Drift mining is either the mining of an ore deposit by underground methods, or the working of coal seams accessed by adits driven into the surface outcrop of the coal bed. Drift is a more general mining term, meaning a near-horizontal passageway in a mine, following the bed (of coal, for instance) or vein of ore. A drift may or may not intersect the ground surface. This kind of mining is done when the rock or mineral is on the side of a hill.
Read more about Drift Mining: Nome, Alaska
Famous quotes containing the words drift and/or mining:
“To drift with every passion till my soul
Is a stringed lute on which all winds can play,
Is it for this that I have given away
Mine ancient wisdom, and austere control?
Methinks my life is a twice-written scroll
Scrawled over on some boyish holiday”
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)
“It’s a mining town in lotus land.”
—F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940)