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Peter out - mining reference

Posted by Ashley on October 22, 2009 at 13:16

Apologies if this has already been raised (and dismissed) but given that 'Peter Out' appears to have strong mining links, couldn't this be in some way related to the latin word for 'stone', as in Saltpetre? A metal miner would be looking for ore, for example, galena (lead sulphide,)which is often found in string-like intrusions (called veins, pipes and scrins in the Derbyshire [UK] ore field). The miner would often follow these in the hope that they would open out, but often they just gradually diminished, leaving the miner with nothing but the surrounding stone (limestone in the case of Derbyshire). Ashley (Derbyshire mine explorer)

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