Investors
N-Z
N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Nanotesla - The international unit for measuring magnetic flux density.
Native metal - A metal occurring in nature in pure form, uncombined with other elements.
Net profit interest - A portion of the profit remaining after all charges, including taxes and bookkeeping charges, such as depreciation, have been deducted.
Net smelter return - A share of the net revenues generated from the sale of metal produced by a mine.
Net worth - The difference between total assets and total liabilities.
Norite - A coarse-grained igneous rock that is host to copper/nickel deposits in the Sudbury area of Ontario.
Nugget - A small mass of precious metal, found free in nature.
Odd lot - A block of shares that is less than a board lot.
Open order - An order to buy or sell stock, which is good until cancelled by the client.
Open pit - A mine that is entirely on surface. Also referred to as open-cut or open-cast mine.
Option - An agreement to purchase a property reached between the property vendor and some other party who wishes to explore the property further.
Option (on stock) - The right to buy or sell a share at a set price, regardless of market value.
Ore - A mixture of ore minerals and gangue from which at least one of the metals can be extracted at a profit.
Ore pass - Vertical or inclined passage for the downward transfer of ore connecting a level with the hoisting shaft or a lower level.
Orebody - A natural concentration of valuable material that can be extracted and sold at a profit.
Ore Reserves - The calculated tonnage and grade of mineralization which can be extracted profitably; classified as possible, probable and proven according to the level of confidence that can be placed in the data.
Oreshoot - The portion, or length, of a vein or other structure that carries sufficient valuable minerals to be extracted profitably.
Organic maturation - The process of turning peat into coal.
Orogeny - A period of mountain-building characterized by the folding of a portion of the earth's crust.
Outcrop - An exposure of rock or mineral deposit that can be seen on surface, that is, not covered by soil or water.
Overturned - Where the oldest sedimentary rock beds are lying on top of a younger beds.
Oxidation - A chemical reaction caused by exposure to oxygen that results in a change in the chemical composition of a mineral.
Pan - To wash gravel, sand or crushed rock samples in order to isolate gold or other valuable metals by their higher density.
Participating interest - A company's interest in a mine, which entitles it to a certain percentage of profits in return for putting up an equal percentage of the capital cost of the project.
Par value - The stated face value of a stock. Par value shares have no specified face value, but the total amount of authorized capital is set down in the company's charter.
Patent - The ultimate stage of holding a mineral claim, after which no more assessment work is necessary because all mineral rights have been earned.
Pegmatite - A coarse-grained, igneous rock, generally coarse, but irregular in texture, and similar to a granite in composition; usually occurs in dykes or veins and sometimes contains valuable minerals.
Pellet - A marble-sized ball of iron ore fused with clay for transportation and use in steelmaking.
Pentlandite - Nickel iron sulphide, the most common nickel ore.
Peridotite - An intrusive igneous rock consisting mainly of olivine.
Phaneritic - A term used to describe the coarse-grained texture of some igneous rocks.
Picket line - A reference line, marked by pickets or stakes, established on a property for mapping and survey purposes.
Pig iron - Crude iron from a blast furnace.
Pillar - A block of solid ore or other rock left in place to structurally support the shaft, walls or roof of a mine.
Pitchblende - An important uranium ore mineral. It is black in color, possesses a characteristic greasy lustre and is highly radioactive.
Placer - A deposit of sand and gravel containing valuable metals such as gold, tin or diamonds.
Plant - A building or group of buildings in which a process or function is carried out; at a mine site it will include warehouses, hoisting equipment, compressors, maintenance shops, offices and the mill or concentrator.
Plate tectonics - A geological theory which postulates that the Earth's crust is made up of a number of rigid plates which collide, rub up against and spread out from one another.
Plug - A common name for a small offshoot from a large body of molten rock.
Plunge - The vertical angle a linear geological feature makes with the horizontal plane.
Plutonic - Refers to rocks of igneous origin that have come from great depth.
Point - Unit of value of a stock as quoted by a stock exchange. May represent one dollar, one cent or one-eighth of a dollar, depending on the stock exchange.
Polishing pond - The last in a series of settling ponds through which mill effluent flows before being discharged into the natural environment.
Pooling shares - See escrowed shares.
Porphyry - Any igneous rock in which relatively large crystals , called phenocrysts, are set in a fine-grained groundmass.
Porphyry copper - A deposit of disseminated copper minerals in or around a large body of intrusive rock.
Portal - The surface entrance to a tunnel or adit.
Portfolio - A list of financial assets.
Possible reserves - Valuable mineralization not sampled enough to accurately estimate its tonnage and grade, or even verify its existence. Also called 'inferred reserves.'
Potash - Potassium compounds mined for fertilizer and for use in the chemical industry.
Precambrian Shield - The oldest, most stable regions of the earth's crust, the largest of which is the Canadian Shield.
Preferred shares - Shares of a limited liability company that rank ahead of common shares, but after bonds, in distribution of earnings or in claim to the company's assets in the event of liquidation. They pay a fixed dividend but normally do not have voting rights, as with common shares.
Price-to-earnings ratio - The current market price of a stock divided by the company's net earnings per share for the year.
Primary deposits - Valuable minerals deposited during the original period or periods of mineralization, as opposed to those deposited as a result of alteration or weathering.
