What is open pit mining?

Strip mining can be done to extract coal from the ground.

As the name suggests, strip mining is a type of mining operation that involves digging a pit in the open as a way of gaining access to the desired material. This is a type of surface mining that involves the extraction of minerals and other materials that are conveniently located in close proximity to the surface of the mining site. It is different from other types of mining processes that may require underground tunnels to be excavated a great distance from the surface to reach the material. One of the advantages of the open pit mining system is that it does not require as much capital and labor as the underground method of extracting minerals or precious metals and stones.

The open pit mining process is precipitated by analyzing the area to determine the presence of the desired material, which can be coal or ore. If it is determined that the desired materials are present in the area, the next step would be to calculate the extraction rate of the extraction process, that is, even if the desired ore, coal or other material may be present, profitability must be verified. of the extraction. . . This can be done by calculating how much of the chosen ore clogging surface material needs to be moved to reach the desired material. In general, the less effort required to extract whatever material is found on the sites, the more the miner will have to earn in terms of profit as a result of the fact that investments in materials and labor will be reduced.

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Generally, the open pit mining system is based on simplicity due to the fact that it only requires moving whatever material is covering the deposit. This process can be simplified if the top material is made of an easily maneuverable material such as coarse sand, as opposed to rocks which may require more specialized equipment to break up and remove from the site. After a while, the profitability of these mines will decline as materials closer to the surface have been mined.

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