elements of mining

P L AC E R D O M E is one of the worlds largest and most successful gold mining

companies. Our core business is strengthened by the contributions of our copper
and silver assets. Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, PDG now has interests in
17 mines employing 12,000 people in six countries around the world. PDG is
widely acknowledged as the best in the industry at building mines. Over the past
10 years, the company has built four new mines and has completed significant
expansion projects at four existing properties. For more information about PDG
visit placerdome.com.
A D I T : A tunnel driven into the side of a
mountain to access a mineral deposit.
A I R B O R N E M AG N E TO M E T E R :
A device to measure variations in the
earths magnetic field while being
transported by an aircraft.
A N O M A LY : Not an ore deposit, but a
statistical abnormality encountered
during geochemical and/or geophysical
exploration. An anomaly provides a target
for further exploration, however, very
few anomalies are of economic grade.
A S S AY : Testing of a rock sample.

B E N E F I C I AT E : The treating of ore

which results in a more concentrated
form of the product.
C L A I M : A normal claim is an area of
land or water approximately 40 acres in
size which carries the mineral rights
and must be recorded in a government
claim recording office.
C O N C E N T R AT E : The treating of ore
in a mill to remove much of the waste
prior to shipment to the smelter.
C O R E : The resulting test sample from a
diamond drill.
C R O S S C U T : A horizontal underground
tunnel driven from a shaft or drift
toward an orebody or vein and cut across
the direction of the orebody.
D E P L E T I O N : When an orebody is
mined, it is depleted.
D I LU T I O N : The lowering of the grade
of an orebody being mined by the
addition of lower grade or waste rock
to the mill feed.
D R I F T : A horizontal underground
opening driven alongside or through an
orebody to gain access to the deposit.

D R I L L : There are various types of

drills for exploration such as a diamond
drill or reverse circulation drill. Other
types of drills are used for the mining
process which do not produce a core, but
are used to make circular holes in the
rock which are filled with explosives.
E L E CT R O LY T I C : Part of the refining
process in which the product from
the smelter is refined using an electrolytic process to purify the metal. The metal
being refined forms the positive anode
and is deposited on the cathode by an
electric current.
FA U LT : A crack or break in the bedrock
of the earth where one side has slipped
in relation to the other.
F LOTAT I O N : A separation process
used in milling ore in which the valuable
minerals cling to bubbles and float to
the surface while others sink.
G LO R Y H O L E : A colloquial term for a
pit or large hole made from surface to
mine a mineral deposit.
G R A B S A M P L E : A randomly selected
sample of rock to be assayed. A grab
sample will not give a realistic picture of
the value of a deposit, only an indication.

B A S E M E TA L : Metals such as lead,

zinc, and copper.

G R A D E : The value of a mineralized

deposit. Precious metals are usually
expressed as ounces per ton or tonne.
Base metals are expressed as a percent.
L E V E L : An underground mining term
denoting a horizontal tunnel leading
away from the shaft. Levels are usually
at regular intervals of depth.

P R E CA M B R I A N S H I E L D : A U-shaped
area surrounding Hudson Bay consisting
of older rocks of the Precambrian age.
The Shield contains many areas of mineralization, some of which have become
producing mines.
P R O S P E CT : A geologically favorable
area for minerals to occur.

M AT T E : The metal-bearing product

from the smelter which is sent to the
refinery.

R A I S E : An underground tunnel that has

been driven upwards, either at an incline
or vertically.

M I L L : The plant which concentrates the

raw ore by separating the waste from the
valuable metals. The concentrate from
the mill is sent to the smelter.

R E C OV E R Y : The amount of mineral in

ore that is separated and recovered in a
mill usually expressed as a percentage
per tonne of ore treated.

M U C K : A slang term for broken rock

or ore.

R E F I N I N G : The final purification

process of a metal or mineral (See
Electrolytic).

O U TC R O P : Bedrock which is exposed

on the surface of the earth.
OV E R B U R D E N : The sand, gravel, soil,
swamp, water, etc., which lies on top of
the bedrock.
P I LOT P L A N T : A small-scale mill set
up on the mine property to test recovery
techniques before building a large mill.
P L AC E R : A deposit of gold or other
metals which are contained in a sand or
gravel bar in a river or beach, present
or former.

B E D R O C K : The solid rock, comprising

the crust of the earth upon which lies
overburden in the form of soil, pebbles,
gravels, water, etc.

R E S E R V E S : Tonnes of ore in place

the measurement of the size of a mineral
deposit. Ore is usually classified in one of
three categories:
(i) Proven Ore: (Also known as blocked
out, measured and positive ore)developed by underground work or definitive
drilling from the surface (for a pit); usually blocked out on at least two or three
sides by drifts and raises in the ore body.
(ii) Probable or Indicated OreOutlined
by diamond drilling and development on

S H A F T : An opening cut downward

from the surface for transporting personnel, equipment, supplies, ore and waste.
It is also used for ventilation and as an
auxiliary exit. It is often equipped with a
surface hoist system which lowers
and raises a cage in the shaft as well as
skips or containers for bringing up
ore or waste.
S M E LT I N G : The partial recovery of
metal from processed ore. The latter will
have been treated and concentrated at
a mill, but smelting is required to actually recover the metal content and convert
it to a form that is ready for refining.
S TA K I N G : The measuring of an area
and marking with stakes or posts to
establish and acquire mineral rights.
S TO P E : A mining area established
on an underground level where ore is
blasted and broken.
TA I L I N G S : Waste material from a
mineral-processing mill.
V E I N : An opening, fissure, or crack in
rock containing mineralized material.

W I N Z E : A vertical or inclined internal

shaft sunk form one level to another
in a mine.

Head Frame

Diamond
Drill

Ore
Stockpile
Open Pit
Volcano
Reverse
Circulation
Drilling

Heap
Leach Pad

Glory
Hole

Mill

Tailings Pond

Spiral
Decline

Outcrop
Strike
Overburden
Diamond
Drill Hole

Anticline

Pregnant
Pond
Placer
Mining

Dyke

Vent
Shaft
Trackless
Mining
Adit

Sill

Dip
Ore Pass

Mucking
Syncline

Vein in
Shear Zone

Sedimentary Rock

Fault

Shaft

Vein
Level

Raise

Winze
Cage
Ore car

Broken Ore
Reserves

Stope

Igneous Rock

Development
Heading

Ore
Chute
Ore
Pocket

Rock
Drill

Sump
Skip

June 2003

Batholith
(Magma)

(iii) Possible or Inferred OreInferred

from geological projection and more
general exploration drilling.

V E N T S H A F T : An opening cut
downward for circulating fresh air
throughout the mine workings.
Talus
Blocks

Lava
Flows

one side only, but not confirmed by full

development work.