Miners Terms

Hanging   When Miners are talking about taking care of the hanging it is the ceiling of a drift.

Drift This is the actual area cut out as a miner drills, blasts and advances an area.

Scaling   This is where a miner actually goes in with a bar, similar to a pry bar. What we use is an aluminum tube in lengths from 6' to12', 
               with a scaling bar tip on the end that is able to get under loose ground to make it a safe area.

Loose ground   Any rock that is loose, can be in the side walls or hanging. Again, it needs to be taken care of so that accidents don't happen.

Mucking   This is usually done with a loader that was made just for underground work. It is the removal of the blasted rock. It is also what you 
                 have to do if you get stuck with a loader man that is either unable to get close to the face or chooses not to and the shovel comes in to play.

Face   As you enter a drift, when you come to the end where the last shot was fired is the face. It is where the driller will be setting up to drill another shot.

Banjo   A miners term for a short handled shovel. Most of the mining work in the earlier days were done with a banjo and a wheelbarrow.

Raise This can be a pay increase, but to a miner it is a hole that connects one level of the mine to another. Used to move muck or for ventilation.

Trammer   Is a small scale train, we use diesel but some places still use electric and battery.

Trucking   The removal of blasted rock from one level to another using trucks.

Pinning   If an area is still somewhat unsafe to work in due to slips in the ground, we place 6' and 8' pins in to it to help hold and stabilize it.

Grizzly   This can be a type of bear, but to the miner it is metal bars across a raise, The miners job is to break the chunks of rock small 
              enough to fit through the bars. At our mine we no longer do this type of work.

Round or Shot   This is what needs to be drilled and fired. The area is what it is referring to.

Longhole   This type of mining is done to extract ore from one level to another. You are attempting to cut a slot. The depth varies from 
                   30' to 200' in our mine. It is also used in open pits to bench ground.

Benching   Best way to describe this is like steps. There can be a number of miners working on the different steps.

Scraper   it is a winch type machine, by using a shim-block on the farther side of where the muck lays, the scraper man pulls the muck 
               his way with a blade hooked to a cable.

Jackleg This is a air cylinder leg that hooks to hand held drills, used for pining, benching and drilling sub-rounds.

Crows foot   this is the claw shape base of the jackleg to allow for a solid base to push the drill forward

I will add more as I get time.