What is most likely to happen to an abandoned strip mine over time? a. the strip mine is likely to completely recover over time. b. the strip mine is likely to remain exactly as it is left when abandoned. c. the strip is likely to partly recover, but never return to its original state. d. the strip mine is likely to become a lake.

The strip-mine is likely to partialy recover, but never fully return to it's original state. so the answer is C.

c. The strip is likely to partly recover, but never return to its original state.  

Strip mining is a surface mining process. This involves the mining of a seam of mineral by first removing the long strip of surface and sub surface layers of the rocks and the soils. It is commonly used for the excavation of minerals such as coal and lignite. This process creates a large hole which takes time to recover.  But the fact is that it is not completely recovers because of erosion, flooding and other natural events occurring at the mining site.