[Old School]

Can anyone tell me the difference in a Contour Strip Mine and a regular strip mine?

MTR (Mountain Top Removal) is when you remove the top of the hill down to the coal seam, which is generally not more that 250' form the top of the mountain.

Contour Mining is done when coal seams are lower on the mountain, a company will mine the coal from the outcrop back into the hillside appox. 120' to 150' leaving close to a 80' highwall (these widths and heights will vary depending on the coal thickness and the steepness of the hillside.

Some mines combine both of these methods, it really depends on the coal seams they are trying to mine.