露天开采是矿产资源开采的重要方式，国家与地方对露天矿开采提出了更高的要求。因此，将露天采矿作为一门科学开展系统性研究，揭示采矿过程和发生现象的规律，并做出科学的解释显得尤为迫切。首先从露天开采基础理论、关键成套装备研制与爆破工程技术3个方面梳理了近40 a来我国固体矿产资源露天开采领域取得的重大技术成果。而后采用现代科学计量学和信息计量学技术对近40 a来7 128篇文献进行了多元动态分析，以聚类分析法对主要研究主题在包括时间维度上的发展演化过程进行了多维度定量刻画。发现研究主题的演变是技术发展、开采现状、政策环境等多因素耦合影响的结果。以现有重大科技成果以及客观的文献计量结果为基础，指出了未来露天采矿科学的目标为形成系统全面的露天矿安全绿色高效智能开采技术体系，并给出了实现路径，即形成露天采矿工艺系统及重大装备热点研究主题，强化现有热点研究与露天采矿工艺系统及重大装备之间深度交叉融合，并给出了行业内外的各主题优势资源进行联合重大科技攻关，实现多主题间实质性协同创新的有益建议。最后从能源和生态视角的矿区规划理论、智能采矿设计原理、智能集群调度理论、煤炭开采易自燃特厚煤层安全高效开采技术、高大边坡稳定性控制技术、复杂工况带式输送机高效运输技术、智能化露天矿山系统工程7个方面展望了未来露天采矿科学的重大基础理论技术的发展方向；从高效率移动式破碎设备、模块式半固定破碎设备、连续开采工艺系统装备、大倾角运输装备、大型排土机5个方面展望了未来露天开采装备的发展方向。

Surface mining is an important way of mining mineral resources. The state and local governments have put forward higher requirements for surface mining in China. Therefore, it is particularly urgent to take surface mining as a science to carry out systematic research, reveal the laws of mining process and phenomenon occurred, and make scientific explanations. First of all, the major technical achievements in the field of surface mining of solid mineral resources in China in the past 40 years were summarized from three aspects: the basic theory of surface mining, the development of key complete sets of equipment and blasting engineering technology. Then, the modern scientific metrology and information metrology technologies were used to conduct a multivariate dynamic analysis of 7128 papers and reports in the past 40 years, and a multi-dimensional quantitative description of the development and evolution process of the main research topics, including the time dimension, was carried out by the cluster analysis. It is found that the evolution of research topics is the result of the coupling effect of many factors, such as technological development, mining status, policy environment, etc. Based on the sorting of the existing major scientific and technological achievements and the objective literature measurement results, it is pointed out that the goal of the future surface mining science is to form a systematic and comprehensive safe, green, efficient and intelligent surface mining technology system, and the realization path is given, that is, to form a hot research topic of surface mining technology system and major equipment, and to strengthen the deep cross integration between the existing hot research and surface mining technology system and major equipment. It also provides some useful suggestions on how to jointly tackle major scientific and technological problems with the advantageous resources of various themes inside and outside the industry to achieve a substantial collaborative innovation among multiple themes. Finally, from the perspective of energy and ecology, the paper looks forward to the development direction of major basic theories and technologies of the future surface mining science from seven aspects: mining area planning theory, intelligent mining design principle, intelligent cluster scheduling theory, safe and efficient mining technology of coal mining in spontaneous combustion prone extra thick coal seams, high slope stability control technology, efficient belt conveyor transportation technology under complex working conditions, and intelligent surface mine system engineering. The development direction of the future surface mining equipment is prospected from five aspects: high efficiency mobile crushing equipment, modular semi-fixed crushing equipment, continuous mining process system equipment, large inclination transportation equipment and large dump machine. It is expected that the study can be used as a reference for scientists and engineers in the surface mining field.