A Glossary of Mining Terms used in mid 1800's AFTERDAMP.

After an explosion the mine was filled by the products of the burning gas. These were mainly carbon monoxide (CO) which is poisonous and carbon dioxide (CO2) which is suffocating. BALANCER. BALANCE. BLOWER. The person, usually a boy, who operated the balance. A slope with a pulley at the top where empty tubs pulled full tubs up the slope. Large amounts of methane gas is trapped under pressure in the coal and will seep out. If a large reservoir is broken into then it will blow out of the coal. Fresh air was directed to the ends of the workings by constructing wooden frames down the centre of the tunnel and covering the frame with thick canvas brattice cloth that was nailed to the frame by large headed brattice nails. See downbrow and upbrow. The man at the surface who was in charge of the pit bank. He was responsible for the loading and unloading the cage and signalling to the engineman responsible for winding the cage. A crude lift that was wound up and down the shaft carrying men and materials. Some cages had more than one deck. The one in use at Wood Pit had two decks.

BRATTICE.

BROW. BANKSMAN or BROWMAN CAGE.

COAL FACE. The place where the coal is exposed and the colliers "win" it. COLLIER. COLLIERY. COUPLER. CUT THROUGH DATALLER DELF or DELPH DOOR DOOR The skilled man who worked at the coal face and actually got the coal. The site at the surface that includes all the buildings, railways and headgears. A man or boy who worked on the haulage system coupling tubs together. a short tunnel connecting two roads. A man employed to do service work in the mine and paid by the day. A Lancashire term to describe a seam of coal e.g. Ravenhead Main Delf. See ventilation door. See tenter

TENTER DOWNCAST SHAFT The main shaft of the colliery up and down which men and materials were wound. The fresh air for the ventilation of the main is drawn down this shaft. The person who is employed by the collier to take full tubs from the workplace to the haulage and bring back empty tubs. The act of removing props and allowing the roof to fall behind the coal face. A side tunnel into the shaft. Usually part of the ventilation system. A short rising tunnel from the furnace into the upcast shaft. See Ventilation. A long rope or chain that is driven by an engine round two pulleys, one at each end of an incline.

DRAWER

DRAWING PROPS DROP PIT DUMB PIT ENDLESS ROPE HAULAGE

ENGINEMAN The man in the engine house who is in charge of the winding engine and takes his instructions from the banksman. FACE. FALL. FIREDAMP See coal face. A fall of the roof. Methane gas that comes naturally from the coal and is inflammable but when mixed with air becomes explosive. An official who is in charge of a district in the mine. A coal fire in an iron grate at the bottom of the upcast shaft. The hot air created by the fire rose up the upcast shaft and cold fresh air was drawn into the workings down the downcast shaft. See ventilation. The area behind the coal face where the props have been drawn and the roof allowed to fall in. A tunnel driven into the coal. The main frame that stood over the shaft on which are fixed the pulleys and guides for the cage. The system by which the coal is transported from the coal face to the bottom of the shaft. See Endless Rope Haulage. A pulley wheel in the haulage system, usually at top of an incline.

FIREMAN FURNACE

GOB or GOAF HEADING HEADGEAR HAULAGE

JIG

JIGGER KNOCKING LEVEL LASHER ON LOWER SIDE METALMAN MINE PACK PIT PIT EYE PLACE

The person, usually a lad, who operated the jig. A system of signalling used to control the cage and the haulage system. A horizontal road in the mine. See hooker-on. The downward-sloping side of the workplace. A man employed to service the tunnels and rails in the haulage system. The name given in Lancashire to a coal seam. A column of stones built to support the roof. The shaft from the surface down to the workings. The area around the bottom of the shaft. The work place at the coal face where the collier won the coal. Each collier had his own place.

PONY DRIVER A boy who had charge of a pony which pulled the tubs along the haulage roads. PONY TENTER See tenter. PROP TAKER RETURNING GALLERY. See drawing props. A tunnel through which air passes from the workings to the upcast shaft.

RIB CUTTING A tunnel cut through the coal, usually at right angles to a road. ROAD SHAFT. SINKER. SPLIT. STEAM JETS A tunnel from the workings to the pit eye. The hole from the surface to the pit eye. A skilled man who contracted to sink new shafts. A branch in the ventilation system. Nozzles at the bottom of the upcast shaft through which steam was passed to cause convection currents for the ventilation. They were considered safe since there were no naked flames to ignite inflammable gas. Walls built across the roads and tunnels that would seal off an area of the mine. Someone, usually a boy, who unhitched tubs from the endless rope. Someone who looked after something e.g. furnace tenter, door tenter and pony tenter.

STOPPINGS TAKER-OFF TAKER-IN TENTER

TOP DECK TIMBER TUNNEL.

The upper floor of the cage. The wooden beams and props used to support the roof. See Props and Drawing Props. See Road.

UNDERLOOKER An official in charge of a mine and responsible to the undermanager and supervising the fireman. UPBROW UPCAST A road driven uphill to the seam. The ventilation shaft that carries the foul air away from the workings.

VENTILATION A wooden door that directs the flow of fresh air DOOR. round the workings of the mine. The above is taken from the book "Weep Mothers Weep" extracted by Joanne Fraser.

Shaft mining or shaft sinking refers to the method of excavating a vertical or near-vertical tunnel from the top down, where there is initially no access to the bottom.[1] When the top of the excavation is the ground surface, it is referred to as a shaft or portal; when the top of the excavation is underground, it is called a winze.

Off-shaft access
The mine shaft is used to gain access to an underground mining facility. Horizontal workings off the shaft are called drifts, galleries or levels. These extend from the central shaft toward the ore body. The point of contact between these levels and the shaft itself is known as the inset, shaft station or plat.

Surface facilities
On the surface above the shaft stands a building known as the headframe (or winding tower, poppet head or pit head). Depending on the type of hoist used the top of the headframe will either house a hoist motor or a sheave wheel (with the hoist motor mounted on the ground). The headframe will also contain bins for storing ore being transferred to the processing facility. If the shaft is used for mine ventilaton a plenum or casing, is incorporated into the headframe to ensure the proper flow of air into and out of the mine.

Shaft lining
In North and South America, smaller shafts are designed to be rectangular with timber supports. Larger shafts are round and are concrete lined

Shaft compartments

Typical mine cage, located in Harzbergbau, Germany A mine shaft is frequently split into multiple compartments. The largest compartment is typically used for the mine cage, a conveyance used for moving workers and supplies below the surface. It functions in a similar manner to an elevator, with the largest often double-deck. The second compartment is used for one or more skips, used to hoist ore to the surface. Smaller mining operations use a skip mounted underneath the cage, rather than a separate device, while some large mines have separate shafts for the cage and skips. The third compartment is used for an emergency exit; it may house an auxiliary cage or a system of ladders. An additional compartment houses mine services such as high voltage cables and pipes for transfer of water, compressed air or diesel fuel. A second reason to divide the shaft is for ventilation. One or more of the compartments discussed above may be used for air intake, while others may be used for exhaust.