Ausmelt furnace |
The top submerged lance smelting furnace developed principally by Ausmelt and installed at DPMT. |
Backfill |
Waste material used to fill and support the void created by mining an ore body. |
Cash Flow |
Cash flow before changes in working capital is a non-GAAP measure and is defined as cash flow provided from operating activities before changes in operating assets and liabilities. |
Core |
A cylinder of rock produced by diamond drilling. |
Cost of Sales per Ounce |
Cost of sales as per the financial statements divided by the number of gold equivalent ounces sold. |
Cut-off Grade |
A grade level below which the material is not ore and considered to be uneconomical to mine and process. |
Decline |
A passageway from surface or underground connecting one or more levels in a mine or underground development, providing adequate traction for heavy, self-propelled equipment. |
Diamond drill |
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. |
Dilution |
The effect of waste or ore being included unavoidable in the mined ore, lowering the recovered grade. |
Epithermal |
A term applied to deposits formed at shallow depths from ascending solutions of moderate temperatures. |
AuEq |
Gold equivalent. |
Feasibility Study ("FS") |
A comprehensive technical and economic study of the selected development option for a mineral project that includes appropriately detailed assessments of applicable Modifying Factors together with any other relevant operational factors and detailed financial analysis, that are necessary to demonstrate at the time of reporting that extraction is reasonably justified (economically mineable). The results of the study may reasonably serve as the basis for a final decision by a proponent or financial institution to proceed with, or finance, the development of the project. The confidence level of the study will be higher than that of a Pre-Feasibility Study. |
Fire Assay |
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. |
Flotation |
Milling process that uses bubbles to capture valuable mineral particles that float to the surface, thereby separating them from waste which sinks to the bottom. |
Grade |
The amount of valuable mineral in each tonne of ore, expressed as g/t for precious metal and as a percentage by weight for other metals such as copper and zinc. |
g/t; g Au/t |
Grams per metric tonne; grams of gold per metric tonne. |
Holding Furnace |
Used to provide holding capacity between the continuous ausmelt smelting process and the batch converting process. |
Indicated Mineral Resource |
The part of a Mineral Resource for which quantity, grade or quality, densities, shape and physical characteristics are estimated with sufficient confidence to allow the application of Modifying Factors in sufficient detail to support mine planning and evaluation of the economic viability of the deposit. Geological evidence is derived from detailed and reliable
exploration, sampling and testing and is sufficient to assume geological and grade or quality continuity between points of observation. An Indicated Mineral Resource has a lower level of confidence than that applying to a Measured Mineral Resource and may only beconverted to a Probable Mineral Reserve.
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Inferred Mineral Resource |
The part of a Mineral Resource for which quantity and grade or quality are estimated on the basis of limited geological evidence and sampling. Geological evidence is sufficient to imply but not verify geological and grade or quality continuity. An Inferred Mineral Resource has a lower level of confidence than that applying to an Indicated Mineral Resource and must not be converted to a Mineral Reserve. It is reasonably expected that the majority of Inferred Mineral Resources could be upgraded to Indicated Mineral Resources with continued exploration. |
Measured Mineral Resource |
The part of a Mineral Resource for which quantity, grade or quality, densities, shape, and physical characteristics are estimated with confidence sufficient to allow the application of Modifying Factors to support detailed mine planning and final evaluation of the economic viability of the deposit. Geological evidence is derived from detailed and reliable exploration, sampling and testing and is sufficient to confirm geological and grade or quality continuity between points of observation. A Measured Mineral Resource has a higher level of confidence than that applying to either an Indicated Mineral Resource or an Inferred Mineral Resource. It may be converted to a Proven Mineral Reserve or to a Probable Mineral Reserve. |
Metallurgy |
The science of extracting metals from ores by mechanical and chemical processes and preparing them for use. |
Mill |
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. |
Mineral Reserve |
The economically mineable part of a Measured and/or Indicated Mineral Resource. It includes diluting materials and allowances for losses, which may occur when the material is mined or extracted and is defined by studies at Pre-Feasibility or Feasibility level as appropriate that include application of Modifying Factors. Such studies demonstrate that, at the time of reporting, extraction could reasonably be justified. Mineral Reserves are sub-divided in order of increasing confidence into Probable Mineral Reserves and Proven Mineral Reserves. A Probable Mineral Reserve has a lower level of confidence than a Proven Mineral Reserve. |
