footwall drift

In mining, a footwall refers to the lower wall of a vein, ore deposit, or coal seam, or the lower wall of an inclined fault. Drift mining is a method used to extract gold-bearing gravel deposits by working underground through shafts and drifts, rather than using hydraulic methods. A drift itself is a horizontal or subhorizontal tunnel created within a mine for purposes such as haulage, ventilation, or exploration. A specific type of drift, known as a footwall drift, runs parallel to the ore body and is situated in the footwall.123