Exploration & Mining Glossary

Lachlan Orogen - Is a geological subdivision of the east part of Australia. It is a zone of folded and faulted rocks of similar age. It dominates New South Wales, Victoria, also extending into Tasmania. It was formed in the Middle Paleozoic (450 to 340 Mya (million years ago).

Laterite Profile - Is typically formed close to the surface in tropical or sub-tropical climatic conditions, which intensely chemically weather the soils/regolith/underlying rocks forming iron and aluminum enriched clays (saprolites).

Lead (Pb) - Is the element which makes up the Lead sulphide mineral Galena. Lead is considered a heavy metal and is relatively inert to oxidation, making it an expedient metal for general use.

Lens - A body of ore or rock or a deposit that is thick in the middle and thin at the edges, resembling a convex lens in cross-section.

Lode - A deposit of metalliferous ore that fills or is embedded in a fissure in a rock formation or a vein of ore that is deposited or embedded between layers of rock.