This underground excavation serves as a staging area where a horizontal tunnel meets the main shaft. It provides enough clearance for mine cars to bypass each other and for workers to stockpile broken ore before loading it into the skip for hoisting. In older operations, this chamber often housed drainage pumps or served as a gathering point for miners waiting for the cage.
Heard on the job
Stack the new timber at the 400-level lodge before the next crew comes down.
Insider tip
While 'lodge' is common in British and historic mining, North American miners typically call this area the shaft station.
Also heard as
- platt
- plat
- station