Opencast mining can now be conducted with little or no long-term detriment to the environment and often to its benefit. Deep mining poses greater problems to which different solutions have been found in Great Britain and in Germany, the former by using earthmoving equipment to re-grade spoil tips prior to reclamation for agriculture, forestry, public amenity and other uses, the latter by immediate tree-planting on tips shaped to minimize the amount of visible spoil.
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