Alteration
Any physical or chemical change in a rock or mineral subsequent to its formation

Anomaly
Any departure from the norm which may indicate the presence of mineralization in the underlying rock

Assay
A chemical test performed on a sample of ores or minerals to determine the amount of valuable metals contained

Base Metal
Any non-precious metal

Bedrock
Solid rock forming the Earth's crust

Breccia
Type of rock whose components are angular in shape

Bulk Mining
Any large scale, mechanized method of mining involving many thousands of tonnes of ore being brought to surface per day

C$
Canadian Dollars

Carbon-in-Leach
Method of recovering gold and silver from pregnant cyanide solutions by adsorbing the precious metals to granules of activated carbon

Channel Sample
A sample composed of pieces of vein or mineral deposit that have been cut out of a small trench or channel

Chip Sample
A method of sampling a rock exposure whereby a regular series of small chips of rock are broken off along a line across the face

Concentrate
A fine, powdery product of the milling process containing valuable metal, from which most of the waste material in the ore has been eliminated

Concentrator
A milling plant that produces a concentrate of the valuable minerals or metals

Conglomerate
A sedimentary rock consisting of rounded, water-worn pebbles or boulders cemented into a solid mass

Contact
A geological term used to describe the line or plane along which two different rocks come together

Core
The long cylindrical piece of rock recovered by diamond drilling

Country Rock
The general mass of rock adjacent to an orebody (also known as host rock)

Crosscut
A horizontal opening driven from a shaft and at right angles to the strike of a vein or rock formation

Cyanidation
Method of extracting exposed gold or silver grains from crushed or ground ore by dissolving it in a weak solution of sodium or calcium-cyanide (also known as leaching)

Development
Underground work carried out for the purpose of opening up a mineral deposit (shaft sinking, crosscutting, drifting and raising)

Diamond Drill
Rotary type of rock 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

Dilution
Waste or low-grade rock that is unavoidably removed along with the ore in the mining process, subsequently lowing the grade of the ore

Disseminated Ore
Ore carrying small particles of valuable minerals, spread through the gangue matetr; distinct from massive ore wherein the valuable minerals occur in almost solid form with very little waste material included

EM Survey
A geophysical survey method which measures the electromagnetic properties of rocks

Environmental Impact Study
A report, compiled prior to a production decision, that examines the effects proposed mining activities will have on the natural surroundings of the exploration property

Epigenetic
Ore bodies formed by hydrothermal fluids and gases that were introduced into the host rocks from elsewhere, filling cavities in the host rock

Exploration
Prospecting, sampling, mapping, diamond drilling and other work involved in searching for ore

FTAA Financial or Technical Assistance Agreement
A contract involving financial or technical assistance by the company for large-scale exploration and development of local mineral resources. Under this type of contract, the government is entitled to a share of economic benefits accrued from the exploitation of the resource. The amount can take the form of an excise tax, income tax and/or duties and fees. Generally it will only be redeemed after the company has recouped its expenditures for exploration and development.

Geophysical Survey
A scientific method of prospecting that measures the physical properties of rock formations (magnetism, specific gravity, electrical conductivity and radioactivity are the most common)

Gossan
The rust-colored oxidized capping or staining of a mineral deposit, generally formed by the oxidation or alteration of iron sulphides

Grab Sample
A sample taken at random; it is assayed to determine if valuable elements are contained in the rock

Grade
The metal content of ore and drill samples

Igneous Rocks
Rocks formed by the solidification of molten material that originated within the Earth

Induced Polarization
Method of ground geophysical surveying employing an electrical current to determine indications of mineralization

Laterites
A clayey soil characterized by a proportion of nickel, bauxite, manganese and iron, formed by chemical weathering in the tropics and sub-tropics

Magnetometer
An instrument used to measure the magnetic properties of underlying rocks

Metamorphic Rocks
Rocks which have undergone a change in texture or composition as the result of heat and pressure

MPSA Mineral Production Sharing Agreement
An agreement between the Philippine government and a company in which the government grants the company the right to conduct smaller scale mining operations within the contract area in exchange for a share of final mine production. This is generally exercised as an excise tax.

Orebody
Natural concentration of valuable material that can be extracted and sold at a profit

Outcrop
An exposure of rock or mineral deposit that can be seen on the surface

Porphyry
An unstratified or igneous rock having a homogeneous groundmass containing larger crystals of one or more minerals, originally specified as feldspar

Porphyry Copper
Deposit of disseminated copper minerals in a large body of porphyry

Sample
Small portion of rock, or a mineral deposit, taken so that the metal content can be determined by assaying

Schist
A metamorphic rock that has a structure marked by parallel layers of various minerals that can be split into irregular plates

Sedimentary Rocks
Secondary rocks formed from material derived from other rocks and laid down under water (e.g. limestone, shale, sandstone)

Shaft
A vertical excavation made to provide access to an orebody

Short Ton
2,000 lb avoirdupois

Strip
To remove the overburden or waste rock underlying an orebody in preparation for mining by open pit methods

Stripping Ratio
The ratio of tonnes removed as waste relative to the number of tonnes of ore removed from an open pit mine

Sulphide
A mineral compound characterized by the linkage of sulphur with a metal

Tailings
Material rejected from a mill after most of the recoverable valuable minerals have been extracted

Tailings Pond
A low-lying depression used to confine tailings, the prime function of which is to allow enough time for heavy metals to settle out or for cyanide to be destroyed before water is discharged into the receiving watershed

Trench
A long, narrow excavation dug through overburden, or blasted out of rock, to expose a vein or ore structure

Tunnel
A horizontal underground opening, open to the atmosphere at both ends

VMS
Volcanogenic massive sulphide ore deposits or VMS deposits are a type of metal sulphide ore deposit, mainly Cu-Zn which are associated with and created by volcanic-associated hydrothermal events in submarine environments. More.

Volcanic Rocks
Igneous rocks formed from magma that has flowed out or has been violently ejected from a volcano

Volcanogenic
Term used to describe the volcanic origin of mineralization

Wall Rocks
Rock units on either side of an orebody (hanging wall & footwall)