† mother of the minen.Obsolete a kind of iron ore consisting largely of clay.
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a1728 J. WoodwardAttempt Nat. Hist. Fossils Eng. (1729) i. 232 Clayey Iron-Ore... The Miners call it the Mother of the Mine.
1794 W. HutchinsonCatal. Animals in Hist. Cumberland I. 52Bole; this is..called by the country people clayey iron ore, rud and smit... Miners call it mother of the mine.