Private placement - Sale of shares to individuals or corporations outside the normal market, at a negotiated price. Often used to raise capital for a junior exploration company.
Pro rata - In proportion, usually to ownership, income or contribution.
Probable reserves - Valuable mineralization not sampled enough to accurately estimate the terms of tonnage and grade. Also called 'indicated reserves.'
Profit and loss statement - The income statement of a company detailing revenues minus total costs to give total profit.
Prospect - A mining property, the value of which has not been determined by exploration.
Prospectus - A document filed with the appropriate securities commission detailing the activities and financial condition of a company seeking funds from the public through the issuance of shares.
Proton precession magnetometer - A geophysical instrument which measures magnetic field intensity in terms of vertical gradient and total field.
Proven reserves - Reserves that have been sampled extensively by closely spaced diamond drill holes and developed by underground workings in sufficient detail to render an accurate estimation of grade and tonnage. Also called 'measured reserves.'
Proxy - A power of attorney given by the shareholder so that his stock may be voted by his nominee(s) at shareholders' meetings.
Pulp - Pulverized or ground ore in solution.
Put - An option to sell a stock at an agreed upon price within a specified time. The owner can present his put to the contracting broker at any time within the option period and compel him to buy the stock.
Pyramiding - The use of increased buying power to increase ownership arising from price appreciation.
Pyrite - A yellow iron sulphide mineral, normally of little value. It is sometimes referred to as 'fool's gold'.
Pyrrhotite - A bronze-colored, magnetic iron sulphide mineral.
Quartz - Common rock-forming mineral consisting of silicon and oxygen.
Quartzite - A metamorphic rock formed by the transformation of a sandstone by heat and pressure.
Radioactivity - The property of spontaneously emitting alpha, beta or gamma rays by the decay of the nuclei of atoms.
Radon survey - A geochemical survey technique which detects traces of radon gas, a product of radioactivity.
Raise - A vertical or inclined underground working that has been excavated from the bottom upward.
Rake - The trend of an orebody along the direction of its strike.
Rare earth elements - Relatively scarce minerals such as niobium and yttrium.
Reaming shell - A component of a string of rods used in diamond drilling, it is set with diamonds and placed between the bit and the core barrel to maintain the gauge (or diameter) of the hole.
Reclamation - The restoration of a site after mining or exploration activity is completed.
Reconnaissance - A preliminary survey of ground.
Record date - The date by which a shareholder must be registered on the books of a company in order to receive a declared dividend, or to vote on company affairs.
Recovery - The percentage of valuable metal in the ore that is recovered by metallurgical treatment.
Refractory ore - Ore that resists the action of chemical reagents in the normal treatment processes and which may require pressure leaching or other means to effect the full recovery of the valuable minerals.
Regional metamorphism - Metamorphism caused by both the heat of igneous processes and tectonic pressure.
Replacement ore - Ore formed by a process during which certain minerals have passed into solution and have been carried away, while valuable minerals from the solution have been deposited in the place of those removed.
Resistivity survey - A geophysical technique used to measure the resistance of a rock formation to an electric current.
Resource - The calculated amount of material in a mineral deposit, based on limited drill information.
Resuing - A method of stoping in narrow-vein deposits whereby the wallrock on one side of the vein is blasted first and then the ore.
Reverberatory furnace - A long, flat furnace used to slag gangue minerals and produce a matte.
Rhyolite - A fine-grained, extrusive igneous rock which has the same chemical composition as granite.
Rib samples - Ore taken from rib pillars in a mine to determine metal content.
Rights - In finance, a certified right to purchase treasury shares in stated quantities, prices and time limits; usually negotiable at a price which is related to the prices of the issue represented; also referred to as warrants. Rights and warrants can be bought and sold prior to their expiry date because not all shareholders wish to exercise their rights.
Rock - Any natural combination of minerals; part of the earth's crust.
Rockbolting - The act of supporting openings in rock with steel bolts anchored in holes drilled especially for this purpose.
Rockburst - A violent release of energy resulting in the sudden failure of walls or pillars in a mine, caused by the weight or pressure of the surrounding rocks.
Rock factor - The number of cubic metres of a particular rock type required to make up one tonne of the material. One tonne of a highly siliceous ore may occupy 0.40 cubic metres, while a tonne of dense sulphide ore may occupy only 0.25 cubic metres.
Rock mechanics - The study of the mechanical properties of rocks, which includes stress conditions around mine openings and the ability of rocks and underground structures to withstand these stresses.
Rod mill - A rotating steel cylinder that uses steel rods as a means of grinding ore.
Room-and-pillar mining - A method of mining flat-lying ore deposits in which the mined-out area, or rooms, are separated by pillars of approximately the same size.
Rotary drill - A machine that drills holes by rotating a rigid, tubular string of drill rods to which is attached a bit. Commonly used for drilling large-diameter blastholes in open-pit mines.
Royalty - An amount of money paid at regular intervals by the lessee or operator of an exploration or mining property to the owner of the ground. Generally based on a certain amount per tonne or a percentage of the total production or profits. Also, the fee paid for the right to use a patented process.
Run-of-mine - A term used loosely to describe ore of average grade.
Salting - The act of introducing metals or minerals into a deposit or samples, resulting in false assays. Done either by accident or with the intent of defrauding the public.
