rock flour
n.— «The production of rock flour is another venture under the auspices of Minerals for Agriculture. When companies mine basic rock for aggregates, the fines from this process, called rock flour, can be used to remineralise the soil, explains Mutemeri. “These fines have trace elements of nutrients which can aid plant growth. “Using the rock flour in this manner also rids mines of a waste product,” adds Mutemeri.» —“Research body launches projects to counter small-scale mining effects” by Irma Venter Mining Weekly (Garde View, South Africa) Sept. 14, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Chase from Jacksonville, Florida, grew up in Sacramento, California, where kids played Rochambeau instead of rock, paper, scissors. Why the difference in names? Nobody knows. Folklorists call this a choosing game, and while the hand-game itself...
Responding to our conversation about the word chat, meaning “the gravelly residue of mines,” Isabella from Marquette, Michigan, reports that where she lives, in the state’s Upper Peninsula, such runoff is commonly called slag. She uses some made-up...