Scrapers are removing subsoil. A drill rig bores blast holes in preparation for blasting the overburden. All blasting must be done between sunrise and sunset and a blasting schedule must be published in the local newspaper. The dragline digs and casts overburden onto the previously mined area. The trucks carrying coal out of the mine are weighed and cleaned prior to entering the public highway.
Bulldozers carry out rough grading of the overburden.
This grading follows the general shape and slope of the topography that existed before mining. A crawler sacrified the area prior to the replacement of topsoil to reduce compaction of regraded spoil. On sloping sites, this operation would be parallel to the contour. Lime and fertilizer are spread on the reclaimed land. Cultivation and seeding is being completed.