lode • \ˈlōd\ • noun
: a deposit of valuable ore occurring within definite boundaries separating it from surrounding rocks
The word lode has appeared in 10 New York Times articles in the past year, including on Nov. 9 in the Taking Note editorial blog post “The Gold Bug Bites Texas Politicians” by Francis X. Clines:
Fantasies of secession danced like tumbleweed when Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas signed an odd new law in June authorizing the state to be the first in the nation to create its own gold bullion depository. The goal, Mr. Abbott’s office announced, is to “repatriate $1 billion in gold bullion from the Federal Reserve in New York.” That’s repatriate, as in moving 6,643 gold bars from one country to another.
… And now that political reality is setting in, the proposed transfer is losing its billion-dollar luster. University managers estimate the lode is actually worth a mere $647 million, according to The Texas Tribune. Nevertheless proposals to house the gold already are floating in, with one private builder promising a depository with foot-thick walls that will be “a monument of the state of Texas.” Some experts, however, are warning that the “negative impact on liquidity” and other variables might make the trip a mistake. Others say there’s no need to move the gold at all: Simply sell it in New York, then buy replacement gold to put in existing Texas security vaults quietly run by armored car companies.
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