An amateur prospector or informal miner who sifts through the tailings and mullock heaps of established mines looking for valuable material left behind. The term is heavily used in the Australian opal fields, where surface scavengers look for flashes of color in the discarded dirt.
Heard on the job
We caught a couple of noodlers digging around the old mullock heaps after the shift ended.
Insider tip
While often tolerated on abandoned claims, noodling on an active lease without permission is considered trespassing and theft.
Also heard as
- fossicker
- specker