Glossary
Adit – A horizontal opening in the side of a hill to provide access to a mineral deposit.
Cistern – A storage container for holding liquids such as water.
CLEANS – Cleanup of Abandoned Northern Sites.
CNSC – Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.
Decline – A sloping underground opening for access from a different level or from the surface; commonly called a ramp.
Diamond Drilling – A type of mineral exploration drilling that uses hollow, diamond-crowned drill bits to obtain samples for examination.
Drift – A horizontal underground passageway that follows along the length of a rock formation.
Fault – A break in the rock body, which has displaced the rocks/minerals or broken its natural pathway.
Headframe – A structure above the shaft or main opening to the mine, which supports the lifts and pulleys used to move people and equipment in and out of the mine.
Incline – A rising upward slope or surface (i.e., a ramp).
Ore – A mixture of minerals and rocks, which can be mined to extract a metal or mineral for a profit.
Ore reserves – The part of the ore that can be mined for a profit as determined by an economic or geologic study.
Overburden – Layers of soil and rock covering a mineral resource. Overburden is removed prior to mining.
Raise – Area where minerals are removed or mined from the bottom upward.
Shaft – A vertical or sloping hole to provide access to the ore. Usually equipped with a hoist at the top to lower and raise an apparatus carrying people or equipment in and out of the mine.
Tailings – Material rejected or left over after most of the valuable minerals have been extracted.
U3O8– Triuranium trioxide or concentrated uranium that is formed after heating the ore.
Uranium – A naturally occurring, chemical element used as a source of energy.
Waste rock – Rock that is not minable for a profit.
