Download: Mining Glossary

Are you new to the mining industry? Are you struggling to keep up with industry jargon, such as bleeder, fly ash and inby?

Our comprehensive glossary covers all of the key terms you need to know. Below is a sample of what’s included, but you can >>download the full glossary here. I hope you find it useful!

You may also be interested in the 3 Day MBA in Mining, a comprehensive training course covering everything you need to know about the mining industry, ideal for new entrants, as well as suppliers and advisors to the industry.

Abutment – In coal mining, (1) the weight of the rocks above a narrow roadway is transferred to the solid coal along the sides, which act as abutments of the arch of strata spanning the roadway; and (2) the weight of the rocks over a longwall face is transferred to the front abutment, that is, the solid coal ahead of the face and the back abutment, that is, the settled packs behind the face.

Acid deposition or acid rain – Refers loosely to a mixture of wet and dry "deposition" (deposited material) from the atmosphere containing higher than "normal" amount of nitric and sulphuric acids.

Advance – Mining in the same direction, or order of sequence; first mining as distinguished from retreat.

Agglomeration – A family of processes which can be used to concentrate valuable minerals (including coal) based on their adhesive properties.

Air split – The division of a current of air into two or more parts.

Anemometer – Instrument for measuring air velocity.

Angle of dip – The angle at which strata or mineral deposits are inclined to the horizontal plane.

Angle of draw – In coal mine subsidence, this angle is assumed to bisect the angle between the vertical and the angle of repose of the material and is 20° for flat seams. For dipping seams, the angle of break increases, being 35.8° from the vertical for a 40° dip. The main break occurs over the seam at an angle from the vertical equal to half the dip.

Angle of repose – The maximum angle from horizontal at which a given material will rest on a given surface without sliding or rolling.

Anthracite coal – Of the four types of coal, anthracite is the hardest and contains the highest heat value. It is almost pure carbon and is used mainly for home heating and cooking. In some developing countries, it is also used for industrial purposes.

Anticline – An upward fold or arch of rock strata.

Arching – Fracture processes around a mine opening, leading to stabilization by an arching effect.

Auger – A rotary drill that uses a screw device to penetrate, break, and then transport the drilled material (coal).

Azimuth – A surveying term that references the angle measured clockwise from any meridian (the established line of reference). The bearing is used to designate direction. The bearing of a line is the acute horizontal angle between the meridian and the line.

>>download the full glossary here