on 13/12/02 7:22 AM, Graham Owens at [log in to unmask] wrote:
> John
>
> According to my bible - US Bureau of Mines "A Dictionary of mining, mineral
> and related terms" 1968 (kindly liberated by a buddy from a closing
> Yorkshire chemical plant) - a definition of fork: -
>
> "To pump water out of a mine. A mine is said to be in fork, or a pump to
> have the water in a fork, when all the water is drawn out of the mine"
> source: Fay, Albert H. A Glossary of the Mining and Mineral Industry.
> BuMines Bull. 95, 1920, pp754
>
> Hope this helps
>
> Regards
>
> Graham Owens
In my days as a water driller, a bore was said to have 'forked' when the
pump began dragging air. This was not a euphemism.
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