5 Chief Pros and Cons of Strip Mining

Sep 24, 2015Aug 29, 2015 by Crystal Ayres

Surface mining refers to a category of mining where soil and rock overlying the mineral deposit are
removed. There are several types of surface mining, and strip mining counts as one of them.

In strip mining, a thin layer of material known as an overburden is removed so that access is made to the
minerals buried underneath. This kind of mining is particularly useful when the minerals are located very
close to the surface as it’s more feasible and much easier and quicker to remove the overburden in order to
get them.

Usually, strip mining is employed in mining tar sand and coal. It’s a method referred to as open cast, open
cut or stripping. First, the trees, shrubs and other structures in the area to be mined are removed – a task
accomplished with heavy duty bulldozers. Holes are then drilled for the placement of explosives which are
meant to loosen the overburden so that earthmoving equipment can easily remove it. Once the minerals
are exposed, they are then extracted.

While this form of mining has advocates citing its efficiency, some have called out the process for being
detrimental to human health and the environment.

In central Appalachia, more than 200,000 people have signed the historic CREDO Action and Earthjustice
petitions which call on Congress to pass the Appalachian Communities Health Emergency Act, as well as
enact a moratorium on new mountaintop removal coal mining. This is in response to a study by a team of
scientists from the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center of West Virginia University which revealed that
“dust collected from MTR communities promotes lung cancer.”

One of the study’s authors is Michael Hendryx, a professor of applied health science at Indiana University
Bloomington added: “Previous studies have shown that people who live in these communities have higher
lung cancer rates not due just to smoking, but with this study we now have solid evidence that dust
collected from residential areas near MTR sits cause cancerous changes to human lung cells.”

Here’s a clearer look at the arguments against and for strip mining:

List of Pros of Strip Mining

1. It is much more efficient compared to underground mining

Those who advocate for strip mining believe that the recovery rate of materials is higher using the method.
It is estimated that about 80 to 90% of the material can be recovered compared to the 50% recovered
using tunnel mining.

Strip mining is also considered a much quicker procedure as tunnels don’t need to be dug and supported.
As a result, minerals don’t need to be lifted on long routes to get to the surface. In other words, retrieval
and transport are so much more efficient using the strip mining technique.

2. It is lower in cost
The cost of strip mining is pretty low. Although powerful machines are used to uncover the overburden, this
method of mining only touches the surface. As mentioned earlier, tunnels don’t need to be dug.
3. It is safer than underground mining
Given that strip mining just covers the surface, workers aren’t exposed to risks like the collapse of a tunnel
– a risk that is inherent in underground mining. Also, companies are required to reclaim any land they use
for strip mining. This simply means that they have to fill the removed areas with topsoil and replant them
with vegetation.

List of Cons of Strip Mining

Strip mining is a controversial practice owing to the fact that it affects topography, vegetation and water
resources. Although it is subject to state and federal reclamation requirements, the adequacy of such
requirements is a frequent source of contention.

1. It is hazardous to human health

In the study by researchers from West Virginia University (which was mentioned above), surface mining is
linked with cancer. But that study isn’t the only one to point out health-related issues stemming from this
kind of mining. In an Al Jazeera America article, it is stated that the study “…follows two-dozen peer-
reviewed health studies that have documented the high rates of birth defects, heart disease and cancer in
communities that face the fallout of millions of pounds of mining explosives, silica dust and pulverized
heavy metals in waterways.”

The United Mine Workers of America have also voiced dissent on the use of human sewage sludge to
reclaim surface mining sites in Appalachia. The group launched their campaign back in 1999 after eight
workers took ill after exposure to Class B sludge near their workplace.

2. It is harmful to the environment

In 2010, a study was published in the journal Science revealing that mountaintop mining has resulted in
several environmental problems, and that mitigation practices have not been successfully addressed. For
instance, permanent loss of ecosystems results from when valley fills frequently bury headwater streams.
Also, several endangered species have been threatened and has resulted in loss of biodiversity because of
the destruction of large portions of deciduous forests.

