miner’s moss
n.— «Metal grids and perforations weed out the rocks and large chunks of dirt, while black plastic ridges capture many of the heavy gold flakes. The runoff flows onto a jumble of what looks like plastic vermicelli. The so-called miner’s moss traps the tiniest remaining bits of gold dust.» —“It’s a lode on their minds” by Ashraf Khalil Los Angeles Times July 14, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
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