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Contour Strip-mine (MZN_11)
DGIF baseline 2026-1, the latest. Earlier baselines: timemap.
RDF: mzn_11.ttl
- Name
contourStripMine- Attribute
- MZN Extraction Mine Type
- Definition
- The surface material is removed in a strip along the side of a hill to expose the mineral.
- Description
- They are used where a mineral seam outcrops in rolling or hilly terrain. The method consists of removing the overburden above the mineral seam and then, starting at the outcrop and proceeding along the hillside, creating a bench around the hill. In the past, the blasted overburden spoil was simply shoved down the hill; currently, soil is either carried down the mountain to fill a chosen valley in horizontal layers or is replaced on the working bench itself in places where the mineral has been removed. If the break-even stripping ratio remains favourable, further cuts into the hillside will be made. Otherwise, if there are sufficient reserves under the knob of the hill, the mineral may be recovered by underground mining or by augering.
- Accepted
- 2013-10-18
- Allowed for
- RWOI terms naming it
Source: DGIF 2026-1 QEA model, DGIWG. Standard: DGIWG 206-3. Licence: CC BY 4.0, © DGIWG.