In Mining, Overburden Refers To

In mining, overburden refers to:

A) the hill of loose rock created when the soil and rock from a new trench is put into the already excavated trench during strip mining.
B) the mineral resources that are extracted from deep underground deposits.
C) the soil and rock overlying a useful mineral deposit.
D) the mineral resources that are extracted near Earth's surface by first removing the soil, subsoil, and overlying rock strata.