2015 EDITION
Glossary of Terms Used in the Historic British Mine Working Industry Keith Nicholls
Glossary of Terms Used In The Historic British Mine Working Industry
INTRODUCTION Much of my career has been involved with various aspects of mining, and in particular the legacy issues arising from former mining activity. Such legacy issues include unstable ground associated with the presence of shafts and other mine entries, and the risk of collapse of the underground openings themselves. Associated problems can include physical issues such as landslides, and the reactivation of old apparently stable geological faults, as well as contamination arising from associated infrastructure (burning of fuel for generation of steam power) and the mineral processing activities, including of course the tipping of spoil materials, that led to one of the UK’s greatest loss of life associated with industrial accidents at Aberfan, South Wales in 1966. The demise of the UK’s home mining industry in the 20th Century has been accompanied by an associated loss of knowledge of the industry; and an increasing proportion of those involved in the engineering of our environment have little, if any, direct knowledge of the mining industry. As development proceeds apace, and marginal sites around our urban fringes are found to be increasingly attractive to developers, a sound understanding of the nature of the past activities which affect the ground, both at surface and beneath, is essential to minimise risks, and indeed to minimise the risk of unnecessary costs in developing sites affected by past mining. It is hoped that this glossary will go some small way to securing some of the terminology at least. This is the third edition of the dictionary, the first two editions having been published by my former employer Geotechnics Limited, and their role in allowing me time to gather much of the material in those early editions is gratefully acknowledged. However, this edition is considerably extended, as a result of my ongoing research. The task is seemingly never ending, and I hope that further editions will be forthcoming in future years, as a consequence of more of the miner’s vocabulary coming to light.
Keith Nicholls
BSc MSc FIM 3MICE MIQ CEng Llangrannog, August 2014 Keith Nicholls 2015 | 1
Glossary of Terms Used In The Historic British Mine Working Industry
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am indebted to the following people who have shared my interest in old mine sites, and mining technology. Many have contributed (albeit perhaps unknowingly in some cases) to the contents of this book. Ewan Thomas and Arwel Jones (Ex Golder Associates); Stephen Henley; P Newman; Jonathan Wilkins, Peter Appleton and Jan Heiland, and other members, of the North Wales Geology Association; John Knowles, Colin Dodd, John Booth and Leonard Threadgold (all Geotechnics Ltd); Stuart McRae and Katie Foster (ex Geotechnics Ltd); Norman Woods (ex Geotechnical Engineering Office, Hong Kong), Stephen J Cox (Wardell Armstrong); R J Piggott (former Deputy Gaveller of the Forest of Dean); Denis McNicholl (ex Wardell Armstrong); Doug Nichol (ex Wrexham County Borough Council); Stephen Brown of the Grosvenor Caving Club; Phil Taylor (Opus International Consultants); Andrew Brown and Rick Lowe (both ex- Opus International); Mike Winter (TRL).
Front Cover Image: Surface buildings and abandoned tub at Penarth Slate Mine, near Corwen, Denbighshire Rear Cover Image: Aberfan, South Wales, 1967 2 | Keith Nicholls 2015
Glossary of Terms Used In The Historic British Mine Working Industry
To Karen, who loves daffodils, with thanks - for her seemingly boundless patience and support Extract from “How green was my valley”; by Richard Llewellyn: The first thing I saw was the slag heap. Big it had grown, and long, and black, without life or sign, lying along the bottom of the Valley on both sides of the river. The green grass, and the reeds and the flowers, all had gone, crushed beneath it. And every minute the burden grew, as cage after cage screeched along the cables from the pit, bumped to stop at the tipping gear, and emptied dusty loads on to a ridged, black, dirty back. On our side of the Valley the heap reached to the front garden walls of the bottom row of houses, and children from them were playing up and down the black slopes, screaming and shouting, laughing in fun. On the other side of the river the chimney-pots of the first row of houses could only just be seen above the sharp curving back of the far heap, and all the time I was watching, the cable screeched, and the cages tipped. From the Britannia pit came a call on the hooter as the cages came up, as though to remind the Valley to be ready for more filth as the work went on and on, year in and year out. “Is the pit allowed to do this to us Mr. Gruffydd?” I asked him. “Do what, my son?” Mr. Gruffydd asked. “Put slag here,” I said “Nowhere else to put it, my son,” he said. “Look up by there at the top of the mountain, by the Glas Fryn*. There are the daffodils, see.” And indeed, there they were, with their green leaves a darker sharpness in thegrass about them, and the yellow blooms belling in the wind, up by the Glas Fryn and all along the Valley, as far as I could turn my head to see. Gold may be found again, and men may know its madness again, but no one shall know how I felt to see the goldness of daffodils growing up there that morning. Keith Nicholls 2015 | 3
Glossary of Terms Used In The Historic British Mine Working Industry
The Glas Fryn was the nearest place to our house where they grew. It was later that I pulled bulbs to grow in our garden, but the garden was so small and the earth so blind with dust that they gave up trying and died. But that morning Mr. Gruffydd put me down among them all, close to them, where I could take them in my hands to breathe the cool breath of them and give thanks to God. Below us, the river ran sweet as ever, happy in the sun, but as soon as it met the darkness between the sloping walls of slag it seemed to take fright and go spiritless, smooth black, without movement. And on the other side it came forth grey, and began to hurry again, as though anxious to get away. But its banks were stained, and the reeds and grasses that dressed it were hanging, and black, and sickly, ashamed of their dirtiness, ready to die of shame, they seemed, and or sorrow for their dear friend, the river. *Glas Fryn, or Glasfryn, is a common Welsh place name. Its literal translation is “Blue ridge” but, for reasons no one has yet fully explained to me, it is usually associated with verdant grassy, i.e. green, hillsides.
“Rhaid cael Cymry I dorri’r garreg Nid yw’r graig yn deall Saesneg” “You need the Welsh to split the stone The rock does not understand English” Attributed to David Jones, in Welsh Songs, 1767-1870, No 69, British Museum 4 | Keith Nicholls 2015
Glossary of Terms Used In The Historic British Mine Working Industry
PREFACE TO THE 2015 EDITION I have continued to update this glossary with pickings from standard, and not so standard, texts, industrial archaeology sources and historical accounts. Whilst much of the low hanging fruit has been cropped in previous editions, I have drawn heavily in this case on one particular work “Glossary of Derbyshire Lead Mining Terms� by J.H. Rieuwerts. This is by far the most thorough collection of terms I have come across, and I draw extensively on the information therein. Where the definition has come from that source I have added the suffix (JHR). This much extended edition is also published as a web based document (OIC web page) at: www.opusinternational.co.uk/news-andpublications/mining and is timed to coincide with the XVI ECSMGE 2015 Conference Proceedings in Edinburgh.
