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For hundreds of definitions, see Infomine , The Northern Miner Online , or of course Wikipedia . Abandoned Mine - While definitions vary, abandoned mines are most consistently defined as those mine sites where the miner operator or exploration company has ceased or suspended indefinately their activities, be that exploration, mining or mine production, without rehabilitating the site. Some parties make a distinction between abandoned mines, those being all mine sites in the condition just described, and orphaned mines, those being abandoned mines for which an owner cannot be identified. Acid Mine Drainage - AMD is formed through a series of chemical and biological reactions that occur when a pyrite found in rock strata is disturbed and exposed to oxygen and moisture as a result of mining operations. AMD may contaminate surface and ground water. Acid deposition or acid rain - Refers loosely to a mixture of wet and dry deposited material from the atmosphere containing a higher than normal amount of nitric and sulphuric acids. The precursors or chemical forerunners of acid rain formation result from both natural sources, such as volcanoes and decaying vegetation, and man-made sources, primarily emissions of sulfur and nitrogen oxides resulting from fossil fuel combustion. Acid mine water - Mine water that contains free sulphuric acid, mainly due to the weathering of iron pyrites. Active Mine - A mine is active if it has an owner and mining activities are carried out on the site. Adit - A horizontal passage from the surface by which a mine is entered. Amalgamation - The technique of using mercury to attract small particles of crushed gold and join with them in an amalgam, or alloy. Gold may be recovered by distilling off the mercury. Aquifer - A water-bearing bed of porous rock, often sandstone. Arrastra - (Spanish) A mill, consisting of one or more large stones dragged around on a circular bed, used to grind ore. Backfill - Backfill is the material used to fill voids created by mining excavation. Cage - In a mine shaft, the device, similar to an elevator car, that is used for hoisting personnel and materials. Closed - A mine is closed if licensed mining activities are finished for the mine. The site can be non-, partly-, or fully-rehabilitated. Comminution - The breaking, crushing, or grinding of ore, or rock. Deposit - 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. Drainage - The process of removing surplus ground or surface water either by artificial means or by gravity flow. Dredged - Aggregate- Aggregate generally comprised of sand, gravel and soil which has been removed by machine from under water, for example, from rivers, lakes and oceans. Effluents - liquid discharged as waste. This liquid waste can take the form of tailings impoundment effluent, mine water, mill process water, smleter effluent, treatment pond or treatment facility effluent, seepage or surface drainage from a mining site.

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