Assay laboratory
A laboratory in which the proportions of
metal in ores or concentrates are determined using analytical techniques
Back-fill
Material used to replace soil and earth removed
during mining operations
Bacterial leaching / bio-oxidation
The use of bacteria to oxidise sulphide minerals
Carbon-in-leach (CIL) process
A modification of the CIP process
whereby carbon is added directly into the slurry during leaching as opposed to
CIP where carbon is added after leaching is complete
Carbon-in-pulp (CIP) process
A process used to
recover dissolved gold from a cyanide leach slurry. Coarse activated carbon
particles are moved counter-current to the slurry, absorbing the gold as it
passes through the circuit. Loaded carbon is removed from the slurry by
screening. The gold is recovered from the loaded carbon by stripping in a
caustic cyanide solution followed by electrolysis or by zinc precipitation.
Cash-cost
A measure of the average cost of producing an ounce
of gold, calculated by dividing the total working costs (excluding corporate
administration) in a period by the total gold production over the same period.
Working costs represent total operating costs less royalties and depreciation.
In determining the cash-cost of different elements of the operations, production
overheads are allocated on a pro-rata basis.
Concentrate
Material that has been processed to increase the
content of the contained metal or mineral relative to the contained waste.
Crosscut
A mine working which is driven horizontally and at
right angles to an adit, drift or level.
Cut-off grade
The lowest grade of the mineralised material
considered economic to extract; used in the calculation of the ore reserves in a
given deposit.
Cyanide leaching
The extraction of a precious metal from an ore
by its dissolution in a cyanide solution
Decline shaft
An inclined shaft
Diamond drilling (core drilling)
A drilling method whereby the
rock is cut with a diamond bit, usually to extract cores.
Dilution
Waste which is commingled with ore in the mining
process
Doré
Unrefined alloy consisting predominantly of gold
with lesser quantities of silver and base metals.
Drift/drive
A horizontal tunnel driven along, or parallel to,
the strike of the orebody, for the extraction or exploration of ore.
(no entries so far)
Flotation
A recovery process by which valuable minerals are
separated from waste to produce a concentrate. Selected minerals are induced to
become attached to air bubbles and to float.
Footwall
The underlying side of a fault, an orebody, or mine
workings
Forward sales
The sale of a commodity for delivery at a
specified future date and price, usually at a premium to the spot price.
Geochemical sampling
Samples of soils, stream sediments or rock
chips taken to ensure the quantities of trace and minor elements.
Grade
The relative quality or percentage of ore metal content.
Heap leaching
A low-cost technique for extracting metals from
ore by percolating leaching solutions through heaps of ore placed on impervious
pads. Generally used on low-grade ores.
(no entries so far)
(no entries so far)
(no entries so far)
(no entries so far)
Milling/mill
The comminution of the ore, although the term has
come to cover the broad range of machinery inside the treatment plant where gold
is separated from the ore.
Mine call factor
The ratio of the grade of material received
at the mill to the grade of ore calculated by sampling in stopes
Mineral resources :
Measured mineral resources have been
calculated for tonnage or volume from dimensions revealed in outcrops, pits,
trenches, drill holes, or mine workings, and supported by other appropriate
exploration techniques. The sites used for inspection sampling and measuring
must be so spaced that the geological character, continuity, grades, and nature
of the material are so well defined that the physical character, size, shape,
quality and mineral content can be established with a high degree of certainty.
Indicated
mineral resources is that portion of a mineral resource for which quantity
and quality can only be estimated with a lower degree of certainty than for a
measured mineral resource. The sites used for inspection, sampling and
measurement are too widely or inappropriately spaced to enable the mineral or
its continuity to be defined or its grade throughout to be established.
Mineralised zone
Any mass of rock in which minerals, at least
one of which has commercial value, occur
(no entries so far)
Open pit/open cut
Surface mining in which the ore is extracted
from a pit.
Ore
Material that contains one or more minerals, at least one of which
has commercial value and which can be recovered at a profit.
Orebody
A continuous well defined mass of material of suficient
ore content to make extraction economically feasible.
Oxide
The portion of a mineral deposit within which sulphide materials
have been oxidised, usually by surface weathering processes.
Pre-stripping
Removal of overburden in advance of beginning
operations to remove ore in an open pit operation.
Prospect
A mineral deposit with insufficient data available on
mineralisation to determine if it is economically recoverable, but warranting
further investigation.
Prospecting licence
An area for which permission to explore has
been granted.
Quartz
A mineral compaound of silicon and oxygen; may
transparent to white-coloured.
Refining
The final stage of metal production in which remaining
impurities are removed from the molten material by introducing air and fluxes.
The impurities are removed as gases or as slag.
Refractory ore
Any ore that does not respond to conventional mineral
processing (cyanidation) to produce acceptable product recoveries without an
intermediate step to adress its refractory attributes (usually some form of
oxidation).
Reserves : Proven reserves
Those measured mineral resources of
which detailed technical and economic studies have demonstrated that extraction
can be justified at the time of determination and under specific conditions.
Reserves : Probable reserves
Those measured and/or indicated
mineral resources which are not yet "proven" but of which detailed
technical and economic studies have demonstrated that extraction can be
justified at the time of determination and under specific conditions.
Reverse circulation drilling
A drilling method employing double
walled drill rods. The drilling fluid (usually water) is pushed down the shaft
around the rods and the cuttings are blown up the middle.
Sampling
Taking small pieces of rock at intervals along exposed
mineralisation to determine mineral content.
Shaft
A mine-working (usually vertical) used to transport
miners, supplies or equipment.
Spot price
The current price of a metal for immediate delivery
Stope
The underground excavation from
which ore is extracted.
Strike length
The horizontal distance along the direction that a
structural surface takes as it intersects the horizontal.
Stripping
The process of removing overburden to expose ore.
Stripping ratio
The ratio of overburden and segregable waste to
ore in an open pit operation.
Sulphide
A mineral characterised by the linkages of sulphur with
a metal or semi-metal, iron sulphide. Also a zone in which sulphide minerals
occur
Tailings
The waste material from ore after the economically recoverable
metals and minerals have been extracted. Changes in the metal prices and
improvements in technology can sometimes make the tailings economic to reprocess
at a later stage.
Transition zone
A zone containing a mixture of oxide and
sulphide material, usually lying between the oxide and sulphide zones.
Trenching
Making elongated open-air excavations for the purposes of mapping and
sampling
(no entries so far)
(no entries so far)
Waste
Rock lacking sufficient grade and/or other characteristics
of ore to be commercially exploited.
Yield/recovered grade
The actual grade of ore realised after the
mining and treatment process.
Metric Abbrev Imperial ---------------------------------------------------- 1 tonne = 1 t = 1.10231 tons 1 gramme = 1 g = 0.03215 (troy) ounces 1 gramme per tonne = 1 g/t = 0.02917 ounces per ton 1 hectare = 1 ha = 2.47105 acres 1 kilometre = 1 km = 0.621371 miles 1 metre = 1 m = 3.28084 feet (1 ton = 2,000 pounds = 29.166 troy ounces)
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