In an Al Jazeera article called Mountaintop removal mining is a crime against Appalachia, writer Jeff
Biggers relates that locals have witnessed “the death of their landscape as a precursor to the death of their
own communities.” Matoaka and Montcalm in Mercer County, West Virginia were once booming coal
mining towns. They were covered in trees and local fauna. Now, they are barren and unrecognizable.

Although companies are required to reclaim the land they perform strip mining on, it’s not straight away
where the ecosystems regain equilibrium. You don’t just remove a bunch of trees one day, plant new seeds
in their stead and hope that tomorrow it will grow into a tall, majestic thing of nature. And that’s when things
are done right. But what if the reclamation project was so shoddily done? That would cause more problems
like making the area vulnerable to erosion and flooding. In other words: it puts communities at an even
riskier situation.

That’s not all though. Nearby water sources can become contaminated due to the dumping of excavated
material, as well as from the use of extraction solvents. Strip mining also releases toxins and dust in the air
resulting in poorly controlled contamination.

Advantages of surface mining include economic and financial benefits for miners and communities and a safer
alternative to pit mining, but its disadvantages include environmental impacts, such as erosion and contamination.
Surface mining, also called strip mining, delivers economically vital supplies of coal, which powers transportation and
creates consumer products, boosting local economies. This type of mining occurs primarily on mountaintops, and
dates back to the early 20th century when new machines made moving earth easier.
Briefly :
Supporters of surface mining contend it promotes clean energy, producing less environmental disturbance than pit
mining. However, opponents of surface mining cite many issues with its operations. It draws criticism for polluting
and changing local streams, filling them with rocks and potentially harmful toxins. Surface mining also requires the
clearing of large tracts of land, which necessitates removal of many acres of forest. The cutting of trees invites
erosion, as tree roots anchor soil and earthen material to the land's surface. Altering the landscape also impacts the
local plant and wildlife populations, as plants and animals lose their homes to the mining operations. The risk of spills
and leaks increases with surface mining, and the establishment of mines jeopardizes the value and structural integrity
of surrounding homes and real estate.
The advantages of surface mining are: * It is cheaper to extract the ore or metal than underground
mining * Less chance of workers dying from toxic fumes, therefore it is safer unlike underground
mining. * It is also faster The disadvantages of surface mining are:

* That it destroys the landscape and environment * Effects the habitats of fauna potentially effecting
the existing ecosystem in that area * Flora is destroyed * Causes noise, air and water pollution

Mining is an activity to take out precious natural resource to satisfy humans unending demand. This activity is carried
out extensively and has caused major imbalance in our ecology. There are several other industries dependent on
mining, hence any regulations affecting mining industry as a whole will affect other dependent industries.
Advantages:
It is cheaper and is capable of extracting more amount of resources.
The financial and economic benefits that it provides to communities involved in the activity of coal mining.
More safe as opposed to pit mining.
Usage of large-scale mining equipment making the work more efficient and easy.
Disadvantages:
Polluting the streams by releasing potentially harmful toxins.
Surface mining involves clearing large tracks of land leading to deforestation and ecological disturbance.
Risks related to spills and leaks is also increased.

What Is Surface Mining? The Definition

So what’s the definition of surface mining? As stated by GreatMining.com, it’s:

Surface mining is a form of mining in which the soil and the rock covering the mineral deposits are removed. It is the other way of underground
mining, in which the overlying rock is left behind, and the required mineral deposits are removed through shafts or tunnels.

Our friends at AZO Mining provide some additional context:

There are two basic classes of mining: mining at the Earth’s surface and mining underground…Surface mining accounts for two thirds of the world’s
solid minerals, and is predominantly used in obtaining sand, gravel, crushed stone, phosphates, coal, copper, iron and aluminum…

There are 5 main types of surface mining, which are used in various degrees and for different resources. These mining categories are: strip mining,
open-pit mining, mountaintop removal, dredging and high wall mining. All methods of surface mining will remove the waste material, or
overburden, above the desired resource.
Surface mining is often preferred to sub-surface (underground mining) by mining companies for several reasons. It is less expensive, there are fewer
complications in terms of electricity and water and it is safer.

