Open-pit mining

rdf:langString Open-pit mining

rdf:langString An artificial wetland.

rdf:langString An open-pit sulfur mine at Tarnobrzeg, Poland, undergoing land rehabilitation

rdf:langString Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique of extracting rock or minerals from the earth from an open-air pit, sometimes known as a borrow. This form of mining differs from extractive methods that require tunnelling into the earth, such as long wall mining. Open-pit mines are used when deposits of commercially useful ore or rocks are found near the surface. It is applied to ore or rocks found at the surface because the overburden is relatively thin or the material of interest is structurally unsuitable for tunnelling (as would be the case for cinder, sand, and gravel). In contrast, minerals that have been found underground but are difficult to retrieve due to hard rock, can be reached using a form of underground mining. To create an open-pit mine, the miners must determine the information of the ore that is underground. This is done through drilling of probe holes in the ground, then plotting each hole location on a map. The information gained through the holes with provide an idea of the vertical extent of the ore's body. This vertical information is then used to pit tentative locations of the benches that will occur in the mine. It is important to consider the grade and economic value of the ore in the potential pit. Open-pit mines that produce building materials and dimension stone are commonly referred to as "quarries." Open-pit mines are typically enlarged until either the mineral resource is exhausted, or an increasing ratio of overburden to ore makes further mining uneconomic. When this occurs, the exhausted mines are sometimes converted to landfills for disposal of solid wastes. However, some form of water control is usually required to keep the mine pit from becoming a lake, if the mine is situated in a climate of considerable precipitation or if any layers of the pit forming the mine border productive aquifers. In Germany and adjacent countries several former open pit mines have been deliberately converted into artificial lakes forming areas such as the Lusatian Lake District, the Central German Lake District or the . A particular concern in the formation of these lakes is acid mine drainage. Open-pit mining is to be considered one of the most dangerous sectors in the industrial world. It causes significant effects to miners' health, as well as damage to the ecological land. Open-pit mining causes changes to vegetation, soil, and bedrock, which ultimately contributes to changes in surface hydrology, groundwater levels, and flow paths. Additionally, open-pit produces harmful pollutants depending on the type of mineral being mined, and the type of mining process being used.