Quarry

A quarry was an open pit dug into the surface of a planet for the purpose of mining substances perceived to be valuable. They were distinct from underground mine shafts — such as those which existed on the planet Peladon, or those exploited on the planet Ta by Milo Clancey and Dom Issigri. 

The Interplanetary Mining Corporation conducted such open-pit practices on the planet Uxarieus in the 25th century, where they searched for duralinium. Likewise, Humans on Earth in the 20th century frequently used quarries, such as the English one where Sarah Jane Smith discovered the hand of Eldrad. (DW: The Hand of Fear)

Behind the scenes
Quarries have frequently been used throughout Doctor Who's filming history to suggest alien landscapes. So ubiquitous were they in the 1963 version of the show, in particular, that it became a point of parody.