An older metallurgical term for the concentrated, finely pulverized ore of valuable metals like gold, tin, or lead that settles out during wet gravity separation. After crushing the run-of-mine rock in a stamp mill, water washes away the lighter gangue, leaving behind this heavy, mud-like concentrate ready for smelting.
Heard on the job
The buddle operator scraped the heavy schlich from the upper deck for the next smelting run.