An adit (from Latin aditus, entrance)[1] or stulm[2]
is a horizontal or nearly horizontal passage to an underground mine.[3]
Miners can use adits for access, drainage,[4] ventilation, and extracting minerals at the lowest convenient level.[1] Adits are also used to explore for mineral veins.[1] Although most strongly associated with mining, the term adit is sometimes also used in the context of underground excavation for non-mining purposes; for example, to refer to smaller underground passageways excavated for underground metro systems, to provide pedestrian access to stations (pedestrian adits), and for access required during construction (construction adits).[5]
^
Thrush, Paul W., ed. (1968). "stulm". A Dictionary of Mining, Mineral, and Related Terms. United States Bureau of Mines Special Publications. U.S. Department of the Interior: Bureau of Mines. p. 1094. Retrieved 22 June 2023. stulm. An approximately horizontal passageway into a mine; an adit.
^
Thrush, Paul W., ed. (1968). "adit". A Dictionary of Mining, Mineral, and Related Terms. United States Bureau of Mines Special Publications. U.S. Department of the Interior: Bureau of Mines. p. 12. Retrieved 22 June 2023. adit. [...] A horizontal or nearly horizontal passage driven from the surface for the working or unwatering of a mine.
^R. W. Raymond, 1881, Glossary of Mining and Metallurgical Terms, American Institute of Mining Engineers, p.3.