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Arizona Pioneer & Cemetery Research Project

Internet Presentation

Version 0311122-BC

By Bruce Colbert

Miners, like most other professionals, have their own language and terminology when it comes to their unique world of work. APCRP staff is involved in researching the history of mining, occasionally find themselves scratching their heads wondering what certain words mean, or learning a certain word did not in reality mean what they thought it did. So, we compiled a short list below of commonly used and misused mining terms. Sources for explanations came from the Kentucky Coal Education website, www.coaleducation.org and Rockman’s Trading Post in Thompson Falls, Mont., www.rocksandminerals.com .

Adit – A horizontal entrance into a mine. Must enter and exit same entrance.

Car – Railway wagon carrying things in or out of a mine (most people call it a rail or ore cart which is okay.)

Drift – An underground horizontal passage that follows an ore vein (not something you do going through life.)

Face – End of Adit or Tunnel where drilling.

Headframe – A structure over the mouth of a shaft that supports a hoist and pulley (not to be confused with a bedframe.)

Hopper – Bin or funnel where stuff is poured in at the top and comes out the bottom usually into a car or wheelbarrow.

Incline – A mine entrance that is neither vertical (a shaft) nor horizontal (an adit.)

Manhole – Safety hole cut into the side of a tunnel for miners to get out of the way from passing rail cars (not something kids fall into after careless road workers go home for the day.)

Muck – Loose material after blast at face.

Mucking – Removing muck from blasted face.

Nip – A hook-up at the end of a mining machine cable to connect to a trolley wire (not something a miner takes after a long day.)

Panic bar – A switch used to immediately cut off power to a machine (not a place miners go to drink after a near mishap.)

Portal – The mouth of an adit or tunnel.

Shaft – Mainly a vertical opening that connects the ground surface to the underground operations (not something a credit card company gives you when you miss a couple of payments.)

Shaft mine – A mine where the main entrance is through a vertical shaft.

Timber – Underground wooden supports.

Trip – A train of mine cars (not something from a 60s experiment.)

Tunnel – A horizontal passage that is open at both ends. A tunnel goes completely through a hill or mountain, as opposed to an adit that has only one entrance and ends somewhere.

Winze – A secondary vertical opening inside a mine that connects with a lower level or is used for short explorations below another level.

Arizona Pioneer & Cemetery Research Project

Internet Presentation

Version 0311122-BC

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