Sample - A small portion of rock or a mineral deposit taken so that the metal content can be determined by assaying.
Sampling - Selecting a fractional but representative part of a mineral deposit for analysis.
Sandstone - A sedimentary rock consisting of grains of sand cemented together.
Scaling - The act of removing loose slabs of rock from the back and walls of an underground opening, usually done with a hand-held scaling bar or with a boom-mounted scaling hammer.
Scarp - An escarpment, cliff or steep slope along the margin of a plateau, mesa or terrace.
Schist - A foliated metamorphic rock the grains of which have a roughly parallel arrangement; generally developed by shearing.
Scintillation counter - An instrument used to detect and measure radioactivity by detecting gamma rays; more sensitive than a geiger counter.
Secondary enrichment - Enrichment of a vein or mineral deposit by minerals that have been taken into solution from one part of the vein or adjacent rocks and redeposited in another.
Sedimentary rocks - Secondary rocks formed from material derived from other rocks and laid down under water. Examples are limestone, shale and sandstone.
Seismic prospecting - A geophysical method of prospecting, utilizing knowledge of the speed of reflected sound waves in rock.
Self-potential - A technique, used in geophysical prospecting, which recognizes and measures the minute electric currents generated by sulphide deposits.
Semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) - A method of grinding rock into fine powder whereby the grinding media consist of larger chunks of rocks and steel balls.
Serpentine - A greenish, metamorphic mineral consisting of magnesium silicate.
Shaft - A vertical or inclined excavation in rock for the purpose of providing access to an orebody. Usually equipped with a hoist at the top, which lowers and raises a conveyance for handling workers and materials.
Shale - Sedimentary rock formed by the consolidation of mud or silt.
Shear or shearing - The deformation of rocks by lateral movement along innumerable parallel planes, generally resulting from pressure and producing such metamorphic structures as cleavage and schistosity.
Shear zone - A zone in which shearing has occurred on a large scale.
Sheave wheel - A large, grooved wheel in the top of a headframe over which the hoisting rope passes.
Shoot - A concentration of mineral values; that part of a vein or zone carrying values of ore grade.
Short selling - The borrowing of stock from a broker in order to sell it in the hope that it may be purchased at a lower price later on.
Short ton - 2,000 lbs. avoirdupois.
Shrinkage stoping - A stoping method which uses part of the broken ore as a working platform and as support for the walls of the stope.
Siderite - Iron carbonate, which when pure, contains 48.2% iron; must be roasted to drive off carbon dioxide before it can be used in a blast furnace. Roasted product is called sinter.
Silica - Silicon dioxide. Quartz is a common example.
Siliceous - A rock containing an abundance of quartz.
Sill - An intrusive sheet of igneous rock of roughly uniform thickness that has been forced between the bedding planes of existing rock.
Silt - Muddy deposits of fine sediment usually found on the bottoms of lakes.
Sinter - Fine particles of iron ore that have been treated by heat to produce blast furnace feed.
Skarn - Name for the metamorphic rocks surrounding an igneous intrusive where it comes in contact with a limestone or dolostone formation.
Skip - A self-dumping bucket used in a shaft for hoisting ore or rock.
Slag - The vitreous mass separated from the fused metals in the smelting process.
Slash - The process of blasting rock from the side of an underground opening to widen the opening.
Slate - A metamorphic rock; the metamorphic equivalent of shale.
Slickenside - The striated, polished surface of a fault caused by one wall rubbing against the other.
Sludge - Rock cuttings from a diamond drill hole, sometimes used for assaying.
Sodium cyanide - A chemical used in the milling of gold ores to dissolve gold and silver.
Solvent extraction-electrowinning (SX-EW) - A metallurgical technique, so far applied only to copper ores, in which metal is dissolved from the rock by organic solvents and recovered from solution by electrolysis.
Spelter - The zinc of commerce, more or less impure, cast from molten metal into slabs or ingots.
Sphalerite - A zinc sulphide mineral; the most common ore mineral of zinc.
Split - The shareholder-approved division of a company's outstanding common shares into a larger number of new common shares.
Spot price - Current delivery price of a commodity traded in the spot market.
Station - An enlargement of a shaft made for the storage and handling of equipment and for driving drifts at that elevation.
Step-out drilling - Holes drilled to intersect a mineralization horizon or structure along strike or down dip.
Stock exchange - An organized market concerned with the buying and selling of common and preferred shares and warrants by stockbrokers who own seats on the exchange and meet membership requirements.
Stockpile - Broken ore heaped on surface, pending treatment or shipment.
Stope - An excavation in a mine from which ore is, or has been, extracted.
Stop-loss order - An arrangement whereby a client gives his broker instructions to sell a stock if and when its price drops to a specified figure on the market.
Stratigraphy - Strictly, the description of bedded rock sequences; used loosely, the sequence of bedded rocks in a particular area.
Streak - A diagnostic characteristic of minerals, where scratching a sample on a piece of unglazed porcelain leaves powder of a characteristic color.
Street certificate - A certificate representing ownership in a specified number of shares that is registered in the name of some previous owner who has endorsed the certificate so that it may be transferred to a new owner without referral to transfer agent.
Striations - Prominent parallel scratches left on bedrock by advancing glaciers.
Strike - The direction, or bearing from true north, of a vein or rock formation measure on a horizontal surface.