This resource from the EPA on surface mining is also worth checking out.

Let’s look more closely at those different types of surface mining activities:

Open-pit Mining
Open-pit mining is the most common type of surface mining.

An open-pit mine is exactly what the name implies: a big hole (or pit) in the ground.

The pit in an open-pit mine is created by blasting with explosives and drilling. This type of mining is typically used to mine gravel and sand and

even rock (when open-pit mining is used to extract rock from the earth, the pit is often called a “quarry”).

High Wall Mining

High wall mining is a combination of surface mining techniques and sub-surface techniques.

The basic idea is you start with an open-pit mine, and then drill or bore into those walls to extract more resources.

High Wall mining is performed remotely by a person in a cabin at the surface who uses a television camera to monitor and control the

continuous miner machine.

Dredging
Dredging is the process of mining materials from the bottom of a body of water, including rivers, lakes, and oceans.

Strip Mining
Strip mining is the process of removing a thin strip of overburden (earth or soil) above a desired deposit, dumping the removed overburden

behind the deposit, extracting the desired deposit, creating a second, parallel strip in the same manner, and depositing the waste materials

from that second (new) strip onto the first strip. And so on.

Strip mining is using a lot for coal, phosphates, clays, and tar mining.

Mountaintop Removal
This is an alternative, and more recent, version of strip mining.

As the main suggests, mountaintop removal mining involves removing the top of steep mountains to expose desired deposits below. The

excavated overburden from the mountaintop is deposited in nearby low valley areas known as “valley fills.”

This method is for the most part confined to coal mining in the Appalachian region of the United States.
Common Physical Characteristics of Surface Mines

Surface mines have a unique physical terrain, and the specialized terms are used to describe the features of the surface mining environment.

Those terms include:

 Angle of repose

 Bench

 Berm

 Haul road

 Highwall

 Pit

 Settling pond/tank

 Stockpile

 Wastepile

To learn more about these terms and what physical characteristics they describe, please see our:

 Physical Characteristics of a Surface Mine blog post

 Physical Characteristics of a Surface Mine interactive glossary (includes a way to download it for free)

 General Physical Characteristics of Surface Mines online safety training course (short sample video included below)

Online MSHA Part 46 training like the course sampled above can be a great way to get going on your Part 46 training.

Common Equipment Used in Surface Mining

There’s a specialized and diverse set of equipment commonly used during the surface mining process. If you’re going to work at a surface mine,

it helps to know the names of the following equipment and what they’re used for. You may need to now how to operate them as well.

Equipment you might find at a surface mine includes:

 Backhoes

 Bins

 Classifiers

 Cone crushers

 Cranes

 Dozers

 Draglines
  Dredges

 Feeders

 Front-end loaders

 Fuel tanks

 Generators

 Haul trucks

 Hoppers

 Human transport

 In-pit conveyor systems

 Jaw crushers

 Maintenance and repair shops

 Overland conveyor systems

 Scrapers

 Screw conveyors

 Shovels

 Skid steers

 Track haulage

 Truck and wheel washes

 Truck scales

 Water reclamation systems

To learn more about these terms and what physical characteristics they describe, please see our:

 Typical Surface Mining Equipment blog post

 Typical Surface Mining Equipment interactive glossary (includes a way to download it for free)

 Typical Surface Mining Equipment online safety training course (short sample video included below)

Online MSHA Part 46 training like the course above is a great way to jump-start your MSHA compliance training.
MSHA Safety Training Requirements at a Surface Mine

The Mining Safety and Health Administration, also known as MSHA, requires that miners who work at surface mines receive specific safety

training to reduce the risk of injury, illness, or fatality on the job.

At some surface mines, the safety training requirements are known as MSHA Part 46.

In particular, Part 46 applies to “miners engaged in shell dredging, or employed at sand, gravel, surface stone, surface clay, colloidal phosphate,

or surface limestone mines.” (46.1)

The Part 46 safety training regulations require mine operators provide the following safety training programs:

 New Miner Training Program

 Newly Hired Experienced Miner

 New Task Training Program

  Annual Refresher Training Program

 Site-Specific Hazard Training Program

The other surface mines not covered by MSHA Part 46, plus underground mines, are covered by MSHA Part 48. Click to read more about the

Part 46 or Part 48 issue.

To learn more, read our complete introduction to MSHA Part 46. You might also want to download our free guide to online MSHA Part 46

Training Compliance.

Conclusion: So That’s What Surface Mining Is!

So if you began this article by asking yourself “what is surface mining,” we hope you’ve got it now.

You may find these other articles helpful as well:

 MSHA Part 46 Training Certification Process

 MSHA New Miner Training Requirements

 Online Training Options for MSHA Part 46 New Task Training

 The MSHA Instructor Training Sessions

 MSHA Part 46 for Non-Mining Employees

 The MSHA Part 46 Competent Person

 MSHA Part 46 Training for Contractors

 What Is MSHA Part 46?

Our MSHA Safety Training won the ISHN Best Safety Training Award–did you know that? We’re proud of it and you’ll see why. Let us know if

you’d like to get more information about our online MSHA training course options, including:

 Online MSHA Part 46 New Miner and Annual Refresher Training

 Additional Online MSHA Part 46 Training Courses (New Tasks, Etc)

 Additional Online “General” Safety Training Courses

 The Convergence MSHA LMS for managing MSHA Part 46 Training, Recordkeeping, & Documentation

 Surface mining is a form of mining in which the soil and the rock covering the mineral deposits are removed. It is the other way of underground mining, in
which the overlying rock is left behind, and the required mineral deposits are removed through shafts or tunnels.

 Surface mining is basically employed when deposits of commercially viable minerals or rock are found closer to the surface; that is, where overstrain (surface
material covering the valuable deposit) is relatively very less or the material of interest is structurally unsuitable for heavy handling or tunneling (as would
usually be the case for sand, cinder, and gravel).

 Where ever minerals occur deep below the earths crest or the overburden is too thick or the mineral occurs as strands in hard rock, Underground mining
methods are employed to extract the valuable mineral deposits.

 Surface mines are naturally extended until either the valuable deposit is exhausted, or the cost of de-cresting larger volumes of overburden makes further
mining an uneconomic option to shoulder.
 In most types of surface mining, heavy paraphernalia's such as earthmovers are utilized. They 1st remove the overburden the soil and rock above the deposit.
Then followed by the huge machines, such as dragline excavators,extract the mineral.

 It is a known fact that Mother Earth contributes largely to the wealth of the world. The mining takes place in those areas where the growth of vegetation is very
minimal or at times does not exist due to the surface conditions. The most important method used to extract the minerals from the earth is surface mining. It is
surprising to notice that 70 percent of the minerals extracted from the earth are through this process. The basic material used for construction purposes like
crushed rocks, sand and gravel is obtained through this method.

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

 After the discovery of certain kinds of mineral deposits in a particular area a method has to be evaluated to extract these minerals. The selection is based on
technical and environmental aspects and surface mining is preferred to extract the minerals from the surface area. As compared to underground mining this
method of mining removes soil and rock overlying the mineral deposit. The equipment used for this process is always heavy such as earth movers, dragline
excavators or bucket wheel excavators.

 Types of surface mining

 Strip mining:

 This process involves the method of extracting the mineral by removing soil and rock which are deposited on the surface.Coal and Lignite are the two principle
minerals that are extracted through this method. This kind of mining can be done when the mineral to be extracted almost near to the surface.This process is
divided into area stripping and contour stripping. This method of striping is common on flat land to extract the mineral over a large area.

 Open-pit mining:

 This type of mining involves the extraction of rock or minerals from the earth by forming an open pit. This process differs from the other method which requires
digging into the earth. This method of mining is carried out where useful minerals or rocks are found near the surface. When the surface material covering the
valuable material is relatively thin this kind of mining is more suitable.

