Most commonly the term is used for the piles of waste earth materials removed during an excavation process.
* In surface mining (commonly called strip mining) for coal or other underground deposits, earth materials removed to expose the targeted deposit are piled up alongside the excavation site (commonly a strip mining pit) in spoil banks.
* A dredge in placer mining is used to dig up volumes of gravel and other earth materials, which are sent through sluices to remove gold or other minerals, and the remaining earth materials ("tailings") are deposited behind the dredge in spoil banks.
* In hydraulic mining, high-pressure jets of water dislodge earth materials, which are put through sluices to sort out gold or other minerals, and the residual earth materials are left in spoil banks.
* The excavation of ditches and canals results in spoil banks being left along the side of the canal or ditch.
Spoil banks can also refer to refuse heaps formed from removal of excess surface materials.  For example, alongside livestock lots, spoil banks are formed of manure and other slurry periodically removed from the surface of the livestock lot areas.