d. In strip mining the following solids are extracted:
Coal
Marl
Oil shale
Ore
Limestone
(1) In oil shale strip mining the shale lies close to the surface in a thin bed. The
overburden is stripped away, the shale extracted, and the overburden replaced in parallel mounds
over the exhausted area (Figure 2-18).
Figure 2-18. Oil Shale Strip Mining.
(2) In limestone strip mining, limestone is stripped in a fanlike pattern. The mine in
Figure 2-19 has been abandoned and is overgrown with vegetation and partly filled with water.
Current mining operations are some distance away. Rail lines transport the material to the barge
-loading area.
Figure 2-19. Limestone Strip Mining.
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