By the late 1960s, coal mining was becoming increasingly automated, and strip mining was likewise becoming more common. These developments hit Appalachia's coal country with a double whammy: jobs were reduced, while environmental impacts were increased.

The shovel portrayed here, called the GEM of Egypt, was built by Bucyrus-Erie and put into service in 1967. "GEM" is an acronym meaning "Giant Earth Mover," or "Giant Excavating Machine." "Egypt" refers to the Egypt Valley, in Belmont County Ohio, west of Wheeling, West Virginia, where the shovel worked.

The length of the boom was 170 feet. The overall height of the machine was 178 feet.