Adit - An almost horizontal passage from the surface by which a mine is entered and dewatered, or a blind horizontal opening into a mountain, with only one entrance.

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

Azimuth - A term used for surveying 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.

Back - The roof or ceiling of an underground opening.

Backfill - Mine waste or rock used to support the roof after ore removal.

Borehole - Any long or deep drill-hole, usually associated with a diamond drill.

Core sample - A cylindric rock sample generally 1-5" in diameter drilled out of an area. These samples are then examined geologically and if warranted sent for chemical analysis.

Capital stock - The total ownership of a limited liability company divided among a specified number of shares.

Cash flow - A measure of the fiscal strength of a business. The net of the incoming and outgoing of cash during an accounting period. Does not account for depreciation or write-offs which do not involve an actual cash outlay.

Capitalization - A term used to describe the value financial markets place on a company. Determined by multiplying the number of outstanding shares of a company by the current stock price.

Claim - A portion of land held either by a prospector or a mining company under federal or provincial Canadian law. The common size is about 400m square, containing about 16 ha.

Cut and fill - a type of mining consisting of blasting the ore by successive horizontal lift and extracting from the excavation all the ore as the breaking occurs. The mucking of the ore is done with a scraper or loader towards a chute, generally developed in the backfill. The void then created is filled with material that can differ from mine to mine. The waste rock put in place serves as a floor while supporting the walls.

Deposit - A mineral deposit or ore deposit is used to designate a natural occurrence of a useful mineral, or an ore, in sufficient extent and degree of concentration to invite exploitation.

Diamond - The hardest mineral known, composed of pure carbon; low-quality diamonds are used to make bits for diamond drilling in rock.

Diamond drill - A type of rock drill in which the cutting is done by abrasion rather than percussion, by rotating a bit. 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 that is recovered in long cylindrical sections, usually two centimeters or more in diameter.

Dip - The angle that a vein, structure or rock bed is inclined from the horizontal as measured at right angles to the strike.

Drawpoint - An underground opening at the bottom of an excavation in a mine through which broken ore is extracted.

Drill - A machine utilizing rotation, and percussion (hammering), or a combination of both to make holes. Usually, if the hole is over 0.4m in diameter, the machine is called a borer.

Drilling - The use of such a machine (drill) to create holes for exploration or for loading explosives.

Epithermal deposit - A mineral deposit consisting of veins and replacement bodies that usually occurs in volcanic or sedimentary rocks, containing precious metals, and sometimes although rarely, base metals. Epithermal mineral deposits are typically formed within about 1 km of the Earth's surface in a temperature range of between 50 to 200 degrees C, usually forming characteristic vein like structures.

Exploration - The search for mineral deposits and the work done to prove or establish the grade and size of a mineral deposit. Alternatively: Prospecting and subsequent evaluation.

Extraction - The process of mining and removal of diamonds, metals, or ore from a mine.

Fault – An area between two portions of the earth's surface that have moved relative to each other due to tectonic forces. A fault is a failure surface and is evidence of severe earth stresses.

Geologist - Someone who studies the constitution, structure, and history of the earth's crust, conducting research into the formation and dissolution of rock layers, analyzing fossil and mineral content of layers, and endeavoring to fix historical sequence of development by relating characteristics to known geological influences (historical geology).

Inferred resources - Inferred resources are based on an assumed continuity beyond measured and/or indicated resources, for which there is geological evidence. Inferred resources may or may not be supported by samples or measurements.

Indicated resources - Resources from which the quantity and grade and/or quality are calculated from information similar to that used for measured resources, but the sites for sampling, and measurement are farther apart and possibly less all encompassing then measured resource standards. The degree of assurance, although lower than that for measured resources, is high enough to assume continuity between points of observation.

Long hole - Underground boreholes exceeding at lest 10 ft (3.05 m) using more then one length of drill steel or rods joined together to drill to the desired depth.

Mud - A drilling fluid containing essentially clay and water, to lubricate drill rods and casings during drilling.

Metric tonne - Equals 1.102 standard short ton (U.S.).

Room and pillar - A type of mining that consists of a variety of empty excavations where only part of the ore is extracted, the rest being left in the form of pillars to support the back. These pillars may be abandoned definitely or be recuperated later. The dimension of the stopes and pillars depend on the stability of the roof of the underground opening and the ore, the thickness of the deposit and the ground pressures. This type of mining is used for the mining of flat and narrow deposits.

Shaft - A primary vertical or non-vertical opening through mine strata used for ventilation or drainage and/or for hoisting of personnel or materials; connects the surface to the underground workings.

Shaft mine - An underground mine where the main entry or access is by means of a vertical shaft.

Shrinkage stope - A mining method that consists in leaving in the room, for the duration of the mining, a significant part (around 60%) of the broken ore. After each blast, the ore surplus corresponding to the swelling (around 40%) is extracted in a way to leave free space in between the ore in place and the broken ore allowing circulation of the workers. The broken ore, kept in the room serves as a floor and contributes to support the walls. The room is emptied when the bloc is entirely blasted.

Stope - An excavation in a mine from which ore is being or has been extracted.

Stratified - A formation having banded layers, or beds.

Valuation - The act or process of valuing or of estimating the value or worth; also called appraisal.

Workings - The entire system of openings in a mine for the purpose of operation.

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