Bucket-Wheel Excavator At Lignite Mine

Otzenrath, Germany

This bucket-wheel excavator is exposing a flat-lying seam of lignite (brown coal) by stripping the overlying layers of earth and rock, or “overburden,” which will be relocated by conveyor belt to an exhausted part of the mine. Different machines will excavate the coal. The streets of the town which once stood here are still shown on Google Maps.