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Glossary of Mining Terms: L-R
- Lenticular
- Lens shaped
- Lithology
- Description of the characteristics of rocks
- Logging
- Recording geological, geotechnical and other information from drill core
- Measured mineral resource
- That portion of a mineral resource for which tonnage, densities, shape, physical characteristics, grade and mineral content can be estimated with a high level of confidence. It is based on detailed and reliable exploration, sampling and testing information gathered through workings and drill holes. The locations are spaced closely enough to confirm geological and/or grade continuity
- Mesothermal
- A hydrothermal ore deposit formed at intermediate temperatures (200-300oC) and depths (1,200-4,500m)
- Meta
- A prefix attached to the name of any rock which has undergone metamorphism
- Metallurgical Testwork
- Studies pertaining to the metal content of a rock and the extraction of such metals
- Milling
- A process in which the particle size of the ore is reduced in order to extract the valuable component
- Mineral Resource
- A concentration or occurrence of material of intrinsic economic interest in or on the earth's crust in such a form and quantity that there are reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction. The location, quantity, grade, geological characteristics and continuity of a Mineral Resource are known, estimated or interpreted from specific geological evidence and knowledge. Mineral Resources are subdivided, in order of increasing geological confidence, into Inferred, Indicated and Measured categories
- Mineralisation
- The concentration of metals and their chemical compounds within a body of rock
- Mt
- Million metric tonnes
- Mtpa
- Million tonnes per annum
- Non refractory ore
- Ore that is relatively easy to process for the recovery of valuable minerals or elements
- Ordinary Kriging (OK)
- A geostatistical method used to interpolate grades into a block model from the sample data
- Ore body
- The volume of rock containing the mineral resource
- Ore reserve
- The economically mineable part of a measured or indicated mineral resource. It includes diluting materials and allowances for losses which may occur when the material is mined. Appropriate assessments, which may include feasibility studies, have been carried out, and include consideration of and modification by realistically assumed, mining, metallurgical, economic, marketing, legal, environmental, social and governmental factors. These assessments demonstrate at the time of reporting that extraction could reasonably be justified
- Oxide
- Soft, weathered rock. Formed by the processes of weathering near surface
- Pillars
- Columns of ore left in place as part of the mining process in order to support the hangingwall of the excavation
- Pressure Cyanidation
- Process in which the precious metals are extracted from the processed ore by leaching with a cyanide compound under high pressure conditions
- Pressure Oxidation
- Oxidation of sulphide ore under high pressure conditions in order to make the ore amenable to direct leaching
- Probable ore reserve
- The economically mineable part of an Indicated and in some circumstances measured mineral resource. It includes diluting material and allowances for losses which may occur when the material is mined. Appropriate assessments, which may include feasibility studies, have been carried out, and include consideration of and modification by realistically assumed, mining, metallurgical, economic, marketing, legal, environmental, social and governmental factors. These assessments demonstrate at the time of reporting that extraction could reasonably be justified
- Prospect
- An area of ground considered worthy of investigation with respect to mineral potential
- Proved ore reserve
- The economically mineable part of a measured mineral resource. It includes diluting materials and allowances for losses which may occur when the material is mined. Appropriate assessments, which may include feasibility studies, have been carried out, and include consideration of and modification by realistically assumed, mining, metallurgical, economic, marketing, legal, environmental, social and governmental factors. These assessments demonstrate at the time of reporting that extraction could reasonably be justified
- Pyrite
- Iron sulphide mineral
- Quartz
- A common rock forming mineral (SiO2)
- Raise
- A tunnel driven vertically or sub-vertically perpendicular to the strike of the orebody
- Refractory ore
- Ore in which the gold is not directly amenable to leaching by cyanide without an intermediate process such as pressure oxidation
- RL
- Relative level. Elevation relative to a datum
- RoM
- Run-of-mine. Commonly referring to the ore delivered to the mill from the mine
- Roasting
- A process in which the sulphide ore is heated to high temperatures in order to make the ore amendable to leaching
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