Stringer - A narrow vein or irregular filament of a mineral or minerals traversing a rock mass.
Strip - To remove the overburden or waste rock overlying 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.
Strip mine - An open-pit mine, usually a coal mine, operated by removing overburden, excavating the coal seam, then returning the overburden.
Sub-bituminous - A black coal, intermediate between lignite and bituminous.
Sublevel - A level or working horizon in a mine between main working levels.
Subsidiary company - A company in which the majority of shares (a controlling position) is held by another company.
Sulphide - A compound of sulphur and some other element.
Sulphide dust explosions - An underground mining hazard involving the spontaneous combustion of airborne dust containing sulphide minerals.
Sulphur dioxide - A gas liberated during the smelting of most sulphide ores; either converted into sulphuric acid or released into the atmosphere in the form of a gas.
Sump - An underground excavation where water accumulates before being pumped to surface.
Sustainable development - Industrial development that does not detract from the potential of the natural environment to provide benefits to future generations.
Syenite - An intrusive igneous rock composed chiefly of orthoclase.
Sylvite - potassium chloride, the principal ore of potassium mined for fertilizer manufacturing.
Syncline - A down-arching fold in bedded rocks.
Syngenetic - A term used to describe when mineralization in a deposit was formed relative to the host rocks in which it is found. In this case, the mineralization was formed at the same time as the host rocks. (The opposite is epigenetic.)
Taconite - A highly abrasive iron ore.
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 local watershed.
Talus - A heap of broken, coarse rock found at the base of a cliff or mountain.
Telluride - A chemical compound consisting of the element tellurium and another element, often gold or silver.
Thermal coal - Coal burned to generate the steam that drives turbines to generate electricity.
Thickener - A large, round tank used in milling operations to separate solids from liquids; clear fluid overflows from the tank and rock particles sink to the bottom.
Tonnes-per-vertical-metre - Common unit used to describe the amount of ore in a deposit; ore length is multiplied by the width and divided by the appropriate rock factor to give the amount of ore for each vertical metre of depth.
Trading floor - the area of a stock exchange building where shares are bought and sold.
Trading post - An area on the trading floor of a stock exchange where current stock prices are listed and where the floor traders (representatives of brokerage firms) meet to buy or sell the stocks listed at that particular post.
Tram - To haul cars of ore or waste in a mine.
Treasury shares - The unissued shares in a company's treasury.
Trench - A long, narrow excavation dug through overburden, or blasted out of rock, to expose a vein or ore structure.
Trend - The direction, in the horizontal plane, of a linear geological feature, such as an ore zone, measured from true north.
Tube mill - An apparatus consisting of a revolving cylinder about half-filled with steel rods or balls and into which crushed ore is fed for fine grinding.
Tuff - Rock composed of fine volcanic ash.
Tunnel - A horizontal underground opening, open to the atmosphere at both ends.
Tunnel-boring-machine - A machine used to excavate a tunnel through soil or rock by mechanical means as opposed to drilling and blasting.
Umpire sample or assay - An assay made by a third party to provide a basis for settling disputes between buyers and sellers of ore.
Uncut value - The actual assay value of a core sample as opposed to a cut value which has been reduced by some arbitrary formula.
Underwrite - A firm commitment made by a broker or other financial institution to purchase a block of shares at a specified price.
Uraninite - A uranium mineral with a high uranium oxide content. Frequently found in pegmatite dykes.
Uranium - A radioactive, silvery-white, metallic element.
Vein - A fissure, fault or crack in a rock filled by minerals that have travelled upwards from some deep source.
Vendor - A seller. In the case of mining companies, the consideration paid for properties purchased is often a block of treasury shares. These shares are termed vendor shares and are normally pooled or escrowed.
Visible gold - Native gold which is discernible, in a hand specimen, to the unaided eye.
Volcanic rocks - Igneous rocks formed from magma that has flowed out or has been violently ejected from a volcano.
Volcanogenic - A term used to describe the volcanic origin of mineralization.
Voting right - The stockholder's right to vote in the affairs of the company. Most common shares have one vote each. Preferred stock usually has the right to vote when preferred dividends are in default.
Vug - A small cavity in a rock, frequently lined with well-formed crystals. Amethyst commonly forms in these cavities.
Wall rocks - Rock units on either side of an orebody. The hangingwall and footwall rocks of an orebody.
Warrant - See Rights.
Waste - Unmineralized, or sometimes mineralized, rock that is not minable at a profit.
Wedge - A technique of directing a diamond drill hole in a desired direction away from its current orientation.
Winze - An internal shaft.
Witness post - A claim post placed on a claim line when it cannot be placed in the corner of a claim because of water or difficult terrain.
Working capital - The liquid resources a company has to meet day-to-day expenses of operation; defined as the excess of current assets over current liabilities.
Writeoffs - Amounts deducted from a company's reported profit for depreciation or preproduction costs. Writeoffs are not an out-of-pocket expense, but reduce the amount of taxable profit.
Xenolith - A fragment of country rock enclosed in an intrusive rock.
Yield - The current annual dividend rate expressed as a percentage of the current market price of the stock.
Zone - An area of distinct mineralization.
Zone of oxidation - The upper portion of an orebody that has been oxidized.
