Abstract: An improved system and method for relocating a selected layer of overburden, such as a layer of unconsolidated soil, in a strip mining operation are provided. The system employs an excavator, an intermediate belt wagon with at least two slewable conveyors, and a cross-pit conveyor having a long cantilevered conveyor pivotably supported on a mobile base; with all of said equipment being preferably based on the highwall side of the pit. According to the method, the area to be stripped is divided first into a series of large rectangles aligned parallel to the pit, with each rectangle being further divided into a series of narrow strips also parallel to the pit. The area is then progressively stripped beginning with the nearest strip of a first rectangle and proceeding with the next adjacent strip until the first rectangle is completed and then proceeding in like manner with each successive rectangle.