrial waste pile
A slag heap is a pile of waste material from mining or metal smelting—the rocky refuse left after extracting ore.
These mounds were once common features of industrial landscapes in coal and steel regions: The slag heap loomed behind the abandoned factory.
Figuratively, anything resembling such a pile of discarded material.
Metal-bearing rock
- extractionAct of removing
- tailingsPost-extraction mineral waste
- overburdenLoad beyond capacity
- spoilDamage or overindulge
quarry · shaft · mineral · excavation · coal · colliery · pithead · seam
Post-extraction mineral waste
- scoriaPorous volcanic ejecta
- clinkerFused coal residue
- detritusLoose waste from decay
- debrisScattered broken fragments
rubble · dross · scrap · residue · spoil · discards · byproduct · refuse
Recovery of something lost
- remediationAct of correcting faults
- contaminationIntroduction of impurities
- pollutionEnvironmental harm from waste
- brownfieldPreviously developed, possibly polluted land
regeneration · memorial · disaster · environmental · cleanup · restoration · post-industrial · heritage
ore
Metal-bearing rock
- extractionAct of removing
- tailingsPost-extraction mineral waste
- overburdenLoad beyond capacity
spoil · quarry · shaft · mineral · excavation · coal · colliery · pithead · seam · vein
tailings
Post-extraction mineral waste
debris · rubble · dross · scrap · residue · spoil · discards · byproduct · refuse · cinders
reclamation
Recovery of something lost
- remediationAct of correcting faults
- contaminationIntroduction of impurities
- pollutionEnvironmental harm from waste
brownfield · regeneration · memorial · disaster · environmental · cleanup · restoration · post-industrial · heritage · redevelopment
furnace
Enclosed heat-producing structure
- smeltingExtracting metal from ore
- blastSudden forceful burst
- ironworksIndustrial metalworking facility
steel · foundry · metallurgy · molten · ingot · alloy · casting · forge · coke · pig iron
mound
Heaped earth formation
ridge · elevation · outcrop · plateau · incline · slope · conical · terraced · reclaimed · grassed
- Moundsant mound, anthill, burial mound, cairn, dirt pile
- pilespile, stack, mound, accumulation, woodpile
- eyesoreseyesore, blight, garbage, trash, junk
- man-made terraincanal, dike, levee, embankment, landfill
- waste pilesgarbage pile, trash pile, rubbish pile, debris pile, scrap pile
- copper miningcopper ore, copper production, smelting, refining, open pit
slag heapore deposit
Mineable mineral accumulation
mother lode · rich vein · gold mine · pay dirt · precious metal
slag heappristine wilderness
Unspoiled natural environment
nature reserve · garden · parkland · virgin forest · meadow