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FOREWORD Opus is delighted to be associated with the publication of the latest edition of this glossary. Keith joined Opus in 2013. After originally qualifying as a geologist; he diversified into engineering geology and geotechnical engineering. He is a Chartered Engineer registered with the UK Engineering Council, and has particular technical skill sets relating to slope instability, and legacy issues associated with past mining activity. In his time away from the office, Keith is an Executive Committee Member of GeoconservationUK, a Peer Reviewer for the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, and the Newsletter Editor of the North Wales Geology Association. His “outside” interests in geology and mining heritage dovetail nicely with Opus’ commercial interests in engineering and development. The terminology for the non-specialist is, if you excuse the pun, a bit of a minefield in itself, and this latest edition has been considerably extended, reflecting Keith’s ongoing commitment and passion in this field. I hope to see the document expanded further in the years ahead, and anyone with comments, corrections or advice on additional material for Keith to include should feel free to contact him.
Huw Edwards
Managing Director UK, Opus International Consultants (UK) Ltd
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A A-cro
Scottish term for work carried out up dip, or towards the outcrop (or “ ’crop”)
Addlings
Earnings (North-East England)
A-dip
Scottish term for work carried out down dip, or away from the outcrop
Adit
Horizontally (or near so) driven tunnel connecting workings to ground surface (often associated with provision of drainage)
Adventurer
Share holder in proposed mining operation (or “venture”), sometimes abbreviated to “ ‘ venturer”
Aerophone
Primitive type of rescue breathing apparatus
Afterdamp
Noxious gases left after underground explosion
Air gate
Synonymous with Wind gate (JHR)
Air-leg
Hand operated percussive drill powered by compressed air
Air lock
Set of underground double doors - important in mine ventilation planning
Amercement
Fine levied for non-attendance by the Great Barmote Court (JHR)
American Cutter or American Saw
Early form of undercutting saw imported from America (c.f. “Widowmaker”)
ANFO
Explosive manufactured from a mixture of ammonium nitrate and diesel (fuel oil)
Anthracite
Coal of high rank (carbon content). Frequently harder than normal coal types. Well developed in the west of the South Wales coalfield (associated with “outburst” problems)
Arching
Installation of full support for a permanent roadway using (typically) bricks or masonry
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Arles
Payment made on engagement, tying a collier, and his children, to a particular pit (Scotland)
Assay
Technical process by which ores are assessed quantitatively with respect to mineral content
A-stretch
Scottish term for work undertaken along the strike of a dipping coal seam
Attle
Cornish term for waste rock of little value
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B Back
Local Somerset term for the roof of a stope
Back-combing
Scottish term for working back towards pit bottom from the outlying districts of a mine at the end of the working life of a seam - associated with the act of “pillar robbing”. Synonymous with “Broken working”
Bacon Stone
Descriptive term for polished Matlock stalagmites (JHR)
Bad rock men
Team of quarry workers employed to deal with stone unsuitable for slate production. Employed on a piecework basis (North Wales)
Bait
North east England term for food taken underground (elsewhere “snap”)
Balance-Bob
Counterbalance on a steam engine
Balk (i)
Timber beam placed to help support the roof
Balk
Synonymous with “wash-out” - see also baulk, below
Bal-kappen
Cornish term for a mine captain (supervisor)
Bal-maiden
Cornish term for woman mine worker (usually employed in ore dressing operations)
Banjo shovel
Cornish term for a short handled shovel
Banksman
Individual responsible for operations at the top of the shaft
Barmaster
The Crown’s agent in old mining law
Barmoot or Barmote Court
Court relating to mining disputes and crown taxation matters (Peak District)
Barracks
Dormitory style accommodation for transient workforce
Barrel washer
Large rotating drum used to wash colliery discard material to recover coal from tip sites
Barrier
Section of unworked coal left to protect a shaft, a mineral ownership boundary or to protect workings from older (often flooded) workings Keith Nicholls 2015 | 9
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Bass
Black carbonaceous shale
Bassett
Peak District / Nottinghamshire term for the outcrop of a seam
Bastard
Impure rock type, e.g. “Bastard Shale�
Bat
Staffordshire term for a shaly parting in a coal seam
Baulk
Co. Durham term for an interruption in a coal seam
Beehive
Masonry blockwork domed shaft cap (Peak District especially)
Bellies
Derbyshire term for particularly rich localised ore body
Belland Ground
Term used in the Peak District to describe ground contaminated with mineral residues (frequently lead). Associated with birth defects in livestock
Bell Pit
Primitive form of mining involving sinking of a shaft to a shallow seam, and mining outwards to the point of collapse
Bench
Working face taken out in layers (i.e. benches)
Bevin Boys
Conscripted workforce during the Second World War often conscientious objectors, or those unfit for active service
Bibbles or Bible clay
Laminated clay / silt (JHR)
Bicking
Weathering of shale in the sides of a shaft (JHR)
Bind
Mudstone
Bing (i)
Scottish term - used loosely in the sense of any tip, but normally specifically related to conical tip of burnt oil shale waste
Bing (ii)
Derbyshire term for pieces of pure galena (JHR)
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Black band
Ironstone ore (principally iron carbonate) bodies generally associated with Lower Coal Measures strata. Frequently associated with early mining operations pre-dating coal extraction - smelted using charcoal
Blackdamp
Asphyxiant mixture of mine gases -predominantly carbon dioxide and nitrogen. Synonymous with “choke damp”
Black jack
Miner’s term for zinc sulphide (sphaeralite) ore
Black powder
Earliest form of explosive widely used in mining operations (gun powder in other applications)
Blaes (i)
Strictly the term should be used (and was historically) to describe refer to burnt (not unburnt) colliery spoil. It seems in recent years to have dropped into common usage to describe any kind of mined shale whether unburnt or burnt, including Spent Oil Shale which is the by-product of the historic production of Naptha and Paraffin in the Midland Valley of Scotland. Spent Oil Shale is red (not blue) and is sometime referred to as Red Blaes and sometimes simply Blaes, incorrectly on both counts (definitive statement courtesy of Mike Winter)
Blaes (ii)
Scottish term for a blue shale or mudstone
Blast
Compressed air
Blow
Alternative term for compressed air - borrowed from foundry vernacular
Blow or blowing house
Smelting building, often associated with tin smelting operations (Cornwall)
Blow George
Mechanical ventilation fan (JHR)
Blower