N
Nanotesla - The international unit for measuring magnetic flux density.
Native metal - A metal occurring in nature in pure form, uncombined with other elements.
Net profit interest - A portion of the profit remaining after all charges, including taxes and bookkeeping charges, such as depreciation, have been deducted.
Net smelter return - A share of the net revenues generated from the sale of metal produced by a mine.
Net worth - The difference between total assets and total liabilities.
Norite - A coarse-grained igneous rock that is host to copper/nickel deposits in the Sudbury area of Ontario.
Nugget - A small mass of precious metal, found free in nature.
O
Odd lot - A block of shares that is less than a board lot.
Open order - An order to buy or sell stock, which is good until cancelled by the client.
Open pit - A mine that is entirely on surface. Also referred to as open-cut or open-cast mine.
Option - An agreement to purchase a property reached between the property vendor and some other party who wishes to explore the property further.
Option (on stock) - The right to buy or sell a share at a set price, regardless of market value.
Ore - A mixture of ore minerals and gangue from which at least one of the metals can be extracted at a profit.
Ore pass - Vertical or inclined passage for the downward transfer of ore connecting a level with the hoisting shaft or a lower level.
Orebody - A natural concentration of valuable material that can be extracted and sold at a profit.
Ore Reserves - The calculated tonnage and grade of mineralization which can be extracted profitably; classified as possible, probable and proven according to the level of confidence that can be placed in the data.
Oreshoot - The portion, or length, of a vein or other structure that carries sufficient valuable minerals to be extracted profitably.
Organic maturation - The process of turning peat into coal.
Orogeny - A period of mountain-building characterized by the folding of a portion of the earth's crust.
Outcrop - An exposure of rock or mineral deposit that can be seen on surface, that is, not covered by soil or water.
Overturned - Where the oldest sedimentary rock beds are lying on top of a younger beds.
Oxidation - A chemical reaction caused by exposure to oxygen that results in a change in the chemical composition of a mineral.
P
Pan - To wash gravel, sand or crushed rock samples in order to isolate gold or other valuable metals by their higher density.
Participating interest - A company's interest in a mine, which entitles it to a certain percentage of profits in return for putting up an equal percentage of the capital cost of the project.
Par value - The stated face value of a stock. Par value shares have no specified face value, but the total amount of authorized capital is set down in the company's charter.
Patent - The ultimate stage of holding a mineral claim, after which no more assessment work is necessary because all mineral rights have been earned.
Pegmatite - A coarse-grained, igneous rock, generally coarse, but irregular in texture, and similar to a granite in composition; usually occurs in dykes or veins and sometimes contains valuable minerals.
Pellet - A marble-sized ball of iron ore fused with clay for transportation and use in steelmaking.
Pentlandite - Nickel iron sulphide, the most common nickel ore.
Peridotite - An intrusive igneous rock consisting mainly of olivine.
Phaneritic - A term used to describe the coarse-grained texture of some igneous rocks.
Picket line - A reference line, marked by pickets or stakes, established on a property for mapping and survey purposes.
Pig iron - Crude iron from a blast furnace.
Pillar - A block of solid ore or other rock left in place to structurally support the shaft, walls or roof of a mine.
Pitchblende - An important uranium ore mineral. It is black in color, possesses a characteristic greasy lustre and is highly radioactive.
Placer - A deposit of sand and gravel containing valuable metals such as gold, tin or diamonds.
Plant - A building or group of buildings in which a process or function is carried out; at a mine site it will include warehouses, hoisting equipment, compressors, maintenance shops, offices and the mill or concentrator.
Plate tectonics - A geological theory which postulates that the Earth's crust is made up of a number of rigid plates which collide, rub up against and spread out from one another.
Plug - A common name for a small offshoot from a large body of molten rock.
Plunge - The vertical angle a linear geological feature makes with the horizontal plane.
Plutonic - Refers to rocks of igneous origin that have come from great depth.
Point - Unit of value of a stock as quoted by a stock exchange. May represent one dollar, one cent or one-eighth of a dollar, depending on the stock exchange.
Polishing pond - The last in a series of settling ponds through which mill effluent flows before being discharged into the natural environment.
Pooling shares - See escrowed shares.
Porphyry - Any igneous rock in which relatively large crystals , called phenocrysts, are set in a fine-grained groundmass.
Porphyry copper - A deposit of disseminated copper minerals in or around a large body of intrusive rock.
Portal - The surface entrance to a tunnel or adit.
Portfolio - A list of financial assets.
Possible reserves - Valuable mineralization not sampled enough to accurately estimate its tonnage and grade, or even verify its existence. Also called 'inferred reserves.'
Potash - Potassium compounds mined for fertilizer and for use in the chemical industry.
Precambrian Shield - The oldest, most stable regions of the earth's crust, the largest of which is the Canadian Shield.
Preferred shares - Shares of a limited liability company that rank ahead of common shares, but after bonds, in distribution of earnings or in claim to the company's assets in the event of liquidation. They pay a fixed dividend but normally do not have voting rights, as with common shares.
Price-to-earnings ratio - The current market price of a stock divided by the company's net earnings per share for the year.
Primary deposits - Valuable minerals deposited during the original period or periods of mineralization, as opposed to those deposited as a result of alteration or weathering.
