1. Definition
1.1. Terminology
The Middle English “minen” (verb) and “mine” (noun) appeared around 1300, deriving from the Old French miner, “to dig,” and referring to the extraction of mineral resources from mineral deposits. These deposits were collectively called fossils (from Latin (ef)fodere, “dig [out]”) before that term was narrowed in the 19th century to the preserved remains of living creatures of pa…