Issue of gas from a seam
Blue John
Particular blue and purple mineralised form of fluorspar, found in Castleton, Derbyshire
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Bucking
Crushing ore down from gravel size to (typically) sand size for recovery of ore after hand picking
Buddle
Mineral processing equipment consisting of a circular sloping floor with brushes, used to concentrate the crushed ore
Buller
Synonymous with “Sylvester”
Bunkin
South Wales term for a shaly seat earth
Bump
Small scale seismic event in the vicinity of mine workings
Bunton
Timber waling beam placed across a shaft to secure pipework against the shaft wall
Burn cut
Initial detonation in a round of firing. Intended to create a free face and allow rock to move and break
Burrow
Cornish term for a waste tip
Button Hole Launder
Connecting channel between base of China clay pit and pump shaft
Butty System
Primitive form of contracting involving a small group of miners (or often a partnership) contracting to work a particular part of the workings, with responsibility for all operating costs, plant, haulage etc. Often associated with poor mining practice, and badly planned works intended to maximise early profit at the expense of latter working
Byon
Lead smelters’ disease (JHR)
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Bird’s eye marble
Limestone containing the distinctive fossils known to geologists as “crinoids”
Bole
Primitive form of artisanal lead smelt
Bond
Annual (typically) contract between collier and pit owner
Boot
Ridge in ground at front of a tip formed by failure of the tip foundation
Bord
Worked area of coal working in “bord and pillar” style of working (broadly synonymous with stall) although bords are generally driven at right angles to the cleat of the coal (as opposed to “walls”)
Bouse
“Run of mine” lead ore (Peak District)
Brattice (i)
Frame of a ventilation door (Lancashire)
Brattice (ii)
Wire or rope support from which ventilation curtains are hung (North Wales)
Brassey
Term used in association with the occurrence of iron pyrites (i.e. Fool’s Gold) in Coal Measures
Brasil
Peak District term for iron pyrites (JHR)
Breasting
Form of primitive longwall working developed in Lancashire
Broken Work
Systematic form of “pillar robbing” involving mining out of the pillars from previously worked areas in a manner akin to longwall mining
Brow
Haulage Tunnel (Lancashire)
Brown Ore
Inferior lead ore (rich in iron) (JHR)
Browse / Brouse
Peak district term for fine wood filaments / brush used to span between main timbers to support small stone pieces (JHR)
Bucker
Flat headed hammer used for bucking
Bucket Lift
Form of pump used in the sump Keith Nicholls 2015 | 13
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C Caban
Welsh word for cabin, or booth; but specifically taken as a meeting place for the quarrymen. Associated with the development of unionism in the quarrying industry
Caisson
Method of shaft sinking involving a structure sunk from ground surface by continually excavating beneath the bottom of the structure
Caivil
Form of lottery used in Co. Durham to fix a collier’s place of work
Calciner
Furnace used to remove sulphides of arsenic from processed tin ore
California stamps
Heavy duty style of crushing impact hammer (technology brought in from American mining practice)
Calamine
Informal miner’s term for minerals including smithsonite (zinc carbonate)
Callamy
Synonymous with calamine (JHR)
Calcspar
Miner’s term for calcite
Cannel
Sapropelic fine grained coal derived from rotting algal matter rather than vegetable matter
Cauldron bottom
Wedge of roof rock liable to fall if unsupported
Caulk or Calk
Barytes ore (barium sulphate)
Caunter lode
Cornish term for a mineral vein orientated at an oblique angle to the normal style of vein in a region
Cap
Concrete, steel or other cover placed as permanent protection over an abandoned shaft
Capel
Term used in the south of England to describe barren quartz veins
Cat dirt
Peak district term for weathered (rotten) basalt strata
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Cave
Action of roof or face collapsing (“the roof’s about to cave”)
Cawk
Barytes (barium sulphate) to the Peak District miner
Chain
Unit of measure (length) equates to 22 yards. Commonly encountered on oldmine plans as a scale of 2 chains to an inch (approximately 1:800)
Check
Miner’s numbered token. Kept with him when underground to ensure surface workers are aware of who is still underground. Synonymous with “tally”
Clift
South Wales term, equivalent to the Scottish “blaes,” for a blue shale or mudstone
Chock
Roof support built upwards to the roof from blocks of timber laid on the floor
Chokedamp
See “blackdamp”
Clack
A mechanical one way valve used in pumping equipment
Cleat
Jointing / fracture pattern displayed by coal. Usually orientated at right angles to the bedding and therefore near vertical
Clod
Synonymous with seat earth
Cobbing
Crushing down ore pieces to about 3 inches diameter (75mm) in preparation for hand picking (Cornish)
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Cockermeg
Style of spragging using two props strutted separately off the roof and floor
A tight undercut using the “Cockermeg� sprag support
Coe
Peak district term for a small mine building or store room
Coffin
Surface trench with vertical side walls
Coke
Product of partial burning / baking of coal in the absence of oxygen. Used as fuel in iron and steel making
Collar (i)
The opening of a shaft at the surface
Collar (ii)
Roof timber laid to support the roof between two upright props
Common Coal
Lancashire term for coal requiring processing to produce material of saleable quality
Corf
Early standard measure of coal by volume, related to the standard basket, or corve, as below
Cornish Engine
Steam powered beam engine
Corve
Skip or basket used to raise materials in the shaft
Costeaning
Cornish term for the driving of exploration drifts
Country rock
Barren host rock in which mineralised veins or ore occur
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Course
Layer of brick work lining in a shaft
Crab winch
Double handled windlass
Cranch or craunch
Part of an ore body left unworked by previous mining operations
Crank
North Wales equivalent of the Dudley “kibble”
Creep
Heave of floor in a coal stall, resulting in partial closure of the void
Creel
Wicker basket used for carrying / winding coal (borrowed from fishery usage)
Crib
Foundation footing of a shaft
‘crop
Miner’s shortened version of the geologist’s “outcrop”
Cross-course
Mineral vein orientated at right angles to the predominant orientation in a district
Cross cut
Horizontal access driveway driven through barren strata
Crown tree
Timber beam placed immediately beneath the roof
Crut
Staffordshire term for a drift or level access roadway or cross cut
Cundie
Scottish term for the space between two stone pack pillar supports (a gate road elsewhere)
Curling box
Curling box Scoop for handling broken coal (South Wales)
Cut-through
Synonymous with cross cut
Cyclothem
Distinctive cyclical sequence of rocks associated with coal with marine rocks (shales or limestone) being overlain by shallow marine / fluvial sandstones, and terrestrial seat earth, and then coal.
