wall rock

American  

noun

Mining.

1. the rock forming the walls of a vein.

---

wall rock British  

noun

1. rock that is immediately adjacent to a mineral vein, fault, or igneous intrusion

---

Etymology

Origin of wall rock

An Americanism dating back to 1855–60

Example Sentences

All I could make out was the endless ramp, the wall rock, thick cables bolted to the granite, looping on ahead until they disappeared where the headlights lost themselves in the dark air.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 13, 2013

I could soon talk glibly of "blossom rock," "pay streaks," "cap rock," "wall rock," "rich color," and use the common terms of miners.

From A Gold Hunter's Experience by Hambleton, Chalkley J.

Their principal occurrence is in distinct fissure veins in igneous rocks, with more or less replacement of the wall rock.

From The Economic Aspect of Geology by Leith, C. K. (Charles Kenneth)

In igneous rock the ore-bearing solutions may have altered the wall rock to a dense mixture of quartz, sericite, and chlorite.

From The Economic Aspect of Geology by Leith, C. K. (Charles Kenneth)

In mines where the range of values is narrower than the normal stoping width, some wall rock must be broken.

From Principles of Mining Valuation, Organization and Administration by Hoover, Herbert