| TERM |
DEFINITION |
| Agglomeration |
A family of processes which can be used to concentrate
valuable minerals (including coal) based on their adhesive properties. |
| Anthracite |
Anthracite is a type of coal
that has the highest carbon content and the lowest moisture and ash content.
Anthracite burns slowly and makes a good heating fuel for homes. The United
States has about 7.3 billion tons of anthracite, most of which can be found
in Pennsylvania. |
| Bituminous |
An intermediate ranked coal between anthracite and sub-bituminous
coal. It has high carbon content and is low in moisture content. Bituminous
coal can be used for both steelmaking and power generation. Low and medium
volatile bituminous coals are ranked by their carbon content, while high
volatile bituminous coals are ranked by their heating value. It is used to
generate electricity and to produce coke, a coal residue used in the steel
industry. Bituminous coal is the most plentiful type in the United States. |
| Boiler |
A tank in which water is heated or steam is generated. |
| Breaker |
A machine which combines coal crushing and screening.
Normally consists of a rotating drum in which coal is broken by gravity
impact against the walls of the drum. |
| Btu |
Btu is an abbreviation for
British thermal unit, the standard for measuring the energy required to raise
the temperature of 1 pound of water by 1 degree Fahrenheit. |
| Carbon Dioxide |
A colorless, odorless, non- toxic radiative gas that is
essential to plant and animal life. It is also emitted as a result of burning
organic materials, including fossil fuels. |
| Charcoal |
The residue, primarily carbon, from the partial combustion
of wood or other organic matter. |
| Clean-Coal Technologies |
Technologies that allow coal-
based power or electricity generation to have improved environmental
performance, through decreased emissions. These technologies decrease
emissions by using coal in a more efficient and cost- effective manner. |
| Climate |
The long- term / overall weather of an area. Climate
therefore, is the cumulative grouping of separate weather patterns. (see
Weather) |
| Climate Change |
A wholly natural phenomenon in which climate varies over
centuries and millennia through the influence of various factors, such as
solar cycles, the change of relative humidity in the atmosphere, and changing
levels of gases in the atmosphere. |
| Coal |
Coal is a burnable carbonaceous
rock that contains large amounts of carbon. Coal is also a fossil
fuel---a substance that contains the remains of plants and animals and
that can be burned to release energy. Coal contains other elements such as
hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen; has various amounts of minerals; and is
itself considered to be a mineral of organic origin. |
| Coal Desulphurization |
Removal of sulphur from coal or coal gas. |
| Coal Gasification |
Coal gasification is the
process that changes coal into a gas that has the same heating value as
natural gas and that is cleaner than burning coal itself. |
| Coke |
A hard, dry carbon substance produced by heating coal to a
very high temperature in the absence of air. Coke is used in the manufacture
of iron and steel. |
| Continuous miner |
A continuous miner is a machine
with large, rotating cutters that break into the coal and with arms that
scoop the coal onto a built- in conveyor. |
| Deep mining |
See Underground mining. |
| Dip |
Inclination of geological features from the horizontal. |
| Dolerite |
Any dark, igneous rock composed chiefly of silicates of iron
and magnesium with some feldspar. |
| Dyke |
A tabular igneous intrusion that cuts across the bedding or
foliation of the country rock. |
| Ecca Group |
Stratigraphic sequence in Southern Africa containing coal
deposits. |
| Energy |
The capacity to do work; more commonly used as an all-
encompassing generic term describing fuel sources used to provide power. |
| Erosional surface |
Ground surface or lithological unit that has been subjected to
weathering or geological erosion. |
| Fault |
Fracture or a fracture zone in crystal rocks along which there
has been displacement of the two sides relative to one another parallel to
the fracture. |
| Fossil fuel |
A fossil fuel is a fuel formed
from the remains of organic materials. Fossil fuels include coal, oil, and
natural gas. |
| Gasification |
(see Coal Gasification) |
| Generator |
A generator is a machine that
turns mechanical energy into electric energy. |
| Geotechnical Engineering |
The branch of engineering that specializes in assessing the
stability and strength of soil and rock materials, as well as groundwater
conditions. In mining, geotechnical engineering principles are used to determine
the appropriate design of mine features such as pit walls, tunnels and
earthen embankments. |
| Hopper |
A bin or funnel that is loaded from the top and which
discharges through a door or chute at the bottom. |
| Hydrocarbons |
A class of compounds containing hydrogen and carbon formed
by the decomposition of plant and animal remains, including coal, mineral
oil, petroleum, natural gas, paraffin, the fossil resins and the solid bitumens occurring in rocks. Gasoline is a mixture of
hydrocarbons. |
| Igneous |
Said of a rock or mineral that solidified from molten or
partly molten material, i.e., from a magma; also
applied to processes leading to, related to, or resulting from the formation
of such rocks. Igneous rocks constitute one of the three main classes into
which rocks are divided, the others being metamorphic and sedimentary. |
| In situ |
Generally used with reference to the reporting of coal
resources to indicate a volume or tonnage of coal present undisturbed in the
ground. |
| Indicated Mineral Resource |
That portion of a Mineral Resource for which quantity and
quality are estimated with a lower degree of certainty than for a Measured
Mineral Resource. The sites used for inspection, sampling and measurement are
too widely or inappropriately spaced to enable the material or its continuity
to be defined or its grade throughout to be established. |
| Inferred Mineral Resource |
That part of a Mineral Resource for which tonnage, grade and
mineral content can be estimated with a low level of confidence. It is
inferred from geological evidence and assumed but not verified geological
and/or grade continuity. It is based on information gathered through
appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits,
workings and drill holes that may be limited, or of uncertain quality and
reliability. |
| Intrusion |
In geology, a mass of igneous rock that, while molten, was
forced into or between other rocks. |
| Karoo Supergroup |
Stratigraphic sequence in Southern Africa containing coal
deposits. |
| Land reclamation |
Land reclamation is the process
of protecting, restoring, and possibly even improving the land before,
during, and after surface mining. As coal is removed from one section of a
surface mine, the land at another part is returned, regraded,
and replanted. In the end, this means that the land is preserved, nature has
been protected, water and soil are conserved, and the land can be turned into
productive farmland, forests, and lakes. |
| Lignite |
Lignite is a type of coal that
contains a lot of moisture and ash and breaks apart easily. Of the four
types, lignite has the lowest carbon content and heating value. Also called
brown coal, lignite is used mainly at electricity- generating plants. |
| Liquefaction |
The process of converting coal into a synthetic liquid
fuel, similar in nature to crude oil and other refined products. |
| Longwall
mining machine |
A longwall mining machine is a
cutting machine that works along walls of coal up to 1,000 feet long to cut
coal and drop it onto a conveyor belt. |
| Low Sulphur Coal |
Coal which has a sulphur content generally ranging from 0.1
per cent to 1.0 per cent. All western Canadian coal is low in sulphur. |
| Measured Mineral Resource |
That portion of a Mineral Resource for which the tonnage or
volume is calculated from dimensions revealed in outcrops, pits, trenches,
drill-holes or mine workings, supported where appropriate by other
exploration techniques. The sites used for inspection, sampling and
measurement are so spaced that the geological character continuity, grades
and nature of the material are so well defines that the physical character,
size, shape, quality and mineral content are established with a high degree
of certainty. |
| Metallurgical Coal |
A term used to describe varieties of bituminous coal that
are converted into coke for use in the steelmaking process. |
| Methane |
The most simple of the hydrocarbons formed naturally from
the decay of vegetative matter, similar to that which formed coal. It is the
principal component of natural gas and is a radiative gas. |
| Mineral Reserve |
The economically mineable material derived from a Measured
and/or Indicated Mineral Resource. It is inclusive of diluting materials and
allows for losses that may occur when the material is mined. Appropriate
assessments, which may include feasibility studies, have been carried out,
including consideration of, and modification by, realistically assumed
mining, metallurgical, economic, marketing, legal, environmental, social and
governmental factors. These assessments demonstrate at the time of reporting
that extraction is reasonably justified. |
| Mineral Resource |
A concentration (or occurrence) of material of economic
interest in or on the Earth's crust in such a form, quality, and quantity
that there are reasonable and realistic prospects for eventual economic
extraction. The location, quantity, grade, continuity and other geological
characteristics of a Mineral Resource are known, estimated from specific
geological knowledge, or interpreted from a well constrained and portrayed
geological model. |
| Mining Licence |
A licence issued by the regulatory authority which governs the
process of mining. |
| Overburden |
Designates material of any nature, consolidated or
unconsolidated, that overlies an economic deposit. In surface mining
operations, layers of rock and soil covering a coal seam are removed using
large equipment and is either used for reclaiming mined areas or hauled to
designated dumping areas. |
| Peat |
Peat is a soggy, sponge like
material that forms from plants and trees after they die. Peat from plants
and trees that died about 300 million years ago became buried and compressed
under the earth's surface over a long period of time. Over millions of years
and through the forces of heat and pressure, the compressed peat became coal. |
| Pillar |
A block of ore entirely surrounded by stoping, left
intentionally for purposes for ground control or on account of low value. |
| Proved Resources |
Those quantities which geological and engineering
information indicate with reasonable certainty can be recovered in the future
from known deposits under existing economic and operating conditions. |
| Recoverable coal |
Recoverable coal refers to the
amount of coal that can be removed. There are approximately 275 billion tons
of recoverable coal reserves in the United States. |
| Resource |
A tonnage or volume of rock or mineralization or other
material of intrinsic economic interest, the grades, limits and other
appropriate characteristics of which are known with a specified degree of
knowledge. |
| SAMREC Code |
South African Code for reporting of Mineral Resources and
Mineral Reserves. |
| Scrubber |
Any of several forms of chemical/physical devices which
operate to remove sulphur compounds formed as a result of fossil- fuel
combustion. These devices normally combine the sulphur in gaseous emissions
with another chemical medium to form inert compounds which can then be
removed for disposal. |
| Seam |
A provincial term for a coal bearing layer. |
| Slurry |
A slurry is coal that is ground to a powder and mixed with water. In this form, coal
can be pumped through a pipeline. |
| Slurry pipeline |
A slurry pipeline is a pipeline
that transports coal that has been ground to a powder and mixed with water. A
coal slurry pipeline connects a mine in Arizona with a power plant in Nevada. |
| Stoping |
The act of excavating rock, either above or below a level, in
a series of steps. In its broadest sense rock stoping means the act of
excavating rock by means of a series of horizontal, vertical or inclined
workings in veins or large, irregular bodies of ore, or by rooms in flat
deposits. It covers the breaking and removal of the rock from underground
openings, except those driven for exploration and development. |
| Strike |
The course or bearing of the outcrop of an inclined bed, vein,
or fault plane on a level surface; the direction of a horizontal line
perpendicular to the direction of the dip. |
| Sub-bituminous |
A generally soft coal with a
heating value between bituminous and lignite. It has low fixed carbon and
high percentages of moisture and volatile material. Sub- bituminous coal is
mainly used for generating electricity. |
| Surface mining |
Surface mining is used when
coal is found close to the surface or on hillsides. It involves removing the
topsoil and subsoil and setting them aside while the coal is removed. |
| Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act
(SMCRA) |
The SMCRA, enacted in the late
1970s, is the first comprehensive national surface- mining law. Under the
law, each state that establishes federally approved enforcement programs has
the primary responsibility for enforcing mining regulations in the state. If
a state lacks these programs, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and
Enforcement in the U.S. Department of Interior implements the federal law. |
| Tectonic Forces |
Forces pertaining to, causing or resulting from structural
deformation of the earth's crust. |
| Thermal Coal |
A term used to describe
coal which is used primarily to generate heat. Also referred to as steam
coal. |
| Ton |
An Imperial unit of weight equivalent to 2,000 pounds or
907.2 kg. This is also known as a "short ton". |
| Tonne |
A metric unit of weight equivalent to 1000 kg or 2,240
pounds. This is also known as a "metric ton" or "long
ton". |
| Underground mining |
Underground mining is used to
extract coal that is deep beneath the surface or in seams exposed on
hillsides. It involves drilling two openings called shafts into the coal
bed---one to transport miners and equipment and the other to bring coal
to the surface. |
| Unit Train |
A train typically consisting of approximately 100 to 110
cars, which is dedicated to the transport of a single commodity such as coal. |
| Volatile Matter |
Matter that is driven off as gas or vapor when coal is
heated to about 9500° C. |
| Vryheid Formation |
Stratigraphic sequence in Southern Africa containing coal
deposits. |
| Washability |
Ability of the coal to be separated from waste fractions at a
range of relative densities. |
| Washability analysis |
Analysis to determine the coal behaviour and separation
characteristics for a range of relative densities. |
| Working capital |
Expenditures required to fund the resulting change in the
debtors, creditors and stores position at a point in time. |
