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For ease of reference, the following factors for converting metric measurements into imperial equivalents are provided:
The following is a glossary of technical terms that may be found in this website and in the documents incorporated by reference:
A passage driven horizontally into a mountainside provide access to a mineral deposit from the surface of the working of a mine.
The attachment of one substance to the surface of another.
A rock condition where andesite, an igneous rock that has a silica content of approximately 60 percent, is present.
An alteration characterized by quartz clay mix chloride.
A whitish to steel gray coloured arsenian mineral (FeAsS).
Gold.
The Australasian Code for Reporting of Identified Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves.
The equipment used in an oxidation process in which high temperatures and pressures are applied to convert refractory sulphide mineralization into amenable oxide ore.
Grinding ore without the use of media such as steel balls or rods.
Waste material used to fill and support the void created by mining an ore body.
A rock formation that shows pronounced banding of iron rich minerals and fine-grained quartz. Where mineralized the formation contains sulphide and carbonate mineral.
A substance that contains calcium carbonate.
A Carbon in leach. CIL is a recovery process in which a slurry of gold ore, carbon granules and cyanide are mixed together. The cyanide dissolves the gold which is then adsorbed on the carbon. The carbon is subsequently separated from the slurry, and the gold removed from the carbon.
Tailings material (sub-economic ground residue from mineral processing operations) that has been processed to remove fine-grained solids to promote free drainage of water. Commonly used as underground fill material.
A corporation formed under laws other than the federal laws of Canada may apply to be "continued" under the federal Canada Business Corporations Act (the "CBCA") by applying for a certificate of continuance from the Corporations Directorate. Once the certificate is issued, the CBCA applies to the corporation as if the corporation was incorporated under the CBCA.
An underground working or tunnel that is perpendicular to the trend of the rock layering.
A plant in which run-of-mine ore is reduced in size by mechanical crushing to improve the liberation of gold particles for downstream recovery.
Copper.
A method of stoping in which ore is removed in slices (or lifts) and then the excavation is filled with rock or other waste material known as back fill, before the subsequent slice is mined.
The process of extracting gold or silver through dissolution in a weak solution of sodium cyanide.
An underground passageway connecting one or more levels in a mine and providing adequate traction for heavy, self-propelled equipment. These underground openings are often driven in a downward spiral, much the same as a spiral staircase.
Faults whose apparent direction of relative movement to each side is towards the right.
A type of rotary drill in which the cutting is done by abrasion rather than percussion. The cutting bit is set with diamonds and is attached to the end of long hollow rods through which water is pumped to the cutting face. The drill cuts a core of rock which is recovered in long cylindrical sections, an inch or more in diameter.
Waste material not separated from mined ore that was below the calculated economic cut-off grade of the deposit. Dilution results in increased tonnage mined and reduced overall grade of the ore.
A light to dark coloured, crystalline intrusive igneous rock, composed of calcium, sodium and ironbearing alumino-silicate minerals.
The angle which a geological structure forms with a horizontal surface, measured perpendicular to the strike of the structure.
Unrefined gold and silver in bullion form.
A device or technology that recovers airborne particular matter.
A surface or zone of rock fracture along which there has been displacement, from a few centimeters to a few kilometers in scale.
A channelway in a rock through which mineral-bearing and/or metal-bearing solutions or gases likely moved.
A type of analytical procedure that involves the heat of a furnace and a fluxing agent to fuse a sample to collect any precious metals (such as gold) in the sample. The collected material is then analyzed for gold or other precious metals by weight or spectroscopic methods.
A byproduct of the flotation process containing primary metals.
A process by which some mineral particles are induced to become attached to bubbles and float, and other particles to sink, so that the valuable minerals are concentrated and separated from the host rock.
A parallel orientation of platy minerals or mineral banding in rocks. Most common in metamorphic rocks.
Grams.
Grams of gold per metric tonne.
A dark coloured, crystalline intrusive igneous rock, composed principally of the calcium, iron and magnesium bearing alumino-silicate minerals.
Minerals that are sub-economic to recover as ore.
The weight of precious metals in each tonne of ore.
Hectare.
The process of stacking ore in a heap on an impermeable pad and percolating a solution through the ore that contains a leaching agent such as cyanide. The gold that leaches from the ore into the solution is recovered from the solution by carbon absorption or precipitation. After adding the leaching agent, the solution is then recycled to the heap to effect further leaching.
The body of rock in which mineralization of economic interest occurs.
Denotes the specific diameter of core in diamond drilling.
That part of a mineral resource for which quantity grade or quality, densities, shape and physical characteristics can be estimated with a level of confidence sufficient to allow the appropriate application of technical and economic parameters, to support mine planning and evaluation of the economic viability of the deposit. The estimate is based on detailed and reliable exploration and testing information gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes that are spaced closely enough for geological and grade continuity to be reasonably assumed.
That part of a mineral resource for which quantity and grade or quality can be estimated on the basis of geological evidence and limited sampling and reasonably assumed (but not verified) geological and grade continuity. The estimate is based on limited information and sampling gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes.
Induced polarization, a method of ground geophysical surveying using an electrical current to determine indications of mineralization.
Refers to a folded rock, in which two adjacent limbs are parallel.
Kilometre.
Kilometres per hour.
Square kilometres.
Gold being dissolved in cyanide solution in heap leaching or in tanks in a processing plant (agitated leach, carbon in pulp, carbon in leach).
Life of mine.
A method of mining that involves drilling holes (typically up to 30 meters long) into an ore body and then blasting a slice of rock which falls into an open space. The broken ore is extracted and the resulting open chamber is not filled with supporting material.
