What Is Surface Mining?

Ever wonder to yourself: what is surface mining?

If so, maybe that’s because you’re a surface miner, will be a surface miner soon, or will soon work at a surface mine as a contractor. And if so, this is the article for you. We’re going to explain what surface mining is, highlight the different types of surface mining, and give you some information about the MSHA Part 46 training requirements for surface mines.

What Is Surface Mining? The Definition

What is surface mining? Surface mining is a method of extracting minerals and raw materials by removing the soil and rock above deposits. Unlike underground mining, this method allows companies to access coal seams, heavy metals, and other resources by working directly at the Earth’s surface.

As stated by GreatMining.com:

Our friends at AZO Mining provide some additional context:

There are five main types of surface mining, which are used in different ways depending on the resource. These mining categories are strip mining, open-pit mining, mountaintop removal, dredging, and high wall mining. All methods of surface mining remove the waste material, or overburden, above the desired resource.

Surface mining is often preferred to underground mining for several reasons. It is less expensive, there are fewer complications in terms of electricity and water, and it is generally safer for workers.

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

Types of Surface Mining

Surface mining isn’t a single method but a category that includes several different techniques for extracting minerals and raw materials from the earth. The approach chosen depends on the type of resource, the location of the deposit, and the surrounding landscape. Below are the five main types of surface mining, each with its own process, equipment, and applications.

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 process begins with an open-pit mine, then drills or bores into the walls to extract additional 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.

Examples of Surface Mining

Surface mining is widely used across the globe to extract large amounts of raw materials. Some real-world examples include:

• Coal seams mined in the Appalachian region through mountaintop removal.
• Copper extracted from open-pit mines in Chile and the American Southwest.
• Sand, gravel, and crushed stone taken from quarries throughout the U.S.
• Phosphate dredging operations from riverbeds and shallow waters.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Surface Mining

Advantages:

• More cost-effective than underground mining.
• Generally safer for workers than tunneling underground.
• Allows the extraction of large amounts of minerals and raw materials quickly.

Disadvantages:

• Significant alteration of landscapes and ecosystems.
• Waste piles and settling ponds can create long-term environmental impacts.
• Potential contamination of water sources with heavy metals.

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 MSHA LMS for managing MSHA Part 46 Training, Recordkeeping, & Documentation

Surface Mining Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is surface mining?

Surface mining is a method of extracting minerals and raw materials by removing soil and rock above deposits.

What are the main types of surface mining?

The five main types are open-pit mining, strip mining, dredging, high wall mining, and mountaintop removal.

How is surface mining different from underground mining?

Surface mining removes material above the deposit, while underground mining uses shafts and tunnels to reach minerals beneath the surface.

What equipment is commonly used in surface mining?

Common equipment includes haul trucks, dozers, draglines, loaders, shovels, and conveyor systems.