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D Dam
Roadway stopping capable of sealing workings from flooded areas
Damp
Collective name for the various types of mine gas such as afterdamp, blackdamp etc
Dan
Staffordshire name for a coal tub, or tram
Davy
Abbreviated term for the Davy Safety Lantern (named after Sir Humphrey Davy)
Dead
Descriptive Yorkshire term indicating a vein with little prospect of being worked (c.f. “quick” and “kindly”)
Deads
Worked out / abandoned pillar and stall workings
Deals
Timber struts used in shaft construction
Delf / Delph
Lancashire vernacular for a coal seam (e.g. “Flaggy Delf”)
Dibhole
Sump hole at the bottom of a shaft
Dolly tub
Barrel with internal paddle for agitating water during ore processing
Dook
Scottish term for an incline
Double hand
Act of two miners working together whilst driving a drill steel
Downbrow
Lancashire equivalent of Scots “a-dip” - working coal in the direction of the dip of the seam
Downcast
One of a pair of shafts used for ventilation (c.f. “upcast”. The downcast shaft draws air into the workings
Downer
Blast hole drilled into the floor of a stope
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Dragsman
Man employed in hauling tubs below ground
Dragsman at work - location unknown, thought to be early 20th century
Dram
Skip for hauling coal from the face
Drammer
Young boy used to haul coal from face to roadway (equivalent of the Co. Durham “foal”)
Drawing stows
Hand turned windlass
Dressing
Ore preparation
Dressing Floor
Location where initial stages of ore preparation are carried out
Drift
Synonymous with “level”
Drive
Development heading
Dry (i)
Miner’s changing room
Dry (ii)
Room used for drying China clay
Duff
Finest fraction of processed coal
Dulland
Derbyshire term for the barytes bearing part of a mineralised vein
Dunstone
Peak District miner’s term for dolomitised limestone Keith Nicholls 2015 | 19
Glossary of Terms Used In The Historic British Mine Working Industry
E Egg
Protruding block of rock on a stope wall on which a stemple is sat
Elvan
Cornish term for dykes of potash rich quartz porphory
Engine House
Headworks building housing the main (often steam) boiler used to power the winding engine
Eye (i)
Scottish term for an adit entrance
Eye (ii)
Synonymous with pit bottom
Eye (iii)
Recess dug from stope wall to aid setting of a stemple
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F Face shovel
Mechanised piece of plant used to lift in an “up and over” manner
Fails
Boards laid across stemples on which waste material was laid (JHR)
Fairy butter
Hydrocarbon / oil floating on water (JHR)
Fakes
Scottish term for laminated sandy shales or mudstones
Farewell Rock
Characteristic sandstone horizon occurring near the base of the Coal Measures in South Wales, below which there are few further viable coal seams
Fathom
Unit of measure (length), usually applied in terms of depth. 1 fathom = 6 feet = 1.83m
Feathering
Method of splitting rock by using wooden wedges, swollen by soaking in water
Fertile Lead
Lead ore with accessory silver (JHR)
Fettle
To repair or make good something broken
Fines
Fine grained product of mineral processing operations
Finger Tip
Distinctive ridged tips formed by end tipping from trams
Fireclay
Clayey seat earth, often found suitable for use in refractory brick manufacture
Firedamp
Explosive mixture of mine gases including methane
Fire ribs
Barriers of intact coal associated with the particular form of pillar and stall working known as Staffordshire Square Work
Fire setting
Method of breaking rock by setting a fire against the face, followed by quenching with water. Often associated with “feathering”
Fir-tree fashion
Method of raising a tailings lagoon by repeatedly building a dam of coarse discard material around the perimeter
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Glossary of Terms Used In The Historic British Mine Working Industry
Flag stone
Regularly bedded fine grained sandstone with beds typically 1cm to 3cm apart - used for floor slabs and pavements
Flash
Lake formed at surface by subsidence following mining (particularly associated with Cheshire Basin brine mining)
Flats
Descriptive term to describe near horizontal ore bodies, often associated with structural traps in horizontally bedded strata
Flatrod
Beam used for transmitting horizontal movement from an engine
Flier
An off shoot from a vein
Flume
Inclined timber (usually) construction for conveying water
Flotation
Method of processing ore by separation based on specific gravity
Foal
Co Durham term for a young boy used to haul coal
Collier and his foal
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Fool’s Gold
Iron pyrites
Footrid (i)
Shropshire term for an adit
Footrid (ii)
Staffordshire term for a small open-cast working
Footwall
Compare with hanging wall - the underhanging wall of an open stope
Forefield
The working face of a stope (JHR)
Foresteds, forestop or forepoles
Thin temporary supports driven in to weak ground in advance of the setting of permanent support (forested, and forestop after JHR), forepole is a current term used in tunnelling industry)
Fotmel
Ancient measure of lead ore by weight (JHR)
Foudenhead / Fouldenhead
Small pick used in the Peak District Lead mining industry (JHR)
Foulness
Unbreathable air
Founder shaft
First point sunk in a new vein (JHR)
Free miner
Forest of Dean miner, granted familial licence to mine by birthright
Furgeon
Protective coats worn in wet places (see manner of dress of the men repairing the garland under “G” on the following age) (JHR)
Furnace
Fire at the base of the upcast shaft
Furnace man
Man with responsibility for tending the ventilation surface
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Glossary of Terms Used In The Historic British Mine Working Industry
G Gangue (i)
Residue / waste material left after flotation method of ore processing
Gangue (ii)
General term for non-saleable or low value minerals associated with the mineral being won (frequently calcite and / or quartz
Gallery
Underground access passageway
Garland
Seal / gasket or drain installed at the base of shaft lining to minimise or prevent water infiltration
Repairing a garland in the shaft
Gannister
Arenaceous (sandy) seat earth
Gateway / Gate road
A semi-permanent roadway built between two packed walls in a longwall panel
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Gelly
Abbreviated form of gelignite (explosive)
Gilding
Fraudulent practice of placing rich ore in barren seams (JHR) (derived from the same root as “Gilding the lily”)
Gin
Usually horse driven winching apparatus used to lift materials in the shaft
Ginging
Peak District term for masonry shaft linings
Glancing
Synonymous with gilding (JHR)
Glass spar
Peak district term for calcite (JHR)
Goaf
Area of worked out mineral where roof is allowed to collapse
Gob
Waste material separated underground and frequently packed into the goaf
Gossan
Weathered, often iron rich, strata at or near the surface where a mineral vein outcrops
Grade
Quality of the ore measured as a proportion of the weight of refined product to total weight
Greaver
Weardale name for a lead miner
Grip (i)
Drainage channel cut (usually) into one side of the floor of an access roadway. Sometimes covered with a timber boardwalk
Grip (ii)
Peak district term for a narrowing of the vein (JHR)
Grizzly
Framework of steel members used to sort oversize pieces of coal / ore prior to breakage
Grove / Groove
Ancient term for a mine (JHR)
Guess
Penrhyn quarry man’s slang for the act of bargain setting
Gullet
Water bearing fissure (Co. Durham)
Gunnis
Cornish equivalent of the goaf
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Glossary of Terms Used In The Historic British Mine Working Industry
H Hade
Dip direction of a fault or mineral vein
Hading wall
Peak District term for the footwall (JHR)
Hanging Wall
The wall of an out of vertical stope that overhangs the opening (as opposed to the footwall)
Hard Ground
Competent stratum requiring more than the normal amount of work to dig
Haul Road
Roadway with the primary purpose of hauling won ore from workings
Hazle
Northumberland lead workers term for a sandstone
Headframe
Timber or masonry construction allowing connection between engine house and shaft (see image below)
26 | Keith Nicholls 2015
Glossary of Terms Used In The Historic British Mine Working Industry
Headgear
Construction erected at the top of a shaft, including winding gear etc.
