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| Back connected |
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A condition where pipe connections are on normally unexposed surfaces of hydraulic equipment. (Gasket mounted units are back connected.)
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| Back pressure |
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A pressure in series. Usually refers to pressure existing on the discharge side of a load. It adds to the pressure required to move the load.
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| Backfill |
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A process whereby mine waste is used to fill a void created by mining out an orebody.
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| Bacterial leaching |
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A bio hydrometallurgical process that uses bacteria (microorganisms) to extract metals from ore. The bacteria catalyse the oxidation of sulphite ore. Used in gold and copper mining.
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| Baghouse |
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An air pollution control device that captures particulate in filter bags.
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| Ball mill |
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Large rotating cylinder filled with metal balls that is used to break ore into smaller pieces.
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| Base metal |
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Typically a non precious metal such as: Copper, Aluminum, Nickel, Tin, Zinc and Lead.
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| Basic rocks |
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An igneous rock, relatively low in silica content and composed of mostly dark-colored minerals.
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| Battery |
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An early method of crushing gold ore. Heavy iron pestles are continuously dropped into a trough containing water and the ore until it is fine enough to filter through screens.. Also called a stamp battery or stamp mill.
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| Bauxite |
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A rock made up of hydrous aluminium oxides. The most common aluminum ore.
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| Beam |
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A bar or straight girder used to support a span of roof between two support props or walls.
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| Bearings |
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A part on which the arbor, pivot, pin, or the like, turns or revolves.
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| Bedrock |
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Solid rock forming the Earth's crust, frequently covered by soil or water.
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| Belt conveyor |
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A looped continuous belt on which material can be carried. Usually constructed of a rubber like substance riding over a pan or rollers shaped like a trough to hold the material in the center of the belt.
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| Benches |
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Steps cut into the walls of an open pit mine. They provide working areas and a safe pit wall angle to be achieved.
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| Beneficiation |
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The treatment of mined material, making it more concentrated or richer.
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| Biological leaching |
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A bio hydrometallurgical process that uses bacteria (microorganisms) to extract metals from ore. The bacteria catalyse the oxidation of sulphite ore. Used in gold and copper mining.
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| Bit |
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The hardened and strengthened device at the end of a drill rod that transmits the energy of breakage to the rock. Frequently made of an ultra-hard material such as industrial diamonds or tungsten carbide.
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| Bit |
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The smallest unit of memory in a computer. A bit is a single digit and can only have the values 0 or 1. Bits are combined into words of memory.
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| Black damp |
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A mixture of unbreathable gases including nitrogen, argon, carbon dioxide and water vapour which displaces oxygen in the air to a level incapable of sustaining human or animal life. Also called stythe or choke damp.
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| Blast furnace |
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A metallurgical furnace used for smelting ores. Iron ore is most commonly treated in this way, and so are some ores of copper, lead, etc.
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| Blasthole |
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A hole drilled for the purpose of placing explosives and blasting.
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| Blasting |
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Detonating explosives to loosen rock and ore for excavation.
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| Blasting agent |
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A material that has a mixture of a fuel and oxidizer. Normally refers to a relatively insensitive mixture such as ANFO, watergel or emulsion explosive.
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| Blasting cap |
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A detonator containing a charge of detonating compound, which is ignited by electric current or the spark of a fuse.
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| Bleed-off |
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To divert a specific controllable portion of hydraulic pump delivery directly to reservoir.
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| Block caving |
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A method of mining where large blocks of ore are undercut which cause it to break or cave in under its own weight. An inexpensive method used when mining ore bodies with a consistent grade.
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| Boiler |
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Steam generation equipment.
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| Bond strength |
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The unit load applied in tension, compression, flexure, cleavage, or shear, required to break an adhesive assembly, with failure occurring in or near the plane of the bond.
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| Borehole |
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A small diameter hole created when recovering a core for geological information. Also a hole used to plant explosives.
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| Boring |
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Drilling holes into hard rock or driving a tunnel with a tunnel boring machine.
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| Braze |
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As in welding, a method of adhering or soldering carbide or other hard metal teeth inserts, or joining pieces of metal.
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| Breaker |
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Slang term for a rock crusher.
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| Breather |
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A device which permits air to move in and out of a container or component to maintain atmospheric pressure.
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| Bridge carrier |
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A mobile conveyor mounted on rubber tires. Used as an intermediary between a mining machine and room/entry conveyor.
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| British thermal unit (Btu) |
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The quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit.
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| Broken reserves |
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Ore that has been broken by blasting inside the mine, but has not yet been transported to the surface.
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| Bucket line dredge |
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A dredge that uses a chain of buckets to remove and lift gravels for further processing.
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| Bulk mining |
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Large scale, mechanized mining operation where thousands of tonnes of ore are brought to the surface on a daily basis.
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| Bulk sample |
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A large sample of mineralized rock selected to provide information about the overall properties of an ore body. Often used to determine metallurgical characteristics.
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| Byproduct |
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Product recovered of a lesser quantity compared to the primary product. For example silver recovered from a gold mine.
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