鉱業

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 鉱業 (こうぎょう) combines mineral 鉱 and industry 業 to denote the mining industry.
• Basic usage: It covers the economic activity behind mining towns and the machinery used to extract minerals.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• An industry rather than one mine
  • 鉱業 names the field of mining as a whole, not a particular mine site or a single machine.