Mining Terminology Glossary of Terms

The following glossary contains a list of common terms used in the mining industry.
Term

Definition

All-Wheel Skid

All-wheels lose traction and begin to slide across the road surface. The
wheeled machine continues in the direction of its forward momentum with no
directional control. All-wheel skids often develop from either rear or frontwheel skids.

Ancillary Equipment

Mining equipment that is not directly related to Production or drilling holes or

shifting material, but is used in a support-production role. Examples of
ancillary equipment include dozers, excavators, graders, water trucks, small
loaders and rollers.

Backfill

Material that is dumped in a hole in order to fill it up or it may be for an old

stope or shaft, where large, blasted material is used. Stope fill may also be
referred to as Backfill.

Beacon

The roof-mounted revolving light on a machine.

Bench

A strip of material being mined. The height of the bench differs depending on
machines being used to dig or the nature of the ore body being dug.

Bench Height

The height of the bench face, or bank of rock, that is extracted in one pass.
Benches therefore occur at regular intervals separated by a given bench
height.

Berm, Catchment
Berm

A predetermined width of bench left behind at intervals on pit walls. These

berms aid in the overall stability of the pit walls by reducing the vertical angle,
or Wall Angle, of the walls. The berms also increase safety by catching
material that may be dislodged from higher up the wall.

Blast

A Blast is the event where blasting occurs. A Blast is a pre-defined area of the
bench that is treated as a single unit for many mining purposes. Each blast is
numbered and provides a means for personnel to refer to a specific area. A
blast may also be refereed to as a Shot.

Cattle Ramps

The change out stations for haul trucks.

Contact

The place or surface where two different kinds of rock meet. A contact also
refers to the place where to different material types meet. For example, the
plane between an ore block and a waste block is the ore/waste contact.

Controlled Operation

A situation in which all haul truck movements are planned and initiated by the
operator and which are within the operational parameters of equipment and
the rules pertaining to the situation.

Cracker Dust

Fine particles of rock and dust (<10mm) generated during the crushing
process. Generally composed of waste material. Cracker dust can be used to
sheet roads, form up windrows and back fill holes in the pit.

Crest

A term used to describe the top outside edge of high walls, berms, dumps and
ramps.

Crib

Lunch/smoko

Crib Hut

Place where personnel have lunch or smoko.

Term

Definition

Cutback

Many open pits are dug in stages depending on various economic and
engineering considerations. Each of these stages is called a cutback as, once
the first part of the pit is dug, each cutback cuts the wall back in a certain
direction. A cutback is composed of a number of benches and there may be
several cutbacks in operation at any one time.

Dead Line

Parking area at the workshop that is used to park machines that require
repairs or service.

Delineator

White guide pole on each side of the haul road.

Dirt

While this term generally means earth or soil, it is common in the mining
industry to refer to blasted rock as dirt.

Double shift

Mine site that operates twenty-four hours per day.

Drop Cut

The area being mined to gain access into the next bench. This is typically the
first blast to be blasted on each bench. A ramp is then constructed through
this blast to get to the floor of the bench. The engineers and geologists
attempt to design all of the drop cuts in waste zones as the heave is often
more severe than in a normal production blast, resulting in more dilution of the
ore.

Double Shift

This term refers to working a mine site or piece of equipment twenty-four hours
a day. At Boddington Gold Mine a day consists of two twelve-hour shifts hence
when both shifts are working the operation is double shifting.

Dump

A place set aside on the mine site where waste material is dumped.

Dumping

The process of a haul truck discharging a load of material (ore or waste) at a

crusher, stockpile or waste dump.

Duty of Care

Your general duty of care is to ensure your own safety and the safety of those
people you work with. With respect to positive communication, your Duty of
Care is never to assume that any message you have sent has been received
and understood until you receive confirmation from the recipient.

Electrification

An event in which a haul truck or other equipment has come into contact with
high voltage this may be from high voltage electrical lines or from lightning
strike. As well as potentially fatal electric shock, electrification has the
potential to cause fires, internal tyre fires, tyre damage, electrical faults and
other damage. Following an electrification event, an equipment item will be
quarantined for a minimum period of time normally twenty-four hours (see
quarantined equipment).
Warning!
The damage caused by electrification may not be immediately apparent.
Effects of electrification on a haul truck may not be revealed until well
after the initial incident.

Emergency Procedure

The recognised method of alerting all personnel of an emergency over the

two-way radio. An Emergency Call always begins with the words: Emergency,
Emergency, Emergency.

Empty Hauling

The process of an empty haul truck travelling to a loading location on the

hauling circuit.

Explosive Magazine

A store used exclusively for the keeping of explosives.

Term

Definition

Fatigue

Fatigue is a term used to describe the experience of being sleepy, tired and/or
exhausted to the point where it is unsafe for you to be operating equipment or
working around operating equipment.
Operator fatigue can severely impair judgment and can affect anyone. It is
extremely hazardous because one of the symptoms of fatigue is the reduced
ability of an affected person to judge his/her level of tiredness.

