In mining terminology, dirt refers broadly to fragmented earth or gravel before it undergoes any washing or processing. In hardrock mining, it often means broken waste rock or muck. In placer mining, it specifically denotes the gold-bearing gravels dug from a stream bed or bank before the valuable minerals are sluiced out.
Heard on the job
We need to move about fifty yards of barren overburden before we get to the pay dirt.
Also heard as
- muck
- spoil
Related terms
Pay dirt
Mined material that contains enough valuable mineral to be processed at a profit.
Washdirt
Placer gravel or earth that contains enough precious metal to be worth processing.
Mucking
The process of loading and removing blasted rock or ore from a mine working.
Mullock
Waste rock or barren ground excavated during the search for an ore body.