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Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, [1] is a surface mining technique that extracts rock or minerals from the earth. Open-pit mines are used when deposits of commercially useful ore or rocks are found near the surface where the overburden is relatively thin.
The Siilinjärvi carbonatite complex, [1] an open-pit mine owned by Yara International, in Siilinjärvi, Finland Coal strip mine in Wyoming. 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 (the overburden) are removed, in contrast to underground mining, in which the ...
Acceptable post-mining land uses include commercial, residential, recreational, agricultural or public facility improvements. In open cut mines rocky material is used for backfilling the excavation. [4] A layer of soil that was stored in the premining is placed on top of the rocky material. On top of this layer is placed a layer of topsoil.
In Australia, bauxite is mined using an open-cut method. [4] This is possible because most bauxite in Australia can be found at or relatively close to the surface and is easily accessible by this method. [2] Open cut mining involves first removing the area above the bauxite ore called the overburden.
The removal of plant and infrastructure is not always part of a rehabilitation programme, as many old mine plants have cultural heritage and cultural value. Often in gold mines, rehabilitation is performed by scavenger operations which treat the soil within the plant area for spilled gold using modified placer mining gravity collection plants.
Nickel laterites are generally mined via open cut mining methods. Nickel is extracted from the ore by a variety of process routes. Hydrometallurgical processes include high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) and heap leach, both of which are generally followed by solvent extraction – electrowinning for recovery of nickel.
The Tagebau Hambach is a large open-pit coal mine (German: Tagebau) in Niederzier and Elsdorf, North Rhine–Westphalia, Germany. It is operated by RWE and used for mining lignite. The mine is on the site of the ancient Hambach Forest, which was purchased by RWE in 1978. The company then cut most of the forest down and cleared it to mine.
Power shovels are used principally for excavation and removal of overburden in open-cut mining operations; they may also be used for the loading of minerals, such as coal. They are the classic equivalent of excavators, and operate in a similar fashion. Other uses of the power shovel include: Close range work. Digging very hard materials.