a. Aust. To work out the pillars of abandoned claims, or work over waste
heaps in hope of finding gold. Standard, 2
b. Eng. In gold mining, to undermine another's digging. Fay
a. Person who searches for small amounts of mineral. CTD
b. One who picks over old mine workings. Fossicking is casual and
unsystematic mining. Pryor, 3
c. Aust. A sort of mining gleaner who overhauls old workings and refuse
heaps for gold that may be contained therein.
a. Any remains, trace, or imprint of a plant or animal that has been
preserved in the Earth's crust since some past geologic or prehistoric
time; loosely, any evidence of past life. AGI
b. Said of any object that existed in the geologic past and of which there
is still evidence. AGI
c. Used in such expressions as fossil generating plant in reference to the
use of fossil fuel rather than nuclear fuel. Not recommended usage.
AGI
See:copalite
An erosion surface that was buried by younger sediments and was later
exposed by their removal. Sometimes used as a syn. of buried erosion
surface. AGI
See:diatomite
Coal, petroleum, or natural gas.
a. Ice formed in, and remaining from, the geologically recent past. It is
preserved in cold regions, such as the coastal plains of northern Siberia,
where remains of Pleistocene ice have been found.
b. Relatively old "ground ice" in a permafrost region. Also, underground
ice in a region where present-day temperatures are not low enough to
create it.
c. Crystal of selenite. Arkell
Containing fossils.
All processes involving the burial of a plant or animal in sediment and
the eventual preservation of all, part, or a trace of it. AGI
To turn into a fossil. Webster 3rd
Preserved by burial in rock or earthy deposits; turned to a fossil.
See:silicified wood
An iron-bearing sedimentary deposit, in which shell fragments have been
replaced and cemented together by hematite and carbonate.
CF:flaxseed ore
See:mountain paper; mountain leather.
Opal pseudomorph after glauberite; from New South Wales. Schaller
Any of various natural resins found in geologic deposits as exudates of
long-buried plant life; e.g., amber, retinite, and copal.
See:rock salt
See:odontolite
See:ozocerite
Any of the various units of weight for lead; esp. a unit equal to 19.5
hundredweight (885 kg). Webster 3rd