Meters.
Square meters.
Cubic meters.
Meters above sea level.
That part of a mineral resource for which quantity, grade or quality, densities, shape and physical characteristics are so well established that they can be estimated with confidence sufficient to allow the appropriate application of technical and economic parameters to support production planning and evaluation of the economic viability of the deposit. The estimate is based on detailed and reliable exploration, sampling and testing information gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes that are spaced closely enough to confirm both geological and grade continuity.
The science of extracting metals from ores by mechanical and chemical processes and preparing them for use.
0.000001 meters.
A plant where ore is crushed and ground to expose metals or minerals of economic value, which then undergo physical and/or chemical treatment to extract the valuable metals or minerals.
0.001 meters.
An excavation in the earth for the purpose of extracting minerals. The excavation may be an open pit on the surface or underground workings.
That part of a measured or indicated mineral resource that could be economically mined, demonstrated by at least a preliminary feasibility study that includes adequate information on mining, processing, metallurgical, economic and other relevant factors that demonstrate (at the time of reporting) that economic extraction can be justified. A mineral reserve includes diluting materials and allowances for losses that may occur when the material is mined. Mineral reserves are those parts of mineral resources that, after applying all mining factors, result in an estimated tonnage and grade that, in the opinion of the qualified person(s) making the estimates, is the basis of an economically viable project after taking account of all relevant processing, metallurgical, economic, marketing, legal, environment, socio-economic and government factor. The term "mineral reserve" need not necessarily signify that extraction facilities are in place or operative or that all governmental approvals have been received, although it does signify that there are reasonable expectations of such approvals. Mineral reserves are subdivided into proven mineral reserves and probable mineral reserves. Mineral reserves fall under the following categories:
A concentration or occurrence of natural, solid, inorganic or fossilized organic material in or on the earth's crust in such form and quantity and of such a grade or quality that it has reasonable prospects for 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 fall under the following categories:
Rock containing minerals or metals of potential economic interest.
Millimeters.
A coarse-grained igneous rock containing less than 10 percent quartz.
Million tonnes
An excavation for removing minerals that is open to the surface.
A natural aggregate of one or more minerals that, at a specified time and place, may be mined and sold at a profit, or from which some part may be profitably separated.
Troy ounce, equal to approximately 31.103 grams.
Mineralized rock in which some of the original minerals, usually sulphide, have been oxidized. Oxidation tends to make the ore more porous and permits a more complete permeation of cyanide solutions so that minute particles of gold in the interior of the minerals will be readily dissolved.
Troy ounces per short ton.
Unit of geologic time spanning from 570 to 245 million years ago.
A metamorphic rock containing fine-grained, planar-oriented mica minerals. This orientation imparts a layering to the rock.
A light-coloured, crystalline intrusive igneous rock, composed of sodium and calcium bearing alumino-silicate minerals and quartz (SiO2).
Texture of an igneous rock in which larger crystals are set in a finer groundmass.
An alteration type characterized by the pressure of quartz, potassium, feldspar and biotite.
That part of an indicated (and in some circumstances a measured) mineral resource that is economically mineable, demonstrated by at least a preliminary feasibility study that includes adequate information on mining, processing, metallurgical, economic, and other relevant factors that demonstrate (at the time of reporting) that economic extraction can be justified.
Unit of geologic time spanning from 2,500 to 570 million years ago.
That part of a measured mineral resource that is economically mineable, demonstrated by at least a preliminary feasibility study that includes adequate information on mining, processing, metallurgical, economic, and other relevant factors that demonstrate (at the time of reporting) that economic extraction is justified.
Rotary Air Blasting.
An inclined underground tunnel which provides access for mining or a connection between levels of a mine.
Reverse circulation.
A term, generally stated as a percentage, used in process metallurgy to indicate the proportion of valuable material obtained in the processing of an ore.
Gold mineralized material in which the gold is not amenable to recovery by conventional cyanidation without any pre-treatment. The refractory nature can be either silica or sulphide encapsulation of the gold or the presence of naturally occurring carbon, which reduces gold recovery.
A method of oxidizing refractory ore using heat.
A product of the roasting process.
Run of mine. Pertains to the ore that has been mined but not crushed.
Pertains to the ore which has been mined but not crushed.
Semi-autogenous grinding. A method of grinding rock into fine powder whereby the grinding media consist of larger chunks of rocks and steel balls.
A device that removes SO 2from gaseous emissions.
A vertical or sub-vertical passageway to an underground mine for moving personnel, equipment, supplies and material, including ore and waste rock.
Equal to 2,000 pounds, equivalent to 0.893 long tons or 907.185 kilograms.
A method of stoping which utilises part of the broken ore as a working platform and as support for the walls.
A tabular intrusive igneous rock that parallels the planar structure of the surrounding rock.
Faults whose apparent direction of relative movement to each side is towards the left.
Sulphur dioxide gas.
A series of minor faults at the extremities of a major fault.
An underground excavation from which ore is being extracted.
Azimuth of a plane surface aligned at right angles to the dip of the plane used to describe the orientation of stratigraphic units or structures.
Ore containing a significant quantity of unoxidized sulphides.
The material that remains after all metals or minerals of economic interest have been removed from ore during milling.
A metric tonne: 1,000 kilograms or 2,204.6 pounds.
A type of fine-grained igneous rock.
Barren rock in a mine, or mineralized material that is too low in grade to be mined and milled at a profit.
A vertical or inclined shaft sunk from a point inside a mine.
A chemical process whereby gold in solution is collected on carbon particles.