firedamp
A flammable gas (mostly methane) found in coal mines; forms an explosive mixture with air.
Mining and extraction
350 entries in this trade.
firesetting
The use of fire to soften or crack the working face of a lode, to facilitate excavation; later superseded by the use of explosives.
flat
A horizontal vein or ore deposit auxiliary to a main vein; also, any horizontal portion of a vein not elsewhere horizontal.
flint mill
An obsolete appliance for lighting a miner at his work, in which flints on a revolving wheel were made to produce a shower of sparks, which gave light without igniting the firedamp.
floor
A horizontal, flat ore body; the rock underlying a stratified or nearly horizontal deposit.
flotation
A process of separating minerals by agitating a mixture with water and detergents etc; selected substances being carried to the surface in air bubbles.
flush
To fill underground spaces, especially in coal mines, with material carried by water, which, after drainage, constitutes a compact mass.
foal
A young boy who assisted the headsman by pushing or pulling the tub.
foothole
A hole into which the foot can be wedged to aid in climbing; a foothold.
fork
The bottom of a sump into which the water of a mine drains.
fret
The worn sides of riverbanks, where ores or stones containing them accumulate after being washed down from higher ground, which thus indicate to miners the locality of veins of ore.
Frue vanner
A kind of conveyor belt on which ore is concentrated by a current of water; a kind of buddle.
funnel box
An apparatus for collecting finely crushed ore from water.
fuze
Synonym of detonator, an auxiliary device used to ignite an explosive substance or device.
gadder
A drilling or perforating machine or apparatus for mining and mineral exploration.
galamander
A customized horse- or ox-drawn stoneboat or wagon once used for hauling stone from quarries, with smaller front wheels and larger rear ones, and a derrick to lift blocks of stone on and off the vehicle.
gang-rider
A worker riding upon, and in charge of, a train of underground wagons in a mine.
gangue
The earthy waste substances occurring in metallic ore.
garland
A metal gutter placed round a mineshaft on the inside, to catch water running down inside the shaft and run it into a drainpipe.
gatewayman
A kind of road repair worker in coal mines.
geoengineering
The subfield of engineering concerned with designing and constructing tunnels, mines, and other human-designed geologic structures within and on earth.
Geordie lamp
A miners' lamp or safety lamp used in coal mines to prevent explosions.
get to grass
To leave a mine and get to the surface, particularly to escape an underground disaster.
getter
A miner who dug coal, contrasted with the putter, who took it to the surface.
glut
A piece of wood used to fill up behind cribbing or tubbing.
goaf
That part of a mine from which the mineral has been partially or wholly removed.
gob
Waste material in old mine workings, goaf.
gobline
The outer extent of the gob (waste material) in an old mine.
gouge
Soft material lying between the wall of a vein and the solid vein of ore.
grizzly
A grating used to sieve stones by size, so as to keep stones out of the sluices (in hydraulic mining) or to control stone size in the feed to the ore crusher.
ground bailiff
A superintendent of mines.
grubstake
Money, materials, tools, food etc. provided to a prospector in return for a share in future profits.
gumming
The manual removal of clay, or "gum", from cut coal.
gunnies
A vacant space left in the ground after a lode has been mined.
half-marrow
Either of a pair of young boys employed as putters, pushing wagons in the mine, and dividing their earnings.
hanging side
the overhanging side of an inclined or hading vein
hanging wall
the upper wall of inclined vein, or that which hangs over the miner's head when working in the vein.
hardrock
Rock containing ore from which minerals are extracted.
hatch
An opening into, or in search of, a mine.
haul road
A road designed for heavy or bulk transfer of materials by haul trucks.
haul truck
An off-road, heavy-duty dump truck specifically engineered for use in high-production mining and exceptionally demanding construction environments.
haulback
A method of surface mining where overburden (the material on top of the coal or ore) is transported from an area and then hauled back after removal of ore or coal.
haulier
A miner who hauls coal from the coalface to the bottom of the shaft.
headframe
the structure supporting machinery above the entrance to an underground mineshaft.
heading
A gallery, drift, or adit in a mine, particularly one driving through a solid body of coal or ore; also, the end of a drift or gallery; the vein above a drift.
heapstead
The elevated framework of wood or iron at bank, to the top of which the pit is continued above the surface, to provide the necessary height to pass the coals over the skreens into the wagons.
helper-up
A boy employed to assist the barrowman out of a dip place.
highwall
The unexcavated face of exposed overburden and coal in a surface mine.
hitch
A hole cut into the wall of a mine on which timbers are rested.
hod boy
A boy employed to convey coal to wagons in the working place.
hogger pump
The uppermost pump in the pit of a mine.
hoistman
A person who operates the hoisting machinery.
hoistroom
A space at the top of a mineshaft that holds the elevator to lift humans and equipment using a pulley and cable.
horse
A mass of earthy matter, or rock of the same character as the wall rock, occurring in the course of a vein, as of coal or ore; hence, to take horse (said of a vein) is to divide into branches for a distance.
hush
A part of a mine or quarry where ore is to be, or has been, excavated by an artificial flow of water.
hushing
The use of a heavy discharge of water to uncover a mineral vein or wash ore.
hutch
A jig or trough for ore dressing or washing ore.
inset
An opening partway down a shaft, giving access to the intermediate levels.
iron ore
A mineral deposit from which iron can be viably extracted.
jig
An apparatus or machine for jigging ore.