Private placement - Sale of shares to individuals or corporations outside the normal market, at a negotiated price. Often used to raise capital for a junior exploration company.
Pro rata - In proportion, usually to ownership, income or contribution.
Probable reserves - Valuable mineralization not sampled enough to accurately estimate the terms of tonnage and grade. Also called 'indicated reserves.'
Profit and loss statement - The income statement of a company detailing revenues minus total costs to give total profit.
Prospect - A mining property, the value of which has not been determined by exploration.
Prospectus - A document filed with the appropriate securities commission detailing the activities and financial condition of a company seeking funds from the public through the issuance of shares.
Proton precession magnetometer - A geophysical instrument which measures magnetic field intensity in terms of vertical gradient and total field.
Proven reserves - Reserves that have been sampled extensively by closely spaced diamond drill holes and developed by underground workings in sufficient detail to render an accurate estimation of grade and tonnage. Also called 'measured reserves.'
Proxy - A power of attorney given by the shareholder so that his stock may be voted by his nominee(s) at shareholders' meetings.
Pulp - Pulverized or ground ore in solution.
Put - An option to sell a stock at an agreed upon price within a specified time. The owner can present his put to the contracting broker at any time within the option period and compel him to buy the stock.
Pyramiding - The use of increased buying power to increase ownership arising from price appreciation.
Pyrite - A yellow iron sulphide mineral, normally of little value. It is sometimes referred to as 'fool's gold'.
Pyrrhotite - A bronze-colored, magnetic iron sulphide mineral.
Q
Quartz - Common rock-forming mineral consisting of silicon and oxygen.
Quartzite - A metamorphic rock formed by the transformation of a sandstone by heat and pressure.
R
Radioactivity - The property of spontaneously emitting alpha, beta or gamma rays by the decay of the nuclei of atoms.
Radon survey - A geochemical survey technique which detects traces of radon gas, a product of radioactivity.
Raise - A vertical or inclined underground working that has been excavated from the bottom upward.
Rake - The trend of an orebody along the direction of its strike.
Rare earth elements - Relatively scarce minerals such as niobium and yttrium.
Reaming shell - A component of a string of rods used in diamond drilling, it is set with diamonds and placed between the bit and the core barrel to maintain the gauge (or diameter) of the hole.
Reclamation - The restoration of a site after mining or exploration activity is completed.
Reconnaissance - A preliminary survey of ground.
Record date - The date by which a shareholder must be registered on the books of a company in order to receive a declared dividend, or to vote on company affairs.
Recovery - The percentage of valuable metal in the ore that is recovered by metallurgical treatment.
Refractory ore - Ore that resists the action of chemical reagents in the normal treatment processes and which may require pressure leaching or other means to effect the full recovery of the valuable minerals.
Regional metamorphism - Metamorphism caused by both the heat of igneous processes and tectonic pressure.
Replacement ore - Ore formed by a process during which certain minerals have passed into solution and have been carried away, while valuable minerals from the solution have been deposited in the place of those removed.
Resistivity survey - A geophysical technique used to measure the resistance of a rock formation to an electric current.
Resource - The calculated amount of material in a mineral deposit, based on limited drill information.
Resuing - A method of stoping in narrow-vein deposits whereby the wallrock on one side of the vein is blasted first and then the ore.
Reverberatory furnace - A long, flat furnace used to slag gangue minerals and produce a matte.
Rhyolite - A fine-grained, extrusive igneous rock which has the same chemical composition as granite.
Rib samples - Ore taken from rib pillars in a mine to determine metal content.
Rights - In finance, a certified right to purchase treasury shares in stated quantities, prices and time limits; usually negotiable at a price which is related to the prices of the issue represented; also referred to as warrants. Rights and warrants can be bought and sold prior to their expiry date because not all shareholders wish to exercise their rights.
Rock - Any natural combination of minerals; part of the earth's crust.
Rockbolting - The act of supporting openings in rock with steel bolts anchored in holes drilled especially for this purpose.
Rockburst - A violent release of energy resulting in the sudden failure of walls or pillars in a mine, caused by the weight or pressure of the surrounding rocks.
Rock factor - The number of cubic metres of a particular rock type required to make up one tonne of the material. One tonne of a highly siliceous ore may occupy 0.40 cubic metres, while a tonne of dense sulphide ore may occupy only 0.25 cubic metres.
Rock mechanics - The study of the mechanical properties of rocks, which includes stress conditions around mine openings and the ability of rocks and underground structures to withstand these stresses.
Rod mill - A rotating steel cylinder that uses steel rods as a means of grinding ore.
Room-and-pillar mining - A method of mining flat-lying ore deposits in which the mined-out area, or rooms, are separated by pillars of approximately the same size.
Rotary drill - A machine that drills holes by rotating a rigid, tubular string of drill rods to which is attached a bit. Commonly used for drilling large-diameter blastholes in open-pit mines.
Royalty - An amount of money paid at regular intervals by the lessee or operator of an exploration or mining property to the owner of the ground. Generally based on a certain amount per tonne or a percentage of the total production or profits. Also, the fee paid for the right to use a patented process.
Run-of-mine - A term used loosely to describe ore of average grade.
S
Salting - The act of introducing metals or minerals into a deposit or samples, resulting in false assays. Done either by accident or with the intent of defrauding the public.
