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What does stripping ratio mean in open-pit mining?
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mining
Typical development workings of an underground mine.
In open-pit mining, the stripping ratio is defined as the amount of waste rock that must be removed to uncover or extract a specific quantity of ore or coal.12
As a pit deepens, the volume of waste material requiring removal increases. The stripping ratio serves as a critical economic indicator: when the cost of stripping this waste exceeds the revenue generated by the recovered ore, mining operations typically cease. Operators also utilize the break-even stripping ratio—a calculation based on ore value and production costs—to determine the economic viability of a project or to decide when to transition from surface mining to underground methods.12