Overburden refers to which of the following in diamond mining?

• A. The ore body found at the surface.
• B. Rock or soil that covers a diamond-bearing orebody.
• C. A drilling technique used to access underground pipe.
• D. A type of premium parcel of stones.

Answer: (B)

Overburden is the rock and soil that sits on top of a diamond-bearing orebody. In open-pit diamond mining, miners must remove this layer to reach the valuable deposit beneath. It’s material without diamond content itself, simply covering the ore. That’s why the correct description is the rock or soil that covers the orebody. The other options describe things that aren’t overburden: the ore body itself located at the surface isn’t correct, drilling methods aren’t called overburden, and a premium parcel of stones isn’t related to this term.