Sample - A small portion of rock or a mineral deposit taken so that the metal content can be determined by assaying.
Sampling - Selecting a fractional but representative part of a mineral deposit for analysis.
Sandstone - A sedimentary rock consisting of grains of sand cemented together.
Scaling - The act of removing loose slabs of rock from the back and walls of an underground opening, usually done with a hand-held scaling bar or with a boom-mounted scaling hammer.
Scarp - An escarpment, cliff or steep slope along the margin of a plateau, mesa or terrace.
Schist - A foliated metamorphic rock the grains of which have a roughly parallel arrangement; generally developed by shearing.
Scintillation counter - An instrument used to detect and measure radioactivity by detecting gamma rays; more sensitive than a geiger counter.
Secondary enrichment - Enrichment of a vein or mineral deposit by minerals that have been taken into solution from one part of the vein or adjacent rocks and redeposited in another.
Sedimentary rocks - Secondary rocks formed from material derived from other rocks and laid down under water. Examples are limestone, shale and sandstone.
Seismic prospecting - A geophysical method of prospecting, utilizing knowledge of the speed of reflected sound waves in rock.
Self-potential - A technique, used in geophysical prospecting, which recognizes and measures the minute electric currents generated by sulphide deposits.
Semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) - A method of grinding rock into fine powder whereby the grinding media consist of larger chunks of rocks and steel balls.
Serpentine - A greenish, metamorphic mineral consisting of magnesium silicate.
Shaft - A vertical or inclined excavation in rock for the purpose of providing access to an orebody. Usually equipped with a hoist at the top, which lowers and raises a conveyance for handling workers and materials.
Shale - Sedimentary rock formed by the consolidation of mud or silt.
Shear or shearing - The deformation of rocks by lateral movement along innumerable parallel planes, generally resulting from pressure and producing such metamorphic structures as cleavage and schistosity.
Shear zone - A zone in which shearing has occurred on a large scale.
Sheave wheel - A large, grooved wheel in the top of a headframe over which the hoisting rope passes.
Shoot - A concentration of mineral values; that part of a vein or zone carrying values of ore grade.
Short selling - The borrowing of stock from a broker in order to sell it in the hope that it may be purchased at a lower price later on.
Short ton - 2,000 lbs. avoirdupois.
Shrinkage stoping - A stoping method which uses part of the broken ore as a working platform and as support for the walls of the stope.
Siderite - Iron carbonate, which when pure, contains 48.2% iron; must be roasted to drive off carbon dioxide before it can be used in a blast furnace. Roasted product is called sinter.
Silica - Silicon dioxide. Quartz is a common example.
Siliceous - A rock containing an abundance of quartz.
Sill - An intrusive sheet of igneous rock of roughly uniform thickness that has been forced between the bedding planes of existing rock.
Silt - Muddy deposits of fine sediment usually found on the bottoms of lakes.
Sinter - Fine particles of iron ore that have been treated by heat to produce blast furnace feed.
Skarn - Name for the metamorphic rocks surrounding an igneous intrusive where it comes in contact with a limestone or dolostone formation.
Skip - A self-dumping bucket used in a shaft for hoisting ore or rock.
Slag - The vitreous mass separated from the fused metals in the smelting process.
Slash - The process of blasting rock from the side of an underground opening to widen the opening.
Slate - A metamorphic rock; the metamorphic equivalent of shale.
Slickenside - The striated, polished surface of a fault caused by one wall rubbing against the other.
Sludge - Rock cuttings from a diamond drill hole, sometimes used for assaying.
Sodium cyanide - A chemical used in the milling of gold ores to dissolve gold and silver.
Solvent extraction-electrowinning (SX-EW) - A metallurgical technique, so far applied only to copper ores, in which metal is dissolved from the rock by organic solvents and recovered from solution by electrolysis.
Spelter - The zinc of commerce, more or less impure, cast from molten metal into slabs or ingots.
Sphalerite - A zinc sulphide mineral; the most common ore mineral of zinc.
Split - The shareholder-approved division of a company's outstanding common shares into a larger number of new common shares.
Spot price - Current delivery price of a commodity traded in the spot market.
Station - An enlargement of a shaft made for the storage and handling of equipment and for driving drifts at that elevation.
Step-out drilling - Holes drilled to intersect a mineralization horizon or structure along strike or down dip.
Stock exchange - An organized market concerned with the buying and selling of common and preferred shares and warrants by stockbrokers who own seats on the exchange and meet membership requirements.
Stockpile - Broken ore heaped on surface, pending treatment or shipment.
Stope - An excavation in a mine from which ore is, or has been, extracted.
Stop-loss order - An arrangement whereby a client gives his broker instructions to sell a stock if and when its price drops to a specified figure on the market.
Stratigraphy - Strictly, the description of bedded rock sequences; used loosely, the sequence of bedded rocks in a particular area.
Streak - A diagnostic characteristic of minerals, where scratching a sample on a piece of unglazed porcelain leaves powder of a characteristic color.
Street certificate - A certificate representing ownership in a specified number of shares that is registered in the name of some previous owner who has endorsed the certificate so that it may be transferred to a new owner without referral to transfer agent.
Striations - Prominent parallel scratches left on bedrock by advancing glaciers.
Strike - The direction, or bearing from true north, of a vein or rock formation measure on a horizontal surface.
Stringer - A narrow vein or irregular filament of a mineral or minerals traversing a rock mass.
Strip - To remove the overburden or waste rock overlying 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.
Strip mine - An open-pit mine, usually a coal mine, operated by removing overburden, excavating the coal seam, then returning the overburden.
Sub-bituminous - A black coal, intermediate between lignite and bituminous.
Sublevel - A level or working horizon in a mine between main working levels.
Subsidiary company - A company in which the majority of shares (a controlling position) is held by another company.
Sulphide - A compound of sulphur and some other element.
Sulphide dust explosions - An underground mining hazard involving the spontaneous combustion of airborne dust containing sulphide minerals.
Sulphur dioxide - A gas liberated during the smelting of most sulphide ores; either converted into sulphuric acid or released into the atmosphere in the form of a gas.
Sump - An underground excavation where water accumulates before being pumped to surface.
Sustainable development - Industrial development that does not detract from the potential of the natural environment to provide benefits to future generations.
Syenite - An intrusive igneous rock composed chiefly of orthoclase.
Sylvite - potassium chloride, the principal ore of potassium mined for fertilizer manufacturing.
Syncline - A down-arching fold in bedded rocks.
Syngenetic - A term used to describe when mineralization in a deposit was formed relative to the host rocks in which it is found. In this case, the mineralization was formed at the same time as the host rocks. (The opposite is epigenetic.)
T
Taconite - A highly abrasive iron ore.
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 local watershed.
Talus - A heap of broken, coarse rock found at the base of a cliff or mountain.
Telluride - A chemical compound consisting of the element tellurium and another element, often gold or silver.
Thermal coal - Coal burned to generate the steam that drives turbines to generate electricity.
Thickener - A large, round tank used in milling operations to separate solids from liquids; clear fluid overflows from the tank and rock particles sink to the bottom.
Tonnes-per-vertical-metre - Common unit used to describe the amount of ore in a deposit; ore length is multiplied by the width and divided by the appropriate rock factor to give the amount of ore for each vertical metre of depth.
Trading floor - the area of a stock exchange building where shares are bought and sold.
Trading post - An area on the trading floor of a stock exchange where current stock prices are listed and where the floor traders (representatives of brokerage firms) meet to buy or sell the stocks listed at that particular post.
Tram - To haul cars of ore or waste in a mine.
Treasury shares - The unissued shares in a company's treasury.
Trench - A long, narrow excavation dug through overburden, or blasted out of rock, to expose a vein or ore structure.
Trend - The direction, in the horizontal plane, of a linear geological feature, such as an ore zone, measured from true north.
Tube mill - An apparatus consisting of a revolving cylinder about half-filled with steel rods or balls and into which crushed ore is fed for fine grinding.
Tuff - Rock composed of fine volcanic ash.
Tunnel - A horizontal underground opening, open to the atmosphere at both ends.
Tunnel-boring-machine - A machine used to excavate a tunnel through soil or rock by mechanical means as opposed to drilling and blasting.
U
Umpire sample or assay - An assay made by a third party to provide a basis for settling disputes between buyers and sellers of ore.
Uncut value - The actual assay value of a core sample as opposed to a cut value which has been reduced by some arbitrary formula.
Underwrite - A firm commitment made by a broker or other financial institution to purchase a block of shares at a specified price.
Uraninite - A uranium mineral with a high uranium oxide content. Frequently found in pegmatite dykes.
Uranium - A radioactive, silvery-white, metallic element.
V
Vein - A fissure, fault or crack in a rock filled by minerals that have travelled upwards from some deep source.
Vendor - A seller. In the case of mining companies, the consideration paid for properties purchased is often a block of treasury shares. These shares are termed vendor shares and are normally pooled or escrowed.
Visible gold - Native gold which is discernible, in a hand specimen, to the unaided eye.
Volcanic rocks - Igneous rocks formed from magma that has flowed out or has been violently ejected from a volcano.
Volcanogenic - A term used to describe the volcanic origin of mineralization.
Voting right - The stockholder's right to vote in the affairs of the company. Most common shares have one vote each. Preferred stock usually has the right to vote when preferred dividends are in default.
Vug - A small cavity in a rock, frequently lined with well-formed crystals. Amethyst commonly forms in these cavities.
W
Wall rocks - Rock units on either side of an orebody. The hangingwall and footwall rocks of an orebody.
Warrant - See Rights.
Waste - Unmineralized, or sometimes mineralized, rock that is not minable at a profit.
Wedge - A technique of directing a diamond drill hole in a desired direction away from its current orientation.
Winze - An internal shaft.
Witness post - A claim post placed on a claim line when it cannot be placed in the corner of a claim because of water or difficult terrain.
Working capital - The liquid resources a company has to meet day-to-day expenses of operation; defined as the excess of current assets over current liabilities.
Writeoffs - Amounts deducted from a company's reported profit for depreciation or preproduction costs. Writeoffs are not an out-of-pocket expense, but reduce the amount of taxable profit.
X
Xenolith - A fragment of country rock enclosed in an intrusive rock.
Y
Yield - The current annual dividend rate expressed as a percentage of the current market price of the stock.
Z
Zone - An area of distinct mineralization.
Zone of oxidation - The upper portion of an orebody that has been oxidized.
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