strip mining
Open-pit coal removal
Strip mining is a method of extracting minerals or coal by removing the surface layer of earth rather than tunneling underground.
Heavy equipment scrapes away soil and rock to expose the deposit beneath: The company strip-mined the hillside for coal.
The practice is efficient but devastates landscapes, leaving barren pits and displaced topsoil.
Figuratively, to strip-mine something is to extract value ruthlessly while disregarding consequences: Private equity firms strip-mining companies for quick profits.
Act of unearthing
- overburdenLoad beyond capacity
- open-pitExcavated from exposed ground
- draglineHeavy digging machine
- highwallVertical excavation face
bench · terracing · spoil · shovel · backhoe · earthmover · bulldozer · mountaintop removal
Heavy digging machine
- excavatorMachine that digs earth
- bulldozerBladed vehicle pushing earth
- shovelTool for moving earth
- dump truckHinged-bed hauling vehicle
earthmover · backhoe · conveyor · crusher · loader · scraper · grader · drill rig
Combustible sedimentary rock
- oreMetal-bearing rock
- copperReddish-brown metallic element
- ironElement twenty-six
- phosphatePO₄ ion compound
bauxite · lignite · bituminous · anthracite · seam · deposit · fossil fuel · uranium
Eliminating natural living spaces
- erosionGradual wearing away
- deforestationLarge-scale woodland elimination
- scarringPermanent mark formation
- sedimentationParticles settling in liquid
tailings · biodiversity loss · despoliation · wasteland · pollution · runoff · reclamation · revegetation
excavation
Act of unearthing
- overburdenLoad beyond capacity
- open-pitExcavated from exposed ground
- draglineHeavy digging machine
highwall · bench · terracing · spoil · shovel · backhoe · earthmover · bulldozer · mountaintop removal · pit
dragline
Heavy digging machine
dump truck · earthmover · backhoe · conveyor · crusher · loader · scraper · grader · drill rig · power shovel
coal
Combustible sedimentary rock
phosphate · bauxite · lignite · bituminous · anthracite · seam · deposit · fossil fuel · uranium · gold
habitat destruction
Eliminating natural living spaces
- erosionGradual wearing away
- deforestationLarge-scale woodland elimination
- scarringPermanent mark formation
sedimentation · tailings · biodiversity loss · despoliation · wasteland · pollution · runoff · reclamation · revegetation · soil compaction
- US Miningcoal miner, prospector, prospecting, mine shaft, open pit
- environmental harmair pollution, water pollution, pollution, oil spills, acid rain
- mininggold, mines, gold mines, mine, coal
- wrongdoingmisconduct, crime, sabotage, crimes, misbehavior
- environmental threatshabitat loss, deforestation, pollution, climate change, invasive species
- Gold RushCalifornia Gold Rush, gold flakes, gold nuggets, gold pan, gold panning
strip miningland conservation
Protecting terrain from exploitation
habitat preservation · land reclamation · ecological restoration · rewilding · wilderness preservation
strip miningconservation
Preventing waste or loss
land preservation · wilderness protection · habitat restoration · rewilding · reforestation
strip, mineral, mining, stripped, minerals, stripper, stripping, miners, strippers