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 Open cast mines are dug on benches which are usually four to sixty meter intervals and the machinery used depends on the size of the area. The flat part of the
wall is known as the bench where as the inclined portion of the sections are known as batter. To prevent the damage from rock falls the walls of the pit has to
be dug on less than vertical angle. A crude, temporary road is usually found at the side of the pit for the movement of trucks carrying ore or waste rocks. The
waste rocks are always piled up on the borders of the open pit. This waste dump is arranged in rows and stepped to lower the degradation.

 The next step is rehabilitation. This is the process by which the land is returned to the original state after the process of mining is done. Various processes are
involved to bring it to the original state. Another way is an adaptive use of mines by which the mines are reused and they develop the closed open pit mines into
parks. The reclaimed mine sites are used for small economic activities which may also include dumping of sludge waste etc.

 Mountaintop removal:

 Another method involved in this category aims at mining the summit or the long and narrow edge of the mountain. The main mineral extracted by this method
is coal. Coal is mined by removing the land above the seams. This method of coal mining is mainly conducted on the Appalachia Mountain in the United States.

 The coal cannot be mined using simple machines. Explosives are used to mine the coal and the excess coals are dumped in the nearby valley. This method is
less expensive and requires only a few employees. There is controversy as to whether the coal mining is safe as it is being removed from the mountain top. But
the coal industry asserts that it is safer than the underground mining. The environmental studies warn that this process can damage the environment and also
the health of human beings. Another positive impact of Mountain mining is that the reclaimed area is suitable for many purposes and the flat terrain can support
rapid development for human population. However, the blasting of mountain top releases large amount of dust and tiny materials into the air leading to the
pollution that could be a health hazard.

 Dredging:

 This is a method by which underwater minerals are extracted. It is usually used to make waterways for boats and navigation canals for the passage of container
ships to save time. The mineral can be extracted from under water in cheap and efficient way. Oil refining is done mainly by this method.

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 High wall Mining:

 High wall mining is another form of surface mining .In this method the Hydraulic Push - beam Transfer Mechanism is used to cut across the earth's surface and
extract the coal. In this process the machine penetrates deep into the earth's surface to produce large volume of coal. High wall miners have penetrated to the
depth of around a thousand feet into the coal seam and capable of going further with the support of advanced techniques. High wall mining accompanied by
water pumping and proper mapping can produce large quantities of coal, however the cost of production is also higher compared to other forms of mining.The
environmental impact of surface mining is quite extensive that could damage vegetation and water resources leading to controversial projects being stalled. The
projects have caused numerous environmental issues leading to large scale destruction of forests endangering wildlife and flora and fauna. These methods of
mining contribute 70 percent to the economy of the country. As the materials cannot be grown or created in the lab these techniques are adopted. Though the
impact of this process is a threat to the environment and to human life, modern methods have been adopted to safeguard the life and natural beauty. In spite
of the modern improvements, this process of excavation still remains as a dangerous occupation throughout the world. Last but not the least it is not to be
forgotten that minerals are useful and important for a nation to develop economically.

 Environmental Issues

 The environmental impacts of mining operations are generally well understood. Current research focuses on the most effective methods of reclaiming
and restoring lands that have been disturbed. Extracting minerals either from or below the surface of the Earth requires the movement of a lot of soil.
Large areas of land, as well as the surrounding ecosystem, are affected; if the overburden is not properly cared for, it can cause further damage to the
environment—including the filling in of wetlands or disturbing other watershed areas.

 A persistent problem is acid mine drainage, particularly from abandoned mines. When disturbed by excavation, pyrite or iron sulfide in the ground
weathers and reacts with oxygen and water to produce high levels of iron and sulfate in runoff water. Modern mining operations use lime and other
chemicals to treat acidic drainage, but the long-term effectiveness of this method is not yet known.

 Although reclamation is required by law, some disturbances are permanent. The processing of minerals creates a waste stream that must be carefully
controlled to avoid leakages into surrounding ecosystems. In some areas, old mines abandoned before the beginning of strict regulation of mining
operations pose a problem; often, the companies that operated these mines are no longer in existence so it is difficult to assign liability for the cost of
clean-up.