Overburden

Overburden

Overburden is the material that lies above an area of economic or scientific interest in mining and archaeology; most commonly the rock, soil, and ecosystem that lies above a coal seam or ore body. It is also known as 'waste' or 'spoil'. Overburden is distinct from tailings, the material that remains after economically valuable components have been extracted from the generally finely milled ore. Overburden is removed during surface mining, but is typically not contaminated with toxic components and may be used to restore an exhausted mining site to a semblance of its appearance before mining began.[1] Overburden may also be used as a term to describe all soil and ancillary material above the bedrock horizon in a given area.

A related term is interburden, meaning material that lies between two areas of economic interest, such as the material separating coal seams within strata.[2][3]

By analogy, overburden is also used to describe the soil and other material that lies above a specific geologic feature, such as a buried astrobleme.

See also

Spoil tip

Notes

  1. ^ Kogel, Jessica Elzea (editor) (2006) Industrial minerals & rocks: commodities, markets, and uses (7th edition) Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration (U.S.), Littleton, Colorado, page 379, ISBN 0-87335-233-5
  2. ^ United States Bureau of Mines (1980) Selective Interburden Handling Techniques National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Virginia, OCLC 42983831
  3. ^ Peng, Syd S. (1986) Coal Mine Ground Control‎ (2nd edition), Wiley, New York, page 303, ISBN 0-471-82171-3

References

  • Bates, R.L., and Jackson, J.A., (1987) Glossary of geology American Geological Institute, Alexandria, Virginia.
  • Haering, K. C.; Daniels W. L. and Roberts J. A. (1993) "Changes in mine soil properties resulting from overburden weathering" Journal of environmental quality 22(1): pp. 194-200.
  • McFee, W.W.; Byrnes, W.R. and Stockton, J.G. (1981) "Characteristics of coal mine overburden important to plant growth" Journal of environmental quality 10(3): pp. 300-308.

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Look at other dictionaries:

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  • overburden — (v.) to put too much weight on, 1530s, from OVER (Cf. over) + BURDEN (Cf. burden) (v.). Earliest uses are figurative. Related: Overburdened; overburdening …   Etymology dictionary

  • overburden — ► VERB ▪ burden excessively …   English terms dictionary

  • overburden — [ō΄vər bʉrd′ n; ] for n. [ ō′vər bʉrd΄ n] vt. to burden oppressively; weigh down n. 1. something that overburdens 2. Geol. soil, rock, etc. that is covering or overlying a useful deposit, as of ore …   English World dictionary

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