Heading
Local directed roadway
Heave
Miner’s term indicating the amount of horizontal movement on a fault (i.e. one vector of the geologist’s “throw”
Hewer
Collier employed at the coal face (pickman in Peak District Lead mining (JHR)
Hewing
Act of cutting coal by hand at the face
High wall
The rear wall of an open cast excavation
Hinget
Cumbrian term for the hanging wall
Hitch
Miner’s term for a fault
Holing coal
Inferior band of coal removed by hand with a pick
Hoo cannel
Lancashire term for a cannel coal with high clay content (sometimes laminated)
Hooker - on
Foreman in charge of pit bottom operations (synonymous with “on-setter”)
Hoppet
Large bucket used to raise / lower material in the shaft
Hotching tub or hotch
Hand operated form of jigger
Hush
Shropshire term for mining by “scouring”
Keith Nicholls 2015 | 27
Glossary of Terms Used In The Historic British Mine Working Industry
I Idle-peg
A piece of wood placed in the drawing stows to prevent it from turning (synonymous with jig-pin) (JHR)
In-bye
Directional indicator - towards the working face, or away from pit bottom
Incline
Sloping access tunnel
Iron balls
Ironstone nodules
28 | Keith Nicholls 2015
Glossary of Terms Used In The Historic British Mine Working Industry
J Jack - roll
Synonymous with windlass
Jagging
Peak district term for the transport of lead ore, or refined lead product (JHR)
Jelly
See “Gelly”
Jenkin
Roadway driven between two bords prior to broken ground working back from the end of the workings
Jig (i)
Contraption involving pulley wheel, used to haul tubs in an incline
Jig (ii) or jigger (i)
Oscillating sieve-like device used to concentrate crushed ore
Jigger (ii)
Man who operates the “jig”(i)
Jig-pin
See “Idle-peg”
Jowling
Act of judging the quality of rock by hitting with a hammer and listening for the pitch of the impact
Jumbo
Percussive drill rig mounted on a hydraulic boom
Keith Nicholls 2015 | 29
Glossary of Terms Used In The Historic British Mine Working Industry
K Keeker
Foreman responsible for inspecting coal quality at surface (County Durham)
Kenner
Shift end (County Durham)
Kibble (i)
Iron lifting bucket
Being lowered in the kibble
Kibble (ii)
Small fraction of coal after screening (Dudley Coalfield)
Killas
Cornish name for the (typically) green metamorphic country rock in which the principal ore veins are encountered
Kindly
Peak District term for a promising ore vein
Kirving
The act of undercutting a coal seam by the hewer
30 | Keith Nicholls 2015
Glossary of Terms Used In The Historic British Mine Working Industry
Kist
Deputies’ underground work station
The kist
‘ Knockers
Abbreviation of “Tommy Knockers”
Knocking
The act of closing an electrical circuit to signal (usually with a bell or buzzer)
Knockstone / Knockplate
A flat slab of stone or metal which was used as an anvil during “bucking” (JHR) A knockplate or knockstone
Keith Nicholls 2015 | 31
Glossary of Terms Used In The Historic British Mine Working Industry
L Lagging
Timber lining support between (typically) steel arches
Constructing an arched driveway, note the timber lagging and crown tree beams
Lander
Foreman at shaft top responsible for winding gear operations
Lask
Difference between the actual length of a winding rope and the required length (JHR)
Launder
Elevated constructed channel for carrying water for use in processing operations
Leaching
Method of extracting metal by chemical means involving passing fluids through stockpiled ore material and recovering metal from the effluent
Leading
Thin vein or string of ore which miners would follow in the expectation that the vein would become workable (JHR)
Leap
Miner’s term analogous with the geologist’s “throw” of a fault
Leat
Man made surface water course
Level
Horizontal drive or passageway. Sometimes refers primarily to the entrance of a drift mine
Leys
Lancashire vernacular for shale
32 | Keith Nicholls 2015
Glossary of Terms Used In The Historic British Mine Working Industry
Lid
Small piece of timber used to make up the gap between a timber prop and the roof
Installation of props and lids
Lift
Portion of a pillar removed as part of broken working or pillar robbing mining
Ligget
Cumbrian equivalent of “footwall”, as opposed to the “hinget”
Lillycock
Shift end (English Midlands)
Lin, or Linsey
Lancashire term for interbedded (striped) shales and siltstones
Lining
Permanent shaft construction through overburden and superficial materials. Often brick or masonry construction
Lipe
Scottish term for an irregularity in the cleat of a coal seam
Lode
The mineral bearing vein
Lofting
Method of increasing roof support in areas of poor ground by laying additional longitudinal beams beneath the crown tree timbers
Longwall
Method of removing large panels of coal by removal of all coal between two development heading. Working towards the shaft is termed longwall retreat. Working away from the shaft is termed longwall advance Keith Nicholls 2015 | 33
Glossary of Terms Used In The Historic British Mine Working Industry
M Magazine
Surface building or underground bunker used for storage of explosives
Make
Quantity of water seeping / flowing into workings
Mandrel
Collier’s pick axe (South Wales)
Man engine
Mechanised method of raising / lowering men in a shaft based on a step on / step off system with staging
Man hole
Synonymous with “refuge”
Man rider
Train carriage adapted for hauling men to face from shaft bottom
Marrow
North east England term for a close work mate as in “me and my marrow”
Mattock
Hand tool similar to a pick but with one flat bladed end and one point
Maul
Old vernacular name for a large hammer
Measures
Strata other than coal or “rock” in the Carboniferous of Great Britain
Meer
Peak District measure of length relating to a vein - generally one meer is approximately 25 to 30m measured along the strike of a vein
Metal
Used to describe strata between coal seams comprising shales / mudstones etc as opposed to “rock” (sandstone). Sometimes seen as “mettle”, particularly in Lancashire
Middlings
Part processed ore concentrate
Mill
Surface buildings where ore processing operations are undertaken
Mine
Local term for a coal seam (Lancashire) eg Arley Mine
Mine Royal
Mine where the value of gold and/or silver exceeds other base metals (JHR)
34 | Keith Nicholls 2015
Glossary of Terms Used In The Historic British Mine Working Industry
Miner’s dial
Surveyor’s compass, also known as a circumferentor
Miner’s fortnight
First two weeks of August
Mispickel
Cornish term for arseno-pyrite
Motty
Miner’s tag or mark placed on a tub below ground, allowing managers / overmen to establish money owed to miner’s working on piecework arrangements
Mucking out
Excavation of broken rock after blasting
Mundic
Cornish term for ores containing sulphides of iron, arsenic and / or copper
Mushy
Soft friable shale or mudstone (north east England)
Musselband
Mudstone or shale strata associated with fossilised shells
Keith Nicholls 2015 | 35
Glossary of Terms Used In The Historic British Mine Working Industry
N Narrow Working
Winning from a face of limited lateral extent
Newcastle Road
A haul road made up with rails laid on oak joists (JHR)
Nick
