A dragline is a massive piece of heavy equipment used in surface mining to remove overburden, usually for coal mining. The dragline consists of a large bucket that is hanging from a boom with wire ropes. The bucket is maneuvered by numerous ropes and is powered by a large diesel or electric motors. Draglines are almost always electrically powered, and may have bucket capacities in the 100-150 yd³ range.

A mining shovel is a specialized piece of heavy excavating equipment normally used to scoop overburden, ore, coal, or sand in surface. Shovels are either powered by diesel fuel or electricity. Shovels bucket capacities may be in the 25-50 yd³ range.

Some of the main differences between the dragline and the shovel, other than their relative capacities, are:

• shovels usually move on tracks, but draglines often use special walking feet to move because of their extreme weight. Draglines cannot move very far very fast.
• they have different digging motions. The mining shovel generally has a heavy boom supporting its bucket and cuts ground outward from itself. The dragline has flexibility because it is rope controlled and it cuts the ground toward itself.
• a dragline is also set on top of a worksite working downward, whereas a shovel can work upward from the point at which it is positioned.