overmine

verb

over·​mine ˌō-vər-ˈmīn 

overmined; overmining

transitive + intransitive

: to mine (an area or resource) excessively and often to depletion

overmining a mineral

an overmined region

overmined quarries

Still not satisfied, in the mid-1970s Consolidated Diamond Mines began to overmine in order to extract as much as possible as a hedge against the uncertainties of independence.

—Denis Herbstein and John A. Evenson

Word History

First Known Use

1897, in the meaning defined above