surface mine
/ˈsɜːrfɪs ˌmaɪn/
verb
- To extract minerals or coal from the ground by removing the surface layer of soil and rock, rather than digging tunnels underground.
- The company plans to surface-mine the area for copper, which will remove the topsoil and trees.
- Many communities worry when companies surface-mine near their water sources because of potential pollution.
- It is often cheaper to surface-mine coal than to dig deep underground mines.
noun
- A mine where minerals or coal are extracted from the ground by removing the surface layer of soil and rock.
- Workers at the surface-mine use huge trucks and shovels to move earth.
- The old surface-mine has been turned into a lake for recreation.
- The government passed new laws to regulate how a surface-mine must restore the land after it closes.