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Glossary T - Z

Tailings - Waste material left after gold-bearing ore was processed. Also, material removed from a mine during tunneling.

Tailing Dump - The mound of waste material at the mine entrance.

Tailing Wheels - The huge wheels, sometimes 50 feet high, used to transport tailings from the mill to a dump.

Tailrace - The water channel built under a mill to supply the force necessary to turn a waterwheel for powering the mill and/or to carry products downstream. Also called a millrace. It was in such a channel that James Marshall first discovered gold.

Troy Ounce - Based on the ancient unit of measure, the grain, and used to measure gold. The troy ounce contains 480 grains, while the avoirdupois ounce contains 437.5 grains. Therefore, a troy ounce equals 1.097 avoirdupois ounces. Also, a troy ounce equals 20 pennyweight (DWT).

Vein - Route followed by gold from the lower depth of the earth towards the surface.

Welcome Stranger - Quite possibly the largest nugget ever found. Weighing in at 200 pounds, it was discovered in Australia in 1869 by two men whose cart got stuck in a muddy road and had to remove a "large rock" (of solid gold) that was in their way.

Worked Out - A claim, mine, or area that has been thoroughly mined of all gold that is profitable to mine.