ABSTRACT
Surface mining of coal and other minerals has been practiced for more than 150 years in the U.S. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were 14 surface coal mines near the small east Texas towns of Hoyt and Alba (Chapman, 1983). Surface mining was the common technique wherever the coal or other minerals were close to the surface. Soil disturbance and degradation due to mining bring about drastic changes in the original soil profile, and its properties and processes. Despite being an economical technique, however, surface mining leads to severe environmental concerns, especially with regard to acid mine drainage, severe erosion and sedimentation, and water pollution and contamination. Surface mining involves removal of the overburden from large continuous areas. Overburden is that part of the lithosphere that has to be moved before the mineral of interest is accessible. Surface mining, therefore, generates a voluminous amount of “spoil.” It is a term given to any earth material, excluding the material being mined, that is left unmanaged. Minesoil is a mixture of soil and spoil or overburden that is being managed or reclaimed. Thus, reclaimed minesoils are manmade or anthropic soils.
