strip mining

American  

noun

1. mining in an open pit after removal of the overburden.

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strip mining British  

noun

1. another term (esp US) for opencast mining

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strip mining Cultural  

1. Removing a mineral deposit from the Earth after first removing the layer of earth above it.

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Strip mining, the cheapest method of mining, is also the most controversial, because it jeopardizes the environment, and because strip-mined land is either expensive or impossible to reclaim.

Example Sentences

“There’s already overwhelming evidence that strip mining deep-sea nodule fields will destroy ecosystems we barely understand,” he told BBC News.

From BBC

Justice Department lawyers filed the suit to collect fines assessed by the Interior Department against 13 companies for strip mining violations that "pose health and safety risks or threaten environmental harm" to neighboring communities.

From Salon

Interior Department requesting a review of the effectiveness of regulations governing strip mining that go back nearly 50 years.

From Salon

Jack Spadaro, a former federal mining regulator who has been involved in numerous suits over strip mining’s role in flood damage, dismissed this defense.

From New York Times

Studies suggest that strip mining affects the local mountain hydrology in many places.

From Scientific American