1. relating to or denoting a method of mining in which coal or ore is extracted from a shallow pit rather than from underground shafts
Usage: British

Examples

• The opencast mine produced thousands of tons of coal each year.
• Environmental groups protested the new opencast mining operation.
• Opencast mining is less expensive than underground extraction.
• The company restored the opencast site after mining was completed.
• Workers at the opencast facility use heavy machinery to remove overburden.
• The opencast method allows for the extraction of large quantities of material.