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 A S E M E TA L : Metals such as lead,
zinc, and copper.
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.
Lava Open Pit
Flows
Volcano
Heap
Leach Pad
Anticline Pregnant
Pond
Dyke
Sill
Batholith
(Magma)
Syncline
Sedimentary Rock
Igneous Rock
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.
Reverse
Circulation
Drilling
Placer
Mining
Development
Heading
Rock
Drill
D R I L L : There are various types of G R A D E : The value of a mineralized
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 electrolyt-
ic 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.
Talus
Blocks Head Frame
Mill
Tailings Pond
Adit
Mucking
Shaft
Vein in
Shear Zone
Cage
Stope
P R E CA M B R I A N S H I E L D : A U-shaped
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.
M AT T E : The metal-bearing product
from the smelter which is sent to the
refinery.
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.
M U C K : A slang term for broken rock
or ore.
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.
Ore
Stockpile
Glory
Hole Outcrop
Strike
Overburden
Diamond
Drill Hole
Ore Pass
Winze
Ore car
Ore
Chute
Ore
Pocket
Sump
Skip
one side only, but not confirmed by full
area surrounding Hudson Bay consisting development work.
of older rocks of the Precambrian age.
(iii) Possible or Inferred OreInferred
The Shield contains many areas of min-
from geological projection and more
eralization, some of which have become
general exploration drilling.
producing mines.
S H A F T : An opening cut downward
P R O S P E CT : A geologically favorable
from the surface for transporting person-
area for minerals to occur.
nel, equipment, supplies, ore and waste.
R A I S E : An underground tunnel that has It is also used for ventilation and as an
been driven upwards, either at an incline auxiliary exit. It is often equipped with a
or vertically. surface hoist system which lowers
and raises a cage in the shaft as well as
R E C OV E R Y : The amount of mineral in
skips or containers for bringing up
ore that is separated and recovered in a
ore or waste.
mill usually expressed as a percentage
per tonne of ore treated. S M E LT I N G : The partial recovery of
metal from processed ore. The latter will
R E F I N I N G : The final purification
have been treated and concentrated at
process of a metal or mineral (See
a mill, but smelting is required to actual-
Electrolytic).
ly recover the metal content and convert
R E S E R V E S : Tonnes of ore in place it to a form that is ready for refining.
the measurement of the size of a mineral
S TA K I N G : The measuring of an area
deposit. Ore is usually classified in one of
and marking with stakes or posts to
three categories:
establish and acquire mineral rights.
(i) Proven Ore: (Also known as blocked
S TO P E : A mining area established
out, measured and positive ore)devel-
on an underground level where ore is
oped by underground work or definitive
blasted and broken.
drilling from the surface (for a pit); usu-
ally blocked out on at least two or three TA I L I N G S : Waste material from a
sides by drifts and raises in the ore body. mineral-processing mill.
(ii) Probable or Indicated OreOutlined V E I N : An opening, fissure, or crack in
by diamond drilling and development on rock containing mineralized material.
V E N T S H A F T : An opening cut
downward for circulating fresh air
throughout the mine workings.
W I N Z E : A vertical or inclined internal
shaft sunk form one level to another
in a mine.
Diamond
Drill
Spiral
Decline
Vent
Shaft
Trackless
Mining
Dip
Fault
Vein
Level
Raise
Broken Ore
Reserves
June 2003