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P

Pan       To wash (in a metal, bowl-like pan) gravel and sand or rock samples that have been ground to small particles, in order to separate gold or other valuable metals.

Panel       A coal mining block that generally comprises one operating unit.

Panic bar       A switch, in the shape of a bar, used to cut off power at the machine in case of an emergency.

Panning       The act of mining for alluvial gold with a gold pan

Par value       The stated face value of a stock. No par value shares have no specified face value, but the total amount of authorized capital is set down in the company's charter.0

Participating interest       A company's interest in a mine, which entitles it to a certain percentage of profits in return for putting up an equal percentage of the capital cost of the project.

Parting       Fire assay procedure for separating gold from other metals.

Parting       (1) A small joint in coal or rock; (2) a layer of rock in a coal seam; (3) a side track or turnout in a haulage road.

Patent       The ultimate stage of holding a mineral claim, after which no more assessment work is necessary; determines that all mineral rights, both surface and underground have been earned.

Pay streak       A layer or channel within a gravel deposit that contains a much higher average gold content that the surrounding gravels.

Peat       The partially decayed plant matter found in swamps and bogs, one of the earliest stages of coal formation.

Pegmatite       A coarse-grained, igneous rock, usually irregular in texture and composition, similar to a granite in composition; it usually occurs in dykes or veins and sometimes contains valuable minerals.

Pellet       A marble-sized ball of iron ore bonded by clay and fused for hardness.

Pentlandite       An iron and nickel sulphide mineral.

Percussion drill       A drill, usually air powered, that delivers its energy through a pounding or hammering action.

Peridotite       An intrusive igneous rock consisting mainly of olivine.

Permissible       That which is allowable or permitted. It is most widely applied to mine equipment and explosives of all kinds which are similar in all respects to samples that have passed certain tests of the MSHA and can be used with safety in accordance with specified conditions where hazards from explosive gas or coal dust exist.

Permit       As it pertains to mining, a document issued by a regulatory agency that gives approval for mining operations to take place.

Phaneritic       A term used to describe the coarse grained texture of some igneous rocks.

Phenocryst       A porphyritic crystal inclusion.