open-cut

American  

[oh-puhn-kuht] / ˈoʊ pənˌkʌt /

adjective

Mining.

1. noting or pertaining to a type of surface mining in which coal and other flat-lying mineral deposits are removed by the excavation of long, narrow trenches.

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open cut British  

noun

1. civil engineering an excavation made in the open rather than in a tunnel See cut-and-cover

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Etymology

Origin of open-cut

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

Minister Plibersek's department agreed, finding sediment and run off from the open-cut mine was likely to damage the Reef and local water resources.

From BBC • Feb. 8, 2023

He also helped last year to persuade a judge to recommend against a new open-cut coal project in Queensland state.

From Washington Post • Jan. 31, 2023

Ore mined by an open-cut method was first shipped in 1925, and in the late 1930s mine owner Universal Insulation Co. merged with Zonolite co. and the mine adopted the Zonolite name.

From Washington Times • Dec. 1, 2019

He opened 96% of the Tarkine, including its rainforest, to mineral exploration and gave the go-ahead for the first open-cut mine in the Tarkine's “protected area”.

From The Guardian • Jun. 11, 2013

A 15-ton Bay City locomotive crane was also used along part of the open-cut work on 32d Street.

From Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Vol. LXVIII, Sept. 1910 The New York Tunnel Extension of the Pennsylvania Railroad. The Cross-Town Tunnels. Paper No. 1158 by Brace, James H.