a. A gleam; sparkle. Fay
b. Eng. A dark, shining mineral resembling black tourmaline.
Standard, 2
c. An early name for mica (Cornish).
As applied to the degree of luster of a mineral, means those minerals
affording a general reflection from the surface, but no image, as talc or
chalcopyrite. Fay
A satellite-based navigational system permitting the determination of any
point on the Earth with high accuracy. Abbrev: GPS. GPS is used in
mapping, mineral exploration, and GIS data collection. The systems depend
on the Navigation Satellite Timing and Ranging (NAVSTAR) GPS developed and
operated by the U.S. Department of Defense, which consists of a network of
25 satellites in orbit about the Earth as well as ground operations
support. After all the satellites are deployed, GPS will provide
all-weather, worldwide, two- and three-dimensional (latitude, longitude,
and elevation) positioning capabilities over a 24-h period.
Leick; Bookhout
A thermometer in a hollow spherical black globe, the readings from which
show a higher value, due to radiation, than those from a conventional
thermometer so that the globe device measures the effectual radiation
temperature. Strock, 2
A widespread, deep-sea deposit largely composed of the shells of
foraminifera, among which Globigerina is esp. abundant. Other calcareous
remains are present (about 10%), together with an inorganic residue (about
3% or 4%) having the composition of red clay. Holmes, 2
See:spherulitic
Particles having approx. spherical shape. Osborne
A tiny, spherical, incipient crystal visible in some volcanic glasses
examined in thin section under a polarized-light microscope.
A cryptocrystalline variety of lepidocrocite; formed by oxidation of iron
sulfides as pale yellow to black crusts, stalactites, or earthy masses.
Syn:vitriol ocher
Distinct clusters of megascopic crystals as in a glomerophorphyritic rock.
See also:polycrystal
See:cumulophyric
A porphyry in which the phenocrysts are gathered in distinct clusters.
A stove for drying gunpowder; drying oven. Standard, 2
a. A funnel-shaped excavation, the bottom of which is connected to a raise
driven from an underground haulage level. The ore is broken by drilling
and blasting in benches around the periphery of the funnel. This process
is also called milling, and the excavation is termed a mill hole or simply
a mill. Lewis
b. A vertical pit, material from which is fed by gravity to hauling units
in a shaft under the pit bottom. Nichols, 1
c. A combination opencast and underground mining system, in which quarried
material gravitates or is moved to a short shaft, from the bottom of which
it is delivered to an underground transport system. Pryor, 3
d. Can. Large open-pit excavation. Hoffman
e. An opening through which to observe the interior of a furnace.
Standard, 2
A method of mining using a system of haulageways beneath the block of ore,
which has had its top surface exposed by the removal of the overburden.
Over the haulageways are chutes that extend up to the surface, and are
spaced at intervals of 50 ft (15.2 m) or at any other convenient distance.
The excavation of the ore begins at the top of the chute, and broken ore
is removed by loading it out from the chutes into cars on the haulage
level. The ore block is worked from the top down. The method is similar in
principle to underhand stoping. Also called milling system; chute system.
In sulfuric acid works, a tower through which the acid from the Gay-Lussac
tower trickles and yields nitrous anhydride to the gases entering the lead
chambers, at the same time cooling them. CF:Gay-Lussac's tower
Standard, 2
a. The incandescence of a heated substance, or the light from such a
substance; white or red heat. Standard, 2
b. The light from a phosphorescent mineral. Hess
CaBe4 (PO4 )2 (OH)4 .1/2H2 O , massive
and encrusting, with moraesite from a locality in the Urals. Named from
the alternative of beryllium-glucinum. Hey, 3; Fleischer
A monoclinic mineral, Mg(C2 O4 ).2H2 O ; forms on
serpentinite as a reaction between oxalic acid from the lichen Lecanora
atra and magnesium-rich serpentine minerals; in northeast Scotland.
Clear; colorless or pale yellow; syrupy liquid; CH2 OHCHOHCH (sub
2) OH . Used in explosives, as a binder for cements and mixes, and as a
lubricant and a softener; used in the manufacture of munitions and as an
antifreeze liquid.
CCD, 2; Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 2; Crispin; Lee
See:nitroglycerin