Vertical cut at the side of a ripe seam to allow it to fall
Nipt-up
Descriptive term for the closing together of the vein walls as an orebody thins (JHR)
Nog
Small steel of timber prop used to support a “ripe� coal seam after being undercut
Nuts
Pebble sized fraction of coal after sorting by size on the screens
36 | Keith Nicholls 2015
Glossary of Terms Used In The Historic British Mine Working Industry
O Ochre
Red ore, oxides of iron or manganese (also known as raddle)
Offal
Waste fine galena after dressing works (JHR)
Old man
Earlier generation of miners (“old men’s works”)
On-setter
Foreman in charge of pit bottom operations (synonymous with “hooker-on”)
The on-setter Keith Nicholls 2015 | 37
Glossary of Terms Used In The Historic British Mine Working Industry
Open
Natural cavern in limestone country
Opencast
Workings undertaken at the surface where waste material is thrown (or cast) behind the working face)
Openworks
Workings undertaken from the surface, without implication as to the method of handling (ie casting) waste
Ostler
Man in charge of ponies and stabling
Outburst
Devastating explosive gas emission and collapse of coal face Cynheidre colliery in the anthracite field of South Wales was notable for suffering in this regard
Out-bye
Directional indicator - towards pit bottom
Outcrop
Location where a coal seam (for example) reaches the bedrock surface, or “crops out”. Often shortened by miners to “ ’crop”
Overburden
Amount of country rock and superficial material that needs to be removed before mining of a target seam or ore body can be undertaken by open cast methods
Overhand
Method of stoping by removing ore from the roof
Overman
Shift supervisor
38 | Keith Nicholls 2015
Glossary of Terms Used In The Historic British Mine Working Industry
P Pack, or packwall
Stone, timber, or even brick/masonry support built in the goaf to limit or control subsidence during longwall mining
Panel (i)
A thin band of hard rock
Panel(ii)
Defined area of workings between roadways in the longwall method of coal extraction
Pare
Team of men and / or boys employed on a piecework basis
Parting
Dirt band separating two bands of coal
Pay dirt
Fully concentrated crushed ore material
Peach
Cornish equivalent of gangue
Pick
Miner’s hand tool, wooden shafted with two sharp points
Picking
Stage of ore processing where product and waste are separated by hand - often associated with women working on a conveyor system
Pig
The finished ingot of pure metal on completion of ore processing
Pillar
A column of unworked coal left to support the roof - as in “pillar and stall” working
Pinch
Localised thinning of a vein or seam
Pinch bar
Long steel bar with pointed end, and chisel end, used for scaling off loose rock
Pins
Locally occurring ironstone fragments in a mudstone host rock
Pit
Synonymous with shaft
Pit head
Area around the collar of the shaft together with associated infrastructure
Polings
Driven temporary support used in shaft sinking (equivalent of forepoles in tunnelling) Keith Nicholls 2015 | 39
Glossary of Terms Used In The Historic British Mine Working Industry
Stone lined portal to abandoned lead/zinc workings Loggerheads Country Park, Flintshire
Portal
Adit of drift entrance, usually stone or timber lined
Post (i)
The “pillar” of intact coal associated with the variation of partial extraction known as “Post and stall”
Post (ii)
North east England term for a sandstone
Potty ore
Somerset term for an ore body with vugs / voids in the rock mass
Powder house
Surface building used for storage of explosives
Precipitation
Method of extracting mineral by chemical means, generally associated with copper extraction from copper dissolved in water
Pricker
Needle like device made from copper used to push a cartridge of explosive to the base of the charge hole
Pricking dirt
Waste material removed from a seam by hand tool
Prop
Timber (occasionally steel) structural member used to provide support to the roof by spanning between floor and roof
Pudlock
Timber staging used with the bunton to fix shaft pipework in place
Puncher
South Wales term for a pneumatic pick
40 | Keith Nicholls 2015
Glossary of Terms Used In The Historic British Mine Working Industry
Q Quick
Descriptive Yorkshire term indicating on ore bearing vein (cf “kindly” and “dead”)
Quicksilver
Old miners’ term for mercury, smelted from its sulphide ore
Quill
Early black powder fuse, originally manufactured from goose feather quills
Keith Nicholls 2015 | 41
Glossary of Terms Used In The Historic British Mine Working Industry
R Raddle (i)
Ironstone - sometimes only applied to red ochre, used in dye manufacture
Raddle (ii)
Deeply iron stained strata
Raddle Balls
Ironstone nodules
Rag
Closely bedded fine grained sandstone (similar to a “flagstone”
Rag and chain
Crudest form of mechanised lifting of water from workings
Rag-frame
Used in Cornish tin processing to recover tin from slimes
Raise
Steeply inclined access passageway generally associated with metalliferous mining by stoping
Rake (i)
Inclination of a steeply dipping vein
Rake (ii)
Derbyshire term for a main vein of lead bearing ore (as opposed to a scrin)
Rank
Measure of carbon content of coal. Lower rank coals (such as lignite) have less carbon and greater volatile content than higher rank coals (such as anthracite)
Rearer
Steeply dipping coal seam
Refuge
Place of safety underground
Return
Ventilation roadway bringing air from the face to pit bottom
Rib
Right angle formed in the corner of a working face
Rider
Small seam of coal lying above a larger worked seam (hence names such as “No 1 Rhondda Rider”)
Riddle
Steel grillage used to separate crushed rock by size
42 | Keith Nicholls 2015
Glossary of Terms Used In The Historic British Mine Working Industry
Ripe
Condition of imminent collapse in an undercut coal seam
A ripe seam
Robbing
Practice of removing coal from pillars as part of broken ground working methods
Rock
Sandstone strata between coal seams
Rock bind
Competent sandy shale
Rockburst
Devastating explosive loss of the working face - generally associated with deep working of hard rocks
Roll
Miners’ term for a geological fold
Roofers
Top most portion of a coal seam, sometimes left unworked
Ropeway
Cable strung hoist and pulley system for transporting waste materials in skips cross country to the tip
Keith Nicholls 2015 | 43
Glossary of Terms Used In The Historic British Mine Working Industry
Rottenstone
General term for any weathered / degraded rock, but also occasionally with specific local usage such as “Derbyshire rottenstone�, a weathered impure limestone formerly used as an abrasive
Ropeway
Method of hauling waste from pit head to tip by cable hauled skip. Very common in South Wales in latter part of the 20th century
Rubbish
Waste / unsaleable material left below ground
Rucks
Area of coal waste tipping
Rudd
Local (Derbyshire) equivalent of raddle
Run
Failure of granular material (in a tip for example)
Run of mine
Mineral in its as-dug condition prior to processing
Rybelwyr
Term used in North Wales to describe a novice / inexperienced worker employed as an extra hand
44 | Keith Nicholls 2015
Glossary of Terms Used In The Historic British Mine Working Industry
S Scale (i)
