A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A
Top of page
B
| Ball Mill |
A rotating cylindrical mill using iron balls to reduce broken ore to powder to assist the release of constituent minerals |
| Base Metal |
Non precious metal, usually refers to copper, lead, zinc |
| bcm |
Bulk cubic metre |
Top of page
C
| Calcine |
The product of roasting sulphide concentrates |
| Carbonate |
Minerals containing calcium and/or magnesium carbonate |
| Cathode |
The negatively charged component of an electrowinning cell, where valuable metals are deposited |
| CGG |
Continuous galvanising grade zinc product |
| Concentrates |
The product of a treatment plant in which the abundance of specific mineral species is higher than in the ore |
| Core |
Cylinder of rock recovered from diamond drilling |
| Crushing |
The reduction in size of ore from the mine to a size suitable for grinding in a mill usually less than 12 mm size |
| Cu |
Copper |
| Cut-off grade |
The grade at or above which material is treated as ore, and below which it is treated as waste |
Top of page
D
| Decline |
A tunnel access to an ore body, inclined downward from the surface |
| Development |
Mining carried out to gain access to ore |
| Doré |
Product of a gold and/or silver processing plant |
| Drilling and blasting |
The process required in most mines to fragment the material so it can be excavated efficiently |
Top of page
E
| Electrolyte |
An ionised chemical, or its solution in water, which conducts an electric current |
| Electrowinning |
Deposition of metal on an electrode from electrolysis |
| EZDA |
Electrolytic Zinc die cast alloy |
Top of page
F
| Fault |
A fracture in rocks along which rocks on one side have been moved relative to the rocks on the other |
| Flotation |
A wet mineral extraction process by which articles containing certain minerals are induced to become attached to bubbles and float, whilst others sink |
| FOB |
Free on board – at point of shipment |
Top of page
G
| Galena |
Lead sulphide mineral |
| Gangue |
Waste |
| Geophysical |
Prospecting techniques which measure the physical properties (magnetism, conductivity, density etc) of rocks and define anomalies for further testing |
| Grade |
Quantity of metal per unit weight of host rock |
| Grinding |
Size reduction to relatively fine particles |
Top of page
H
| Head grades |
A general term referring to the grade of ore delivered to the processing plant |
Top of page
I
| Indicated Resource |
A resource sampled by drill holes, underground openings, or other sampling procedures at locations too widely spaced to ensure continuity but close enough to give a reasonable
indication of continuity and where geo-scientific data are known with a reasonable level of reliability |
| Inferred Resource |
An estimate, inferred from geo-scientific evidence, drill holes, underground openings or other sampling procedures, and before testing and sampling information is sufficient to allow
a more reliable and systematic estimation |
Top of page
J
| Jarosite |
An iron sulphate mineral often formed as zinc smelter waste |
| JORC |
Code Joint Ore Reserves Committee, common reference to the Australasian Code for Reporting of Identified Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves, 1999 |
Top of page
K
| ktpa |
Kilotonnes per annum |
Top of page
L
| Level |
A main underground roadway or passage |
| Limestone |
A sedimentary rock consisting chiefly of calcium carbonate |
| LME |
London Metal Exchange |
| LTIFR |
Lost time injury frequency rate per million manhours worked |
Top of page
M
| Measured Resource |
A mineralised zone intersected and tested by drill holes, underground openings, or other sampling procedures at locations which are spaced closely enough to confirm continuity and
where geo-scientific data are reliably known |
| Metall Dinslaken |
Nyrstar brand name for zinc die casting alloys |
| Mineralisation |
The process by which minerals are introduced into a rock. More
generally a term applied to accumulations of economic or related minerals in quantities ranging from anomalous to economically recoverable |
| MRIFR |
Medically referred injury frequency rate per million manhours worked |
| mt |
Million tones |
Top of page
N
O
| Open pit |
Mine excavation produced by removing all material overlying and including the extracted ore. No underground caverns are created |
| Ore |
Mineral bearing rock which can be mined and treated profitably under current
or immediately foreseeable economic conditions |
| Orebody |
A physically discrete body of rock comprising ore |
| Ounce/oz |
Troy ounce of 31.1 grams |
| OVERCOR |
Nyrstar brand name for zinc die casting alloys |
Top of page
P
| Paragoethite |
A by-product of zinc production |
| Pb |
Lead |
| Precious metals |
Generally refers to gold and silver |
| Pre-stripping |
Removal of waste rock before mining of ore in an open pit |
| Probable Reserve |
An ore estimate that has been based, after application of mining recovery and dilution factors, on an in situ identified resource which has been categorised as “indicated” |
| Proterozoic |
A geological era from 2,400 million years to 570 million years |
| Proved Reserve |
An ore estimate that has been based, after application of mining recovery and dilution factors, on an in situ identified resource which has been categorised as “measured” |
| Pyrite |
An iron sulphide mineral |
Top of page
Q
R
| Recovery |
The percentage of metal in an ore extracted by the metallurgical process |
| Reserve |
An ore estimate based, after application of mining recovery and dilution factors, on an in-situ identified resource. Referred to as an Ore Reserve under JORC |
| Resource |
An in-situ estimate of tonnage and grade of mineralisation, a part of which may be economically mineable. Referred to as an Identified Mineral Resource under JORC |
| Roasting |
A process of burning sulphide to liberate the contained metals |
| ROM stockpile |
Stockpile of “run of mine” ore which provides a buffer, for various reasons, between the mining and crushing operations |
Top of page
S
| SAG mill |
Semi-autogenous grinding ball mill in which the rock being ground assists in the grinding process |
| Sandstone |
A medium grained sedimentary rock with a high content of quartz |
| Sedimentary |
Rocks formed of particles deposited from suspension in water, wind or ice |
| Shaft |
A nearly vertical passage from the surface by which a mine is entered and through which ore is transported |
| SHG |
Special high grade zinc product of 99.995% purity |
| Slag |
Waste product of a smelter |
| Smelting |
Chemical reduction of a metal from its ore by fusion |
| Solvent extraction |
A means of selectively separating a metal in a solution from other elements by its affinity for a particular solvent |
| Sphalerite |
A zinc sulphide mineral |
| Stope |
An underground opening from which ore is extracted |
| Sulphides |
Minerals consisting of a chemical combination of sulphur with metals |
| Sulphide concentrate |
The product, usually of the flotation process, in which
sulphide particles are removed from the crushed rock, containing predominantly sulphide minerals |
Top of page
T
| Tailings |
Material rejected from a treatment plant after the recoverable valuable minerals have been extracted |
| Thickener |
Apparatus for reducing the proportion of water in a pulp |
| tpa |
Tonnes per annum |
Top of page
U
| Underground methods |
Methods used for underground mining as opposed to open pit methods |
Top of page
V
| Volcanic |
Rocks formed from the solidification of lava extruded on or erupted at the Earth’s surface. Also includes pyroclastic rocks |
| VRLA |
A high bismuth lead alloy used in the manufacture of 36V car batteries |
Top of page
W
| Waste to ore (stripping) ratio |
Tonnage/volume of waste material which must be removed to allow the mining of one tonne/cubic metre of ore in an open cut |
| Waste |
Rock other than ore excavated during a mining operation |
| Weathering |
Near-surface alteration of minerals and rocks by exposure to the atmosphere and groundwater |
Top of page
X
Y
Z
Top of page
