opencast mining

/ ˈəʊpənˌkɑːst /

noun

1. mining by excavating from the surface Also calledesp USstrip miningAustral. and NZopen-cut mining

Word History and Origins

Origin of opencast mining¹

C18: from open + archaic cast ditch or cutting

Example Sentences

It's hard to visualise, but imagine opencast mining taking place at the bottom of the ocean, where huge remote-controlled machines would excavate rocks from the seabed and pump them up to the surface.

From BBC

At former US mining group National Coal, the crisis it faced was repeated protests in the early 2000s by environmentalists who objected to its opencast mining in east Tennessee.

From BBC

"I think it should go ahead, opencast mining has been here for a lot of years and it has never hurt anyone. It's a really beneficial thing for us… it needs to go ahead."

From BBC

Protesters want a moratorium -a suspension - on Welsh opencast mining.

From BBC

But opencast mining, now the source of much of the world’s coal, rips away topsoil and gobbles water.

From Economist