strip-mines
Digs open pits
Strip-mines is the verb form of strip-mine, meaning to extract minerals or coal by removing the surface layers of earth rather than tunneling underground.
The method exposes ore in long strips, leaving the landscape scarred: The company strip-mines the hillsides for coal.
Figuratively, to strip-mine is to extract value ruthlessly while leaving damage behind: He strip-mines relationships for what he can get.
Heavy digging machine
- shovelTool for moving earth
- loaderOne who fills containers
- bulldozerBladed vehicle pushing earth
- earthmoverHeavy digging machinery
backhoe · dumper · conveyor · drilling · blasting · haulage · dredging · excavator
State of utter depletion
- consumptionUsing up of resources
- drainChannel for wastewater
- diminishTo make smaller
- impoverishMake destitute
empty · decline · waste · erosion · dwindle · deplete · finite · non-renewable
Excavated from exposed ground
- coalCombustible sedimentary rock
- quarryPit for extracting rock
- oreMetal-bearing rock
- mineralNaturally formed crystalline solid
bitumen · deposit · seam · copper · lignite · bauxite · phosphate · spoil
Permanent mark formation
- terracingCutting slopes into steps
- subsidenceGradual ground sinking
- erosionGradual wearing away
- deforestationLarge-scale woodland elimination
topography · dust · barren · wasteland · crater · gash · benching · moonscape
Range of life forms
- pollutionEnvironmental harm from waste
- sedimentationParticles settling in liquid
- tailingsPost-extraction mineral waste
- contaminationIntroduction of impurities
watershed · ecosystem · degradation · groundwater · runoff · toxic
Act of correcting faults
- restorationReturning something to condition
- afforestationIntroducing woods to treeless land
- revegetationRestoring lost plant cover
- backfillingReplacing removed earth
contouring · topsoil · rehabilitation · conservation · sustainability · reforestation · bonding
dragline
Heavy digging machine
earthmover · backhoe · dumper · conveyor · drilling · blasting · haulage · dredging · excavator · scraper
exhaustion
State of utter depletion
- consumptionUsing up of resources
- drainChannel for wastewater
- diminishTo make smaller
impoverish · empty · decline · waste · erosion · dwindle · deplete · finite · non-renewable · overconsumption
open-pit
Excavated from exposed ground
mineral · bitumen · deposit · seam · copper · lignite · bauxite · phosphate · spoil · overburden
scarring
Permanent mark formation
- terracingCutting slopes into steps
- subsidenceGradual ground sinking
- erosionGradual wearing away
deforestation · topography · dust · barren · wasteland · crater · gash · benching · moonscape
biodiversity
Range of life forms
- pollutionEnvironmental harm from waste
- sedimentationParticles settling in liquid
- tailingsPost-extraction mineral waste
contamination · watershed · ecosystem · degradation · groundwater · runoff · toxic
remediation
Act of correcting faults
- restorationReturning something to condition
- afforestationIntroducing woods to treeless land
- revegetationRestoring lost plant cover
backfilling · contouring · topsoil · rehabilitation · conservation · sustainability · reforestation · bonding