Mineral Resource |
A concentration or occurrence of solid material of economic interest in or on the Earth’s crust in such form, grade or quality and quantity that there are reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction. The location, quantity, grade or quality, continuity and other geological characteristics of a Mineral Resource are known, estimated or interpreted from specific geological evidence and knowledge, including sampling. Mineral Resources are sub-divided, in order of increasing geological confidence, into Inferred, Indicated and Measured categories. An Inferred Mineral Resource has a lower level of confidence than that applied to an Indicated Mineral Resource. An Indicated Mineral Resource has a higher level of confidence than an Inferred Mineral Resource but has a lower level of confidence than a Measured Mineral Resource. |
Mineralization, mineralized material, mineralized deposit or deposit |
A mineralized body which has been intersected by sufficient closely spaced drill holes and/or sampling to support sufficient tonnage and average grade of metal(s) to warrant further exploration-development work. A deposit does not qualify as a commercially mineable ore body until a final and comprehensive economic, technical, and FS based upon the test results is concluded and supports Proven/Probable Mineral Reserves. |
Mineral Symbols |
Au – gold; Ag – silver; Cu – copper; Mo – molybdenum; Pb – lead; Re – rhenium; Zn – zinc; S - sulphur; and As - arsenic. |
Ore |
A metal or mineral or a combination of these of sufficient value as to quality and quantity to enable it to be legally mined at a profit. |
Ounces/oz |
Troy ounces, equivalent to 31.10348 grams. |
Oz/ton |
Troy ounces per short ton. |
Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") |
A study, other than a pre-feasibility or Feasibility Study, that includes an economic analysis of the potential viability of mineral resources. |
Preliminary Feasibility Study ("PFS") |
A comprehensive study of a range of options for the technical and economic viability of a mineral project that has advanced to a stage where a preferred mining method, in the case of underground mining, or the pit configuration, in the case of an open pit, is established and an effective method of mineral processing is determined. It includes a financial analysis based on reasonable assumptions on the Modifying Factors and the evaluation of any other relevant factors which are sufficient for a QP, acting reasonably, to determine if all or part of the Mineral Resource may be converted to a Mineral Reserve at the time of reporting. A PFS is at a lower confidence level than a FS. |
Probable Mineral Reserve |
The economically mineable part of an Indicated, and in some circumstances, a Measured Mineral Resource. The confidence in the Modifying Factors applying to a Probable Mineral Reserve is lower than that applying to a Proven Mineral Reserve. |
Proven Mineral Reserve |
The economically mineable part of a Measured Mineral Resource. A Proven Mineral Reserve implies a high degree of confidence in the Modifying Factors. |
Pyrite |
A mineral consisting of sulphur and iron, usually of the formula FeS2. |
Qualified Person (QP) |
QP – a Qualified Person under the National Instrument 43-101 for Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects within Canada who is an engineer or geoscientist with at least five years of experience in mineral exploration, mine development, production activities and project assessment, or any combination thereof including experience relevant to the subject matter of the project or report and is a member in good standing. |
Reclamation |
The process by which lands disturbed as a result of mining activity are reclaimed back to a beneficial land use. Reclamation activity includes the removal of buildings, equipment, machinery and other physical remnants of mining, closure of tailings impoundments, leach pads and other mine features and contouring, covering and revegetation of waste rock piles and other disturbed areas. |
Recovery |
A recovery used in process metallurgy to indicate the proportion of valuable material obtained in the processing of an ore. It is generally stated as a percentage of valuable metal in the ore that is recovered compared to the total valuable metal present in the ore. |
Reverberatory Furnace |
A copper concentrate and secondary’s smelting furnace. |
Royalty |
A proportion of the cash flow which is paid to the government or other party with an interest in a mine. |
Semi-autogenous grinding ("SAG") |
A process that uses the tumbling action of the material being ground, in combination with some additional material, such as steel balls, introduced to improve the grinding. |
Stope |
An underground excavation formed by the extraction of ore. |
Strike |
Horizontal direction or trend of a geological structure. |
Tailings |
The material that remains after all metals or minerals of economic interest have been removed from the ore during metallurgical treatment. |
Ton |
Short ton (2,000 pounds). |
Tonne |
Metric tonne (1,000 kilograms/2,204.6 pounds). |