What is Surface mining?
{{No sources}} [[File:Coal mine Wyoming.jpg|thumb|Surface mining in [[United States]]]] '''Surface [[mining]]''' is a method which operates on the surface of the land. Machines remove the [[overburden]] to get at material, such as [[coal]], below it. Surface mining includes [[strip mining]], open-pit mining (UK: open cast mining) and mountaintop removal mining. It is [[mining]] in which soil and rock overlying the [[mineral]] deposit are removed. It is the opposite of [[underground mining]], in which the overlying rock is left in place, and the mineral removed through shafts or tunnels. Surface mining gained popularity throughout the 20th century, and became the main way of [[coal mining]] in places such as [[Appalachian Mountains|Appalachia]] and America's [[Midwest]]. In most forms of surface mining, heavy equipment, such as [[engineering vehicle|earthmover]]s, first remove the overburden. Next, huge machines, such as [[dragline excavator]]s or [[Bucket-wheel excavator]]s, extract the mineral. [[Category:Mining]]