164 THE PROSPECTOR'S HANDBOOK. 



PROSPECTOR'S CLAIM A piece of ground, larger than an ordinary 



claim, given to the discoverer of mineral treasures in a country. 

 PUDDING-STONE A coarse conglomerate with round pebbles in it. 

 PUDDLING (Australia and America) Mixing gold-bearing clays with 



water. 



PULGADA (Spain) An inch. 

 PULVERIZE To powder. 

 PYRITES Native mineral composed of a metallic sulphide, arsenide, 



or both. 



PYROXENE (See Augite). 

 PUTTY STONES (America) Soft pieces of decomposed rocks found in 



alluvial diggings. 



Q. 



QUARTZ ITE A granular siliceous sandstone (sometimes of a schistose 

 structure), the grains of quartz being partly crystalline. 



8UARTZOSE Rock with a great deal of quartz in it. 

 UINTAL (Spain) loo Ibs. Spanish, equal to ioi English Ibs. 



R. 



RACE An artificial watercourse. 



RACKING Separating ores by means of water on an inclined plane. 



RAKE A fissure vein. 



RAVINE A deep narrow valley. 



REAL (Spain) A mining district. 



REAGENT A substance added to determine the presence of some other 



. substance by the mutual action of the one towards the other. 

 REDUCTION The separation of a metal from its compounds. 

 REEF (Australia) A lode. Outcrop of strata. 

 REEF WASH Gold-bearing drift where two underground leads join. 

 REFRACTORY Resisting great heat and difficult to smelt. 

 RESIDUE The solid matter remaining after a liquid has been filtered 



or evaporated. 



RIBB Lines of ore in the veins. 

 RIDER A projecting piece of rock crossing a fissure or mineral vein 



and thus dividing it. 



RIDDLE A large iron sieve for sifting ore. 

 RIFFLES Strips of wood nailed across and rising above the bottom 



of a sluice, in order to catch the gold during the process of 



washing. 

 RISE Same as "stope." The excavation in the back part of a 



level. 

 ROASTING Driving off volatile matter, such as sulphur, arsenic, &c., 



by gently heating the substance and allowing air to have free 



access to it during the operation by means of stirring. 

 ROOF The top side of a lode or bed. 



