Read the paragraph describing surface and subsurface mining….
Read the paragraph describing surface and subsurface mining. Identify pros/benefits and cons/costs to each mining process. Choose All of the answer choices below that would be considered cons/risks of surface mining. Deposits that are located on land and on or near the surface can be extracted using a surface mine. Surface mines are giant holes in the ground. Explosives are used to break apart the rock, while giant trucks are used to haul it out of the mine. Some surface mining involves removing layers of rock or sediment above to expose the deposit. In some areas, so much rock is removed that the process is referred to as mountaintop removal. Many of the leftover pieces of rock and ore are discarded into giant piles and are susceptible to erosion and weathering. Subsurface mines are much more expensive to operate than surface mines and thus are reserved for more valuable deposits. Subsurface mining, in general has less potential for negative impacts to the environment, but there is often danger to the miners and a possibility of land subsidence.
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