Fatigue Management

Fatigue management is where managers, supervisors and personnel work

together to ensure that fatigue does not cause incidents and injury in the
workplace.

Fire Fighting

The act of attempting to extinguish a fire that is underway. In some fire types
(eg, tyre fires, grid box fires) it is not permitted for any person to attempt to
fight the fire.

Fire Prevention

The process of ensuring that potential causes of fire are identified and
eliminated before they actually cause a fire. It is the responsibility of all
personnel to be alert for potential causes of fire and deal with them
appropriately.

Fire Suppression

The act of smothering a fire in its early stages with a fire retardant in order to
try to control the fire before it takes hold.

Fire Suppression
System

A centralised system fitted to heavy equipment items which in the event of a

fire will automatically activate or can be activated manually to release fire
retardant foam into certain areas (normally the engine bay) of the machine.
Warning!
Even though the fire suppression system appears to have extinguished a
fire, there is a chance that the fire will reignite. Never assume a fire has
been thoroughly extinguished.

Fitness for Work

Fitness for work means that you are in a state (physical, mental and
emotional), which enables you to perform your assigned tasks competently
and in a manner that does not compromise the safety or health of yourself or
others.

Flitch

From time to time it is necessary to mine a bench in two passes. This is

generally due to the presence of flat lying ore structures where the top 5
metres of an ore body is significantly different to the bottom 5 metres of the ore
body. When this is done each pass is referred to as a flitch.

Floor

The base of a bench upon which the mining equipment works. The floor is
kept flat by the shovels and dozers working at a constant level while the bench
is being excavated. The floor of one bench becomes the top of then next
bench when drilling commences.

FOPS

Falling Object Protective Structure. A structure fitted to a vehicle to protect the

occupants of that vehicle from any rocks that may fall from the walls around
the pit.

Footprint

The area covered by the outside perimeter of a haul truck. No person may
enter the footprint of a haul truck unless the equipment is shut down and fully
isolated. In the case of an empty haul truck at a hot-seat changeover, the
operator must conduct the walk-around inspection from a minimum of onemetre outside the trucks footprint. If the truck is loaded, the operator must
conduct the walk-around inspection from a minimum of six-metres outside of
the trucks footprint.

Term
Front-Wheel Skid
(Understeer)

Definition
The front wheels lose traction when turned and begin to slide across the road
surface. The truck will tend to go straight ahead rather than the intended
direction.

Fuel Farm

The Fuel Farm is the fuel depot where most of the mobile equipment is
refueled and serviced.

Go Line

Parking area at the Workshop or Fuel Farm for machines that have been
serviced or repaired and are ready for operation.

Hand Signals

Hand signals can provide a means of positive communication if they are

standard and understood signals and confirmation of message receipt is
received by the sender.

Hauling

The process of a haul truck transporting its load from a loading location to a
dumping location.

Hauling Equipment

Hauling equipment is any machine that can carry mining product that is
dumped for refinement or waste. At BMG, the primary surface hauling
equipment are Caterpillar 793D and 785C haul trucks.

Haul Road

All roads used by haul trucks, heavy machinery and light vehicles in an around
the pit. These are gravel roads approximately 35 metres wide, and are
generally well constructed, with several layers of different sized materials
used. They are maintained by graders and water trucks. BMG has All
Weather roads, which means that they do not become unusable during rain.
This is because rock road-base is used to coat the roads, unlike many mine
sites that coat their roads in oxide material or soil.

High Wall

The walls of the pit. These are generally composed of Berms and Batters
giving then a stepped appearance. See also Wall Angle

Hot-Seat Changeover

A hot-seat changeover is when an outgoing operator is replaced with an

incoming operator. Long-term parking procedures are applied but the haul
truck engine is not shut down. This is done at shift change and sometimes
during crib. This allows a higher productivity from the piece of equipment as,
while the operator needs to stop for lunch, the equipment can keep running. A
walk-around inspection is conducted outside of the footprint of the equipment.
A full pre-start inspection must not be conducted unless the equipment is
shutdown and fully isolated. The term Hot-Seat comes from the fact that the
operators seat does not have time to cool down, before a new operator climbs
in.

Incident Coordinator

The person (Pit Supervisor or nominee) who will assume control of any
emergency situation within the pit. All personnel will liaise through, and take
instructions from, the Incident Controller.

In-coming Operator

An operator who is starting a new shift or who will be replacing an existing

operator for other reasons (operator break, etc).

Intersection

A road junction where two or more roads meet and there may be the need for
machine interaction.

Isolation Switch

This switch isolates the haul trucks battery from all electrical systems on the
haul truck. All electrical systems will be disabled. All braking systems except
the park brake will be disabled.

Term

Definition

Key Start Switch

The key start switch in the cab enables or disables the majority of machine
electrical systems. For machines with hydraulic boarding stairs, certain
systems will remain enabled such as the ladder control when short-term
parking procedures are applied.
Warning!
All brake systems except the park brake will be disabled once the key
switch is turned to the OFF position and the brake accumulators have
bled down.