Carbonaceous shale
Scale (ii)
Act of taking down loose roof material, usually done with a steel “pinch� bar
Scouring
Method of surface mining involving damming a suitable stream and subsequently releasing the water to strip overburden, and hand mining the exposed surface materials. Also used historically as a method of clearing tipped waste adjacent to stream courses
Screen
Riddle used ti sort coal by size
Scrin
Derbysire term for a minor ore vein (as opposed to a rake)
Seat / seating
Floor of a coal seam
Seat earth
Fossil / relict topsoil, typically clayey / mudstone, often associated with fossil root material (Stigmaria)
Seggar Clay
Synomymous with fireclay
Sett
Area defined by a mining lease
Shell band
Bed of marine or estuarine strata in Coal Measures rich in fossil shell material. Frequently used by geologists as stratigraphic marker horizons
Shiver
Specialist hoe like tool used in China clay processing
Shoad stone
Cornish term for an alluvial ore gravel
Shoding
Cornish term for tracing ore by tracking alluvial material back to its original source
Shooting
Blasting
Shotfirer
Colliery official responsible for blasting opertaions
Shothole
Small diameter hole drilled for blasting
Shotlighter
Lancashire term for shotfirer
Shearer
Mechanised cutting tool used for longwall extraction of coal Keith Nicholls 2015 | 45
Glossary of Terms Used In The Historic British Mine Working Industry
Shittums
Derbyshire term for fluorspar “gangue” material associated with barytes veins
Sinkers
Crew employed in shaft sinking operations
Sinkhole (i)
Conical surface depression arising from collapse of near surface workings
Sinkhole (ii)
Fissure or void below ground into which water drains
Skip
Wagon or tub used with crane, ropeway or incline to haul or lift ore
Slack
Waste material left after surface processing operations have removed saleable coal
Slag
Waste material from smelting operations (however colliery tips are often described, albeit inaccurately, as slag heaps)
Slimes
Fine grained saturated residue for ore processing synonymous with “tailings”
Slip
Miners’ term for a geological fault, or in South Wales sometimes used to describe jointing or cleavage
Snap
Miner’s food
Smut
Thin seam of soft and friable carbonaceous shale
Soapstone
Very fine grained shale / mudstone - smooth to the touch
Soot
Synonymous with “smut”
Soapy
Shaly
Sough
Drainage gallery (common term throughout north west England)
Spar
Colloquial miners’ term for light coloured minerals (Calc spar for calcite)
Splitter
Artisan in the quarrying industry responsible for splitting the slates from the quarried stone
46 | Keith Nicholls 2015
Glossary of Terms Used In The Historic British Mine Working Industry
Sprag
Temporary support used to prevent collapse of an undercut seam
Hewer undercutting a coal seam protected by his spragging
Squarework
Particular form of pillar and stall coal working developed to minimise risks associated with spontaneous combustion
Squeeze
Location where rock is deforming (typically by heave of the floor) due to high stresses
Stalch
Old Derbyshire term for a pillar left in place to restrict the flow of water into workings
Stall
The worked out area of coal associated with pillar and stall method of partial extraction
Stamps
Heavy percussive crusher used to break ore
Stannary
Descriptive term for the law and court applied to mining in Cornwall
Keith Nicholls 2015 | 47
Glossary of Terms Used In The Historic British Mine Working Industry
Steel
Length of tempered steel used in drilling between hammer and drill bit
Stemming
Material placed around the collar of a shot hole
Stemple
Cross braced support between the hanging wall and footwall of a stope
Two stemples spanning between footwall and hanging wall of a stope. Lead / Zinc workings in the Loggerheads Country Park, Flintshire
Sten
Cornish word for tin
Stenner
Cornish word for a tin miner
Stent
Cornish term for waste from tin processing
Stinkdamp
Noxious mine gas including hydrogen sulphide
48 | Keith Nicholls 2015
Glossary of Terms Used In The Historic British Mine Working Industry
Stope
Area of mined out void in metaliferous mines - broadly analogous with “goaf” in coal workings, but typically steeply dipping rather than flat lying
Stoping
Act of mining by taking out roof and or floor (overhand / underhand respectively) of a vein between the walls of a vein
Stopping
Wall built within workings to seal off dangerous or abandoned workings
Stow
Hand operated windlass type winch
Straightwork
Lancashire form of pillar and stall workings involving driving of “roads” and “ends” at right angles to each other (equivalent of bords and walls)
Streaming
Cornish form of primitive mining involving processing of stream sediments
Stringer
Poorly developed vein or seam close to and typically parallel with an economically viable vein. Used in a similar manner to “rider” in coal field terminology
Stull
Large timber prop and strut arrangement used to support open stopes (Cornwall)
Stythe
Durham term for mine gas
Sump
Shaft driven below the lowest level of workings to aid in mine drainage
Swallow or swallow hole
Location underground where water is seen to drain away. Often associated with “old men’s works” or due to karst weathering in limestone country
Sylvester
Ratchet hand tool used to remove hydraulic props
Keith Nicholls 2015 | 49
Glossary of Terms Used In The Historic British Mine Working Industry
T Tailings
Fine grained waste residue from mineral processing, generally associated with water based processes
Tail rope
Rope used to haul tubs “in bye” ie from shaft to workings
Take
Defined limit of potentially workable mineral
Tally
Miner’s token, collected at the pit head, and kept with him when , allowing surface staff to know who is below ground at any given time
Tamping
Act of consolidating a charge of explosive in a shot hole
Thill
Floor of a coal seam
Thurl
A connecting passage between two levels (JHR)
Tip
Location at the surface where waste is discarded
Tippit or Tippet
Old Cornish term defining a location suitable for tipping of waste (stent) from stream worked tin
Tippler
Framework used for emptying tubs by rolling the tub itself rather than using a hatch or hand tools
Toadback
Unlaminated marly sandstone
Toadstone
Derbyshire term for (typically weathered) basalt dyke rocks
Token
Informal means of coinage, able to be exchanged for goods at the company owned “Tommy-shop”
Tommy knockers
Supposed underworld spirits responsible for the knocks and bumps heard underground
Tommy shop
Company owned goods store
Tommy rot
Derogatory term for poor quality goods, following the reputation of the goods sold in the Tommy shop
Tops
Top most section of a coal seam
Trammers
Crew employed to move wagons / trams below ground
50 | Keith Nicholls 2015
Glossary of Terms Used In The Historic British Mine Working Industry
Trepan
Early form of mechanised shaft sinking boring machine
Tributer
Cornish term for a man employed on the basis of the value of the ore dug (as opposed to a tutworker)
Truck
Act of part, or whole payment to a miner in tokens rather than in cash (from French “troquer” - to barter) - hence the phrase “I want no truck with….”
Tub
Tramway cart (see front cover photograph)
Tubbing
Beams or rings placed inside a shaft to support the walls
Tutworker
Cornish term for a man employed on a piece work basis - ie paid on the amount of ground dug, rather than the value of the ore (frequently applied in development work)
Tye, or tie
Term used in Cornish artisanal stream mining, defining the water course in the works where the ore is cleaned
Keith Nicholls 2015 | 51
Glossary of Terms Used In The Historic British Mine Working Industry
U Underclay
Floor of clay or shale beneath a coal seam (see also seat earth)
Undercut
An excavation of the base of a coal seam by a miner allowing subsequent removal either by collapse, or sometimes assisted by blasting. Synonymous with “kirving”
Underhand
Method of stoping by removing ore from the floor of the workings
Underlay
Somerset term for a shaft following the dip of the lode
Upbrow
Lancashire term for the act of working coal toward the outcrop (equivalent of the Scots’ “a-cro”)
Upcast
One of a pair of shafts used for ventilation. The upcast shaft was set above the furnace, and was used to expel air from the workings
Uppers
Holes drilled in the roof of a stope prior to blasting during overhand stoping
Drilling of double handed “uppers” 52 | Keith Nicholls 2015
Glossary of Terms Used In The Historic British Mine Working Industry
V Vein
Synonymous with “lode”. A tabular, or sheet like body of ore, often associated with faults or joints in the country rock
‘venturer
see Adventurer
Vug
Small crystal filled cavity in rock (usually associated with calcite or quartz)
Keith Nicholls 2015 | 53
Glossary of Terms Used In The Historic British Mine Working Industry
W Wad
Oxidation / weathering product associated with manganese ore bodies
Wall
The galleries driven at right angles to the bords (ie parallel with the cleat) in the bord and pillar style of working
Wall rock
Rock surrounding the vein or lode
Wailor
Durham term for an individual employed in picking work
Warrant
Generalised term for unbedded clays, shales or siliceous rock characteristically found beneath a coal seam - seat earths etc
Washing
Act of processing ore using water as the separating medium
Washout
Area where coal is absent due to the down cutting of an overlying sandstone horizon
Wheal
Cornish term for a mine
Whetstone
Particular form of some sandstones found in the Coal Measures formerly used in grinding and polishing applications
Whim, or Whimsey
Winding machine, usually horse driven
Whin
Fine grained igneous rock, typically basalt or dolerite
Whitedamp or Whitdamp
Sulphurous mine gas
Wicket working
Form of pillar and stall working practiced in North Wales
Widowmaker
Early form of powered undercutting saw
Winder
Individual responsible for the operation of the winding house, cages etc
Wind gate
A level, drift or gate road used primarily for ventilation (JHR)
Winding House
Headworks building above the shaft housing the main cage used for raising and lowering men, product and equipment
54 | Keith Nicholls 2015
Glossary of Terms Used In The Historic British Mine Working Industry
Windlass
Hand operated winch
Winze
Ore pass / chute between levels (origin in South African gold mining)
Wool
Sandy shale with characteristic wave and ripple (“flaser�) bedding
Working
Process by which coal yields into the open colliery workings as a consequence of the stress imbalance created by the presence of an open face
Workings
Area below ground where mining has been completed, or is ongoing
Wrought
Past tense for the act of winning coal
Keith Nicholls 2015 | 55
Glossary of Terms Used In The Historic British Mine Working Industry
Y Yardstick
3 foot long timber stick used underground by deputies and overseers to aid in measuring up (see image below)
Deputy inspecting an undercutting operation
Yardwork
56 | Keith Nicholls 2015
Synonymous with “Narrow working�
Glossary of Terms Used In The Historic British Mine Working Industry
Z Zinc-blende
Zinc - sulphide, primary constituent of sphaerelite or “black Jack�, the most common ore of zinc
Keith Nicholls 2015 | 57
Glossary of Terms Used In The Historic British Mine Working Industry
FURTHER READING I have been collecting the information presented herein for too long to be able to present my sources as a formal bibliography. Much has been gathered by word of mouth, and most of those individuals who have contributed are listed in the acknowledgements. I have also gathered data from a number of published books and articles, and the interested reader may wish to follow these sources up: Bell, F.G. and Donnelly, L. 2006, Mining and its Impact on the Environment, Taylor and Francis, Abingdon. Dept. of the Environment, 1994, Treatment of Disused Mine Openings, MPG12, HMSO, London Entec Ltd., 2007, Treatment of Disused Lead Mine Shafts: A Guide to Good Practice, Derbyshire County Council (and others) Embrey, P.G. and Symes, R.F., 1987, Minerals of Cornwall and Devon, British Museum (Natural History), London Ford, T.D. and Rieuwerts, J.H. (Eds.), 1968, Lead Mining in the Peak District, Peak Park Planning Board, Bakewell Healy, P.R. and Head, J.M. 1984. Construction over abandoned mine workings, CIRIA Special Publication 32, PSA Civil Engineering Technical Guide 34 Lewis, B. 1971, Coal Mining in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, Longman, London Llewellyn, R., 1939, How green was my valley, Michael Joseph Ltd, London Merfyn Jones, R. 1982, The North Wales Quarrymen 1874-1922, University of Wales Press, Cardiff NCB Mining Dept., 1982, The Treatment of Disused Shafts and Adits, Peel, R., 1907, An Elementary Text-book of Coal Mining, Blackie and Son, London, Twelfth Edition. Piggott, R.J., Wardell, K. and Eynon, P., 1978, Ground movements arising from the presence of shallow abandoned mine workings, Proc. Conf, on large ground movements and stuctures, UWIST, Cardiff (Editor Geddes, J.D.) Pentech Press, London. Rieuwerts, J.H., 1998, Glossary of Derbyshire Lead Mining Terms, Peak District Mines Historical Society 58 | Keith Nicholls 2015
Glossary of Terms Used In The Historic British Mine Working Industry
Keith Nicholls 2015 | 59
Glossary of Terms Used In The Historic British Mine Working Industry
60 | Keith Nicholls 2015
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