Peel Mining

Exploration & Mining Glossary

Mining and Exploration glossary for words relevant to Peel Mining projects

Strike - The direction of the line that is formed by the intersection of the plane of the rock bed with a horizontal surface. Strike indicates the attitude or position of linear structural features such as faults, beds, joints, and folds.
Stringer - A stringer lode is one in which the rock is so permeated by small veinlets that rather than mining the veins, the entire mass of ore and the enveined country rock is mined. It is so named because of the irregular branching of the veins into many anastomosing stringers, so that the ore is not separable from the country rock.
Structurally controlled - A geological structure is the three-dimensional distribution of rock units with respect to their deformational past, these include; faults, shears, breccias etc. Structurally controlled refers to the mineralisation taking advantage of these structures, either as a conduit or space to accumulate in (see shear hosted).
Sulphide - A compound of sulphur and some other element.
Supergene - Supergene processes or enrichment are those that occur relatively near the surface as opposed to deep hypogene processes. Supergene processes include the predominance of meteoric water circulation with concomitant oxidation and chemical weathering. The descending meteoric waters oxidize the primary (hypogene) sulphide ore minerals and redistribute the metallic ore elements. Supergene enrichment occurs at the base of the oxidized portion of an ore deposit. Metals that have been leached from the oxidized ore are carried downward by percolating groundwater, and react with hypogene sulphides at the supergene-hypogene boundary. The reaction produces secondary sulphides with metal contents higher than those of the primary ore. This is particularly noted in copper ore deposits where the copper sulphide minerals are deposited by the descending surface waters.
Syncline - A structural deformity causing the rock layers to fold, creating an arch shape with the point of maximum curvature forming the hinge, which is concave-up. See Anticline for the reverse.
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