mine
mine Excavation from which minerals (mainly coal and metal ores) are extracted. Underground mines are of two main types: shaft mines and drift mines. Shafts are sunk vertically in the Earth's crust until they reach the depth of the seams to be exploited, which are then reached by tunnels or galleries. Drift mines are generally shallower, the seams being reached by a drift, or gradually sloping shaft, which leads on to a gallery system. In open-cast mining, the seams are near or on the surface and are exposed by giant dragline machines that dig away the topsoil; this is also called strip mining.
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