A-E
- AIRBORNE GEOPHYSICAL SURVEY A survey where geophysical data are
collected using an aircraft
- AIRGRAVtm A patented system developed by Bell Geosystems to measure
variations of the earth’s gravitational field from an aircraft
- ALLUVIAL Pertaining to silt, sand and gravel material transported by a river
- ANOMALY/ANOMALIES An area/areas where exploration has revealed results
higher than the local background
- ANDESITE/ANDESITIC A Mafic volcanic rock composed of calcic feldspar and
one of more of the mafic minerals pyroxene, olivine and hornblende
- ALTERATION The change in the mineral composition of a rock commonly due to
hydrothermal alteration
- Au Chemical symbol for gold
- BLEG Bulk Leach Extractable Gold (stream sediment sampling method)
- CSAMT Controlled Source Audio Magneto Tellurics
- DATA INTERVENTION Collation, digitisation and interrogation of data
- DDH - Diamond Drill Hole - A drilling method that uses drill bits coated with
diamonds to recover solid cores of rock from below the ground surface. Holes
drilled using this drilling method are commonly prefixed DDH to communicate
the drilling method
- DEPOSIT A body of mineralisation that may or may not be economic to mine
- EPITHERMAL Pertaining to mineral veins and ore deposits formed from warm
waters at shallow depth, at temperatures ranging from 50 to 200 degrees C and
generally some distance from the magmatic source
- EXPLORATION PERMIT (EP) An Exploration Permit issued under the Crown
Minerals Act 99 of New Zealand allows the holder to explore using mechanised
methods but is subject to obtaining access to the land from the landowner
- EXPOSURE(S) Underlying rocks are exposed at surface, synonym for outcrop
F-O
- FAULT A fracture zone along which rocks on one side have moved relative to
the other side
- g/t An abbreviation for grams per tonne, a unit of measurement of the
concentration of metal in rock, equivalent to parts per million (ppm)
- GEOCHEMICAL Pertains to the concentration of an element
- GEOPHYSICS/GEOPHYSICAL The study of the physical properties of rocks, such
as magnetism, conductivity and density: A method of exploration based on this
by inferring geologic features from measurements of physical properties
- GEOTHERMAL A term to describe energy derived from the internal heat of the
earth
- GEOCHEMIST A scientist who specialises in the chemical composition of rocks
and the process that can change the chemical composition of rocks
- GREENFIELDS EXPLORATION An exploration term used to describe exploration
in areas were no economic mineralisation has been previously discovered
- GROUND VERIFICATION Processes where physical evidence corroborates
remote sensing techniques
- HARD ROCK Hard rock mining refers to various mining techniques used to
excavate hard minerals such as those containing metals like gold, copper, zinc,
nickel and lead or gems such as diamonds. In contrast soft rock mining refers
to excavation of softer minerals such as coal, or oil sands
- LITHOLOGY/LITHOLOGIES The study and description of rocks, including their
mineral composition and texture. Also used in reference to the compositional
and textural characteristics of a rock
- MESOTHERMAL A hydrothermal mineral deposit formed at great depth at
temperatures of 200 to 300 degrees C
- MINERALISATION The process by which minerals are introduced into rock. More
generally a term applied to accumulations of economic or related minerals in
quantities ranging from anomalous to economically recoverable
- MIOCENE A period of geologic time from 5.5 million years to 24 million years
before present
- NET SMELTER ROYALTY A royalty that is a percentage of the mineral’s value at
the time of production/sale
- OUNCE/OZ (Troy ounce) Imperial measure of the weight of gold. One troy
ounce is exactly equal to 31.1034768 grams
- OUTCROPPING Underlying rocks exposed at surface
P-Q
- PLIOCENE A period of geologic time from 8 million years to 5.5 million years
before present
- ppb An abbreviation for parts per billion, a unit of measurement of the
concentration of metal in rock or soil
- ppm An abbreviation for parts per million, a unit of measurement of the
concentration of metal in rock or soil
- PROSPECTING PERMIT (PP) A Prospecting Permit issued under the Crown
Minerals Act 99 of New Zealand allows the holder to explore by hand held
methods only
- PROSPECT An area of a permit which has a demonstrated potential to host a
resource
- PROSPECTIVE General term for the perceived potential for the discovery of
resources based on the knowledge of factors such as favourable geological
setting, structures, alteration, geochemical and or geophysical responses, and
occurrences of mineralisation
- PROVINCE An area, region or district of similar geology
- QUARTZ A common rock forming mineral composed of silicon dioxide
- QUARTZ REEF Old mining term used to describe large quartz veins
- QUARTZ VEINS A tabular quartz infill of a fissure or crack in a rock
R-Z
- RC A drilling method that uses a hammer driven by compressed air to collect a
sample from below the earth’s surface and which is returned to surface inside
the drill rods to reduce contamination. This drilling process is called Reverse
Circulation (RC) drilling and drill holes are commonly prefixed RC to
communicate the drilling method
- RAB (Rotary Air Blast), a relatively inexpensive and less accurate drilling
technique involving the collection of a sample from below the earth surface
where the sample is returned to surface by compressed air outside the drilling
rods
- RADIOMETRIC SURVEY A geophysical survey technique in which measurements
are made of variations of natural radioactivity of the earth’s surface
- RESISTIVITY A measure of how difficult it is to pass an electrical current
between two points
- RESISTIVITY SURVEY A geophysical survey technique in which measurements
are made of natural variations of the earth’s subsurface resistivity
- RESOURCE An identified in situ mineral occurrence from which valuable or
useful minerals may be recovered. Mineral resources are divided into Inferred,
Indicated and measured categories according to the JORC code (an industry
standard for reporting)
- STRATIGRAPHIC A term to describe the sequence of rock layers found in a
specific geographic area, arranged in the order of their deposition
- STRIKE The orientation of a layer of rock or geologic structure in the horizontal
plane
- SUBDUCTION The process of convergence of two tectonic plates one of which
usually overrides the other
- WORLD CLASS In the context of a gold deposit, a world class deposit is one
which via a combination of historic mining and current resources has/had
resources in excess of 5 million ounces.
- CCVR the Coromandel (Hauraki) /Central
Volcanic Region
- CVR Central Volcanic Region
- GENZL Glass Earth (New Zealand) Limited
- HPD HPD New Zealand Limited
OTHER EXPRESSIONS
Metric and Imperial Units – Conversion from
metric units into imperial equivalents is as
follows:
Metric Units Imperial Units
Hectare (ha) 2.47 acres
Metre (m) 3.28 feet
Kilometre (km) 0.62 miles (3,28 feet)
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