Glossaire de Minéralogie

Overburden

The waste rock and soil overlying a mineral deposit that must be removed before or …

Grade

The concentration of valuable minerals or metals in an ore, expressed as grams per tonne …

Skarn

A metasomatic rock formed at the contact between an igneous intrusion and carbonate host rock, …

Open Pit

A surface mining method in which ore is extracted from a large, open excavation in …

Eluvial

Relating to material that has weathered and concentrated in place without being transported by water. …

Beneficiation

The process of treating ore to increase the concentration of valuable minerals by removing gangue. …

Deposit

A natural accumulation of a mineral or minerals in a specific location, implying sufficient concentration …

Gangue

The commercially valueless rock or minerals associated with an ore in a mineral deposit. Common …

Stockwork

A mineral deposit consisting of a network of small, irregular, closely spaced veins and veinlets …

Ore

A naturally occurring rock or mineral from which a valuable constituent, typically a metal, can …

Vein

A tabular body of minerals filling a fracture or fault in host rock, typically formed …

Underground Mining

Mining methods that extract ore from below the surface through shafts and tunnels. Used for …

Placer

A mineral deposit formed by the mechanical concentration of heavy, resistant minerals (gold, cassiterite, diamond, …

Greisen

A hydrothermally altered granitic rock composed mainly of quartz and mica (usually muscovite or lepidolite), …

Assay

The chemical analysis of an ore sample to determine the content of valuable metals or …

Flotation

A mineral processing technique that selectively separates minerals by exploiting differences in their surface hydrophobicity. …

Tailings

The waste material remaining after valuable minerals have been extracted from ore during processing. Tailings …

Smelting

The pyrometallurgical process of extracting a metal from its ore by heating it in a …

Lode

A vein or system of veins containing metallic ore, or more broadly any continuous ore-bearing …

Alluvial

Relating to material deposited by flowing water. Alluvial mineral deposits form in river channels and …