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field work

Work done, observations taken, or other operations, as triangulation,
leveling, making geological observations, etc., in the field or upon the
ground.

fiery dragon

See:toadstone

fiery heap

Eng. A deposit of rubbish and waste or unsalable coal that ignites
spontaneously. Fay

fiery mine

a. A mine in which the seam or seams of coal being worked give off a large
amount of methane. Fay
b. Mine in which there is danger of explosion due to coal dust or
flammable gas. Pryor, 3
c. A gassy mine; a mine where gas ignitions and outbursts have occurred in
the past. Nelson

fifth wheel

a. The weight-bearing swivel connection between highway-type tractors and
semitrailers. Nichols, 1
b. A wheel used to automatically operate the dump mechanism of mine ore
cars.

figure cuts

See:V-cut

figure stone

See:agalmatolite

filar micrometer

An instrument, that in its usual form consists of an ocular containing a
fine wire that can be moved across the field by means of a thumbscrew for
the purpose of measuring size. Hess

filiform

Having the shape of a thread or filament; e.g., native silver.
Syn:wiry

filiform texture

Threadlike crystals of one mineral embedded in another mineral; e.g.,
rutilated quartz.

filigree

a. Delicate ornamental work, used chiefly in decorating gold and silver.
Crispin
b. Naturally occurring native metals (e.g., gold, silver, or copper) in
lacelike form.

fill

a. Manmade deposits of natural earth materials (e.g., rock, soil, and
gravel) and waste materials (e.g., tailings or spoil from dredging), used
(1) to fill an enclosed space, such as an old stope or chamber in a mine,
(2) to extend shore land into a lake or bay, or (3) in building dams.
See also:hydraulic fill; backfill. AGI
b. Soil or loose rock used to raise the surface of low-lying land, such as
an embankment to fill a hollow or ravine in railroad construction. Also,
the place filled by such an enbankment. AGI
c. The depth to which material is to be placed to bring the surface to a
predetermined grade. AGI
d. Any sediment deposited by any agent so as to fill or partly fill a
valley, sink, or other depression. AGI
e. Manmade deposits of natural soils and waste material. ASCE
f. Material deposited or washed into a cave passageway. Fill is generally
prefixed by a word describing its dominant grain size; e.g., sand fill,
silt fill, clay fill, gravel fill, etc. AGI
g. Material used to fill a cavity or a passage. An embankment to fill a
hollow or a ravine, or the place filled by such an embankment. Also, the
depth of the filling material when it is in place. As a verb, to make an
embankment in or to raise the level of a low place with earth, gravel, or
rock. Webster 3rd
h. Tailings, waste, etc., used to fill underground space left after
extraction of ore. Termed "hydraulic fill" if flushed into place by water.
See also:pack
i. Detrital material partly or completely filling a cave. Syn:drift
AGI
j. The unit charge of batch into a tank or pot. ASTM
k. Eng. To load trams in the mine. Fay
l. An earth or broken rock structure or embankment. Nichols, 1
m. Soil that has no value except bulk. Nichols, 1

filled valley

A wide-basin valley, in an arid or semiarid region, that contains abundant
alluvium in the form of fans, flood plains, and lake deposits. AGI

filler

See:mineral filler

filler and drayer

A worker who fills tubs at the coal face and pushes them to the main
haulage road. CTD

fill factor

The approximate load the dipper is carrying, expressed as a percentage of
the rated capacity. The fill factor is commonly called the dipper factor
for shovels or the bucket factor for draglines. Woodruff

filling

a. The waste material used to fill up old stopes or chambers.
Weed, 2
b. The loading of trams, conveyors, tubs, or trucks with coal, ore, or
waste; the place where loading occurs. CTD
c. Allowing a mine to fill with water. Weed, 2
d. Clogging of the abrasive coat by swarf. It may be reduced in many
operations by using an opencoat construction or a lubricant.
See also:swarf
e. Loading of mineral into mine trucks; shoveling onto conveyors; gob
stowing; packing old stopes with waste. Pryor, 3
f. Material such as waste, sand, ashes, and other refuse used to fill in
worked-out areas of excavation. Stoces
g. Backfill.

film

a. A term used in flotation meaning a coating, layer, or thin membrane.
b. A thin layer of a substance, at the most a few molecules thick,
generally differing in properties from other layers in contact with it.
CTD

film coefficient

The heat transferred by convection per unit area per degree temperature
difference between the surface and the fluid. Also called unit convection
conductance; surface coefficient. Strock, 2

film flotation

Early stage in development of modern flotation process for concentration
of minerals, notably sulfides. The containing pulp was agitated with oil
that then floated up, carrying selected minerals. This mineralized film
was then overflowed or skimmed off. See also:froth flotation;
flotation. Pryor, 3

film mica

Knife-trimmed mica split from the better qualities of block mica to any
specified range of thicknesses between 0.0012 in and 0.004 in (30.5 mu m
and 102 mu m). Skow