Light Signals

Light signals (indicator lights, hazard lights, etc) can provide a means of
positive communication if they are standard and understood signals and
confirmation of message receipt is received by the sender.

Light Vehicle Access

A road or access track dedicated to light vehicles only.

Loading

The process of a haul truck being loaded with material (ore or waste) by a dig
unit (shovel, excavator, front end loader).

Loading Equipment

Any equipment that is capable of loading material into hauling equipment.

Primary loading equipment are rope shovels, although front-end loaders and
excavators are also utilised.

Long-Term Parking

This is when the heavy equipment will be parked for a longer period of time
and the operator will be leaving the cab. The heavy equipment is made
fundamentally stable, the park brake is applied, the shifter is placed in neutral
and any ground engaging tool is lowered. Wheel chocks are placed into
position.

Loss of Control

A situation in a machine where the operator has fully or partially lost control
leading to uncontrolled movement of the machine. Loss of control can be
caused by equipment failure or by a failure on the part of the operator.

Manual Fire
Suppression System
Actuators

Actuation knobs which when depressed will activate the fire suppression
system. These are provided in the operators cab and at ground level on the
exterior of the haul truck. A person can activate the fire suppression system by
removing the safety pin and pressing firmly on the knob.

Message

The transmission of an idea or intention from one person to another. A

message can be transmitted verbally in a face-to-face situation, verbally via
two-way radio, by hand signals, through light signals, through signage, or in
written form. Messages are also transmitted to the operator of an equipment
item from its instrument panel (warning lights, audible warning devices,
gauges, etc).

Microsleep

Microsleeps are short episodes of loss of attention and concentration on the

job at hand. The symptoms may include: blank stares, head snapping, head
nodding, prolonged eye closure, etc. Microsleeps can occur to a fatigued
person even when he/she is making a determined effort to stay awake e.g.
when driving or operating equipment.
Microsleep episodes last from a few seconds to several minutes. In many
cases the affected person is not aware that a microsleep has occurred. In
some cases, microsleeps occur while the persons eyes remain open.

Mining

The act of physically loading material into haul trucks by shovels or loaders, to
be carried to the crusher or waste dump.

Term

Definition
The term mobile equipment refers to all wheeled or tracked equipment used
in the mine, including:

Mobile Equipment

Any haul truck

Any dig unit

Any auxiliary equipment

Any service vehicle

Any light vehicle.

On-side

The side of the vehicle or equipment item on which the operator or driver is
normally seated e.g. the on-side of a haul truck is the left-hand side; the onside of an LV is the right-hand side.

Off-side

The side of the vehicle or equipment item opposite to the one on which the
operator or driver is normally seated e.g. the off-side of a haul truck is the
right-hand side; the off-side of an LV is the left-hand side.

Outgoing Operator

An operator who is at the end of a shift or who is to be replaced for other

reasons (operator break, etc).

Overburden

A term used to describe the material which covers the ore, such as sand or
basalt rock etc.

Pit

Term used to describe the open cut mine

Pit Supervisor (or

nominee)

Person with overall responsibility for operations in the pit on any given shift.
The Pit Supervisor (or nominee) is deemed to be the Incident Coordinator for
any emergency within the pit (see Incident Coordinator).

Positive
Communication

Communication in which a message is sent and a confirmation of receipt and

understanding is returned by the intended recipient. The communication is not
positive if no confirmation of receipt is returned from the intended recipient.

Positive Control

See Controlled Operation above.

Pre-Start Inspection

A full pre-start inspection must only be conducted when the machine is shut
down and fully isolated. Under these conditions, the person conducting the
inspection is permitted to enter the haul truck footprint to conduct the
inspection. Pre-start inspections will be conducted in accordance with site
rules, machine training manuals and OEM manuals. A full pre-start inspection
must be conducted at least once in any given 24-hour period.

Quarantined
Equipment

Equipment that has been involved in an electrification event or tyre fire incident
will be quarantined for a period of time within an exclusion zone. No person,
unless authorised specifically to do so, is permitted to go inside the exclusion
zone or approach the equipment until management has deemed the
quarantine period complete.

Queuing

The situation where haul trucks create an orderly line while waiting to either be
loaded or dump a load. The queue progresses as the lead haul truck
completes either the loading or dumping operation and clears the loading or
dumping zone.

Ramp

Main access road to and from a pit

Rear-Wheel Skid
(Oversteer)

The rear wheels lose traction and begin to slide across the road surface.
Typically, the rear of a wheeled machine steps out tending to spin the wheels
around its own axis.

Term
Regained Control

Definition
A state in which any wheeled machine is brought under the positive control of
the operator following a loss of control incident.

Reclamation

The process of reclaiming mined out areas to restore the land to its near as
possible to original state.

Road Base

Crushed waste rock used for sheeting roads to produce smooth running
surfaces and all weather roads.

ROM

Run Of Mine material, normally the crusher pad or tipped directly into the
crusher.

ROPS

Roