RED LAKE REGIONAL HERITAGE CENTRE
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glossary

  • Assay – A chemical test used to determine the amount of valuable metal in a sample
  • Back – The ceiling or roof of an underground area
  • Blasthole – A hole drilled into the blasting face that is filled with explosives
  • Blasting Cap – A small explosive device that is used together with fuses to set off a larger explosion
  • Blasting Powder – A mixture of ammonium nitrate and diesel fuel
  • Cage – Part of the transportation system that moves people and equipment up and down the mine shaft
  • Claim – The land held by a prospector or mining company
  • Cupel – A shallow cup-like container that is used in assaying
  • Cut – The set of blastholes that get detonated first, creating space for the remaining rock to expand 
  • Dore – Gold and silver alloy bars created at mines
  • Drift – A horizontal tunnel that follows the orebody, giving access to the deposit
  • Drill Core – The long cylinder of rock produced by diamond drilling
  • Face – The end of a stope or drift where work takes place
  • Fit Test – A test to see if a mine employee is capable of wearing a respirator
  • Grade – The amount of gold found within a tonne of ore
  • Grizzly – The grating over the ore chute that catches large pieces of rock 
  • Headframe – The structure over a mine shaft that holds the cables, pulleys and sheaves of the hoist
  • Hoist – The machine used to raise and lower the cage and skip
  • Industrial Hygiene – The science of protecting and enhancing the health and safety of workers
  • Level – The tunnels that lead away from the mine shaft - Levels are cut out at regular intervals (i.e.: every 150 metres)
  • Lifters – The last set of blastholes to be detonated, lifting and breaking up the rock being blasted
  • Lode Gold - A gold deposit within a solid rock - need to use hard rock mining techniques to extract
  • Long Tom – An early form of the drilling jumbo that allowed underground miners to decrease drill times and limit their exposure to vibration
  • Muck – Ore or rock that has been broken by blasting
  • Open pit – A mine that is entirely on the surface
  • Ore – A mixture of rock and valuable minerals that can be mined
  • Portage – The practice of carrying a boat and/or its cargo between two bodies of water
  • Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) – The clothing and accessories that keep workers safe from infection and injury - i.e.: goggles, gloves, coveralls, boots and helmets
  • Placer Gold - A lode deposit that has been eroded over time and has settled within a waterbed - recovery methods include panning for gold
  • Prospecting – The search for mineral deposits
  • Raise – A vertical tunnel that is driven between two levels of a mine
  • Refining – Processes used to remove unwanted minerals from the gold
  • Rock Bolt – A long steel rod used for stabilizing the back and walls of an underground tunnel
  • Rock Breaker – A machine used to break up large rocks that are caught in the grizzly
  • Rock Burst – A sudden, violent collapse of rock that was under stress
  • Sample – A portion of rock or mineral deposit that is tested for mineral content
  • Scaling – The removal of loose rocks from the walls and back before drilling
  • Scooptram – A large industrial machine used for mucking
  • Shaft – A deep narrow vertical hole that gives access to a mine
  • Skip – The bucket that is used to bring ore or waste up the mine shaft
  • Slusher – A scraper attached to a small winch or hoist
  • Steel – An alternative name for a drill bit
  • Stenching – An emergency alert system used in mines - stench gas (smells like rotten eggs) is put in the fresh air vents of the mine, notifying workers of a fire
  • Stope – The area between two mine levels, where mining takes place
  • Tailings – The waste material after the milling process
  • Tailings Pond – A part of a mine’s waste management system where tailings are pumped and sediment settles before the water is discharged
  • Transit – A surveying instrument used for measuring angles
  • Troy Ounce – A unit of measurement used for weighing precious metals - a troy ounce is heavier than a regular ounce weighing 31.1 grams versus 28.35 grams
  • Vein – A crack or fault in a rock where minerals like gold have settled
Picture
Assay lab at Howey Gold Mines
Picture
Open pit at Howey Gold Mines, 1952
Picture
Peter Andrecheck looking down from a raise, 1959
Picture
A miner drilling in a stope underground at McKenzie Red Lake Gold Mines, 1953


Timeline
Historic Red Lake Mining
Red Lake Geology
The Red Lake Gold Rushes
From Hudson to Headframe
Community Development
Commerce
Education
Medicine
Recreation
Mining Practices
Going Underground
Equipment
Extraction
Milling
The Mill Process
Safety
Refuge Station
Mine Rescue
Health Issues
Jobs
Contemporary Red Lake Mining
Environment
Labour
Innovation
Exploration
Indigenous Rights
Gold Prices
Mining and Exploration Companies
Goldcorp Inc.
Rubicon Minerals
Premier Gold Mines
Pure Gold Mining
Rimini Exploration & Consulting
Other Mining & Exploration Companies
Glossary
Red Lake Regional Heritage Centre
51A Highway 105 P.O. Box 64
Red Lake, ON, Canada
P0V 2M0
807-727-3006
[email protected]
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The Red Lake Regional Heritage Centre is a charitable organization, funded by the Municipality of Red Lake, the Ontario Ministry of Culture, and through fundraising activities. Reg # 87315 2714 RR001.

  • Home
  • Heritage Online
    • Puzzles
    • Podcast
    • Online Programming >
      • Bannock
      • Dream Catchers
      • Eco Printing
      • Flower Pounding
      • Fur Trade
      • Mushrooms
      • Pysanky
      • Suncatchers
      • Wild Teas
  • Exhibitions and Events
    • Events
    • Upcoming Exhibits >
      • 100 Years of Red Lake
    • Current Exhibits >
      • NNT
    • Past Exhibits >
      • Hospital History
      • SouthPaw Photography
      • EZHI NAMANG: HOW WE SEE IT
      • Triple K Art
      • Red Lake on the Move
      • Fish Stories
      • Red Lake Art Show >
        • Red Lake Art Show 2016
        • Red Lake Art Show 2017
        • Red Lake Art Show 2018
        • 2023 Art Show
        • 2024 Red Lake Art Show
      • Woodland Caribou Provincial Park
      • Fire People >
        • Fire 14-1
        • Fire 14-2
    • Red Lake Speaker Series
  • History
    • On This Spot
    • Red Lake History
    • Aviation History
    • Immigration
    • Residential Schools
    • Heritage Centre History
    • Red Lake District Souvenir Record
  • Gift Shop
    • Accessories >
      • Jewellery
      • Key Holders
      • Purses, Wallets & Bags
    • Local Artists >
      • Rhonda Beckman
      • Valerie Blab
      • Kaila Erb
      • Lauren Furman
      • Patrick Hunter
      • Aaron LeBlanc
      • Amy Newport
      • Hidehiro Otake
      • Mark Nadjiwan
      • Sara Ramer-Dean
      • Rebecca Saikkonen
      • Wendy Yutzy
    • Books & DVDs
    • Cards
    • Clothing >
      • Scarves & Hats
      • T-Shirts
      • Long Sleeves
      • Socks
    • Home & Kitchen >
      • Glassware
      • Home Décor
      • Kitchen
      • Mugs
    • Glass Ornaments
    • Magnets
    • Miscellaneous
    • Norval Morrisseau Designs
  • Support
    • Volunteering
    • Memberships
    • Donor Wall
  • About Us
    • Strategic Plan
    • Annual Report
    • Services
    • Our Mission
    • Collections Policy
    • Newsletter
    • Employment Opportunities
    • Staff & Board
  • Mailing List
  • Mining Map
  • Donate Now
  • Woodland-Art
  • Mural Project Survey Teachers