
A-E
- AIRBORNE GEOPHYSICAL SURVEY A survey where geophysical data are 
 collected using an aircraft
 
- AIRGRAVtm A patented system developed by Bell Geosystems to measure 
 variations of the earth’s gravitational field from an aircraft
 
- ALLUVIAL Pertaining to silt, sand and gravel material transported by a river
 
- ANOMALY/ANOMALIES An area/areas where exploration has revealed results 
 higher than the local background
 
- ANDESITE/ANDESITIC A Mafic volcanic rock composed of calcic feldspar and 
 one of more of the mafic minerals pyroxene, olivine and hornblende
 
- ALTERATION The change in the mineral composition of a rock commonly due to 
 hydrothermal alteration
 
- Au Chemical symbol for gold
 
- BLEG Bulk Leach Extractable Gold (stream sediment sampling method)
 
- CSAMT Controlled Source Audio Magneto Tellurics
 
- DATA INTERVENTION Collation, digitisation and interrogation of data
 
- DDH - Diamond Drill Hole - A drilling method that uses drill bits coated with 
 diamonds to recover solid cores of rock from below the ground surface. Holes
 drilled using this drilling method are commonly prefixed DDH to communicate
 the drilling method
 
- DEPOSIT A body of mineralisation that may or may not be economic to mine
 
- EPITHERMAL Pertaining to mineral veins and ore deposits formed from warm 
 waters at shallow depth, at temperatures ranging from 50 to 200 degrees C and
 generally some distance from the magmatic source
 
- EXPLORATION PERMIT (EP) An Exploration Permit issued under the Crown 
 Minerals Act 99 of New Zealand allows the holder to explore using mechanised
 methods but is subject to obtaining access to the land from the landowner
 
- EXPOSURE(S) Underlying rocks are exposed at surface, synonym for outcrop
 
 
      F-O
- FAULT A fracture zone along which rocks on one side have moved relative to 
 the other side
 
- g/t An abbreviation for grams per tonne, a unit of measurement of the 
 concentration of metal in rock, equivalent to parts per million (ppm)
 
- GEOCHEMICAL Pertains to the concentration of an element
 
- GEOPHYSICS/GEOPHYSICAL The study of the physical properties of rocks, such 
 as magnetism, conductivity and density: A method of exploration based on this
 by inferring geologic features from measurements of physical properties
 
- GEOTHERMAL A term to describe energy derived from the internal heat of the 
 earth
 
- GEOCHEMIST A scientist who specialises in the chemical composition of rocks 
 and the process that can change the chemical composition of rocks
 
- GREENFIELDS EXPLORATION An exploration term used to describe exploration 
 in areas were no economic mineralisation has been previously discovered
 
- GROUND VERIFICATION Processes where physical evidence corroborates 
 remote sensing techniques
 
- HARD ROCK Hard rock mining refers to various mining techniques used to 
 excavate hard minerals such as those containing metals like gold, copper, zinc,
 nickel and lead or gems such as diamonds. In contrast soft rock mining refers
 to excavation of softer minerals such as coal, or oil sands
 
- LITHOLOGY/LITHOLOGIES The study and description of rocks, including their 
 mineral composition and texture. Also used in reference to the compositional
 and textural characteristics of a rock
 
- MESOTHERMAL A hydrothermal mineral deposit formed at great depth at 
 temperatures of 200 to 300 degrees C
 
- MINERALISATION The process by which minerals are introduced into rock. More 
 generally a term applied to accumulations of economic or related minerals in
 quantities ranging from anomalous to economically recoverable
 
- MIOCENE A period of geologic time from 5.5 million years to 24 million years 
 before present
 
- NET SMELTER ROYALTY A royalty that is a percentage of the mineral’s value at 
 the time of production/sale
 
- OUNCE/OZ (Troy ounce) Imperial measure of the weight of gold. One troy 
 ounce is exactly equal to 31.1034768 grams
 
- OUTCROPPING Underlying rocks exposed at surface
 
 
      P-Q
- PLIOCENE A period of geologic time from 8 million years to 5.5 million years 
 before present
 
- ppb An abbreviation for parts per billion, a unit of measurement of the 
 concentration of metal in rock or soil
 
- ppm An abbreviation for parts per million, a unit of measurement of the 
 concentration of metal in rock or soil
 
- PROSPECTING PERMIT (PP) A Prospecting Permit issued under the Crown 
 Minerals Act 99 of New Zealand allows the holder to explore by hand held
 methods only
 
- PROSPECT An area of a permit which has a demonstrated potential to host a 
 resource
 
- PROSPECTIVE General term for the perceived potential for the discovery of 
 resources based on the knowledge of factors such as favourable geological
 setting, structures, alteration, geochemical and or geophysical responses, and
 occurrences of mineralisation
 
- PROVINCE An area, region or district of similar geology
 
- QUARTZ A common rock forming mineral composed of silicon dioxide
 
- QUARTZ REEF Old mining term used to describe large quartz veins
 
- QUARTZ VEINS A tabular quartz infill of a fissure or crack in a rock
 
 
      R-Z
- RC A drilling method that uses a hammer driven by compressed air to collect a 
 sample from below the earth’s surface and which is returned to surface inside
 the drill rods to reduce contamination. This drilling process is called Reverse
 Circulation (RC) drilling and drill holes are commonly prefixed RC to
 communicate the drilling method
 
- RAB (Rotary Air Blast), a relatively inexpensive and less accurate drilling 
 technique involving the collection of a sample from below the earth surface
 where the sample is returned to surface by compressed air outside the drilling
 rods
 
- RADIOMETRIC SURVEY A geophysical survey technique in which measurements 
 are made of variations of natural radioactivity of the earth’s surface
 
- RESISTIVITY A measure of how difficult it is to pass an electrical current 
 between two points
 
- RESISTIVITY SURVEY A geophysical survey technique in which measurements 
 are made of natural variations of the earth’s subsurface resistivity
 
- RESOURCE An identified in situ mineral occurrence from which valuable or 
 useful minerals may be recovered. Mineral resources are divided into Inferred,
 Indicated and measured categories according to the JORC code (an industry
 standard for reporting)
 
- STRATIGRAPHIC A term to describe the sequence of rock layers found in a 
 specific geographic area, arranged in the order of their deposition
 
- STRIKE The orientation of a layer of rock or geologic structure in the horizontal 
 plane
 
- SUBDUCTION The process of convergence of two tectonic plates one of which 
 usually overrides the other
 
- WORLD CLASS In the context of a gold deposit, a world class deposit is one 
 which via a combination of historic mining and current resources has/had
 resources in excess of 5 million ounces.
 
 
      
- CCVR the Coromandel (Hauraki) /Central 
 Volcanic Region
 
- CVR Central Volcanic Region
 
- GENZL Glass Earth (New Zealand) Limited
 
- HPD HPD New Zealand Limited
 
OTHER EXPRESSIONS
Metric and Imperial Units – Conversion from 
metric units into imperial equivalents is as 
follows:
Metric Units                 Imperial Units
Hectare (ha)                2.47 acres
Metre (m)                    3.28 feet
Kilometre (km)            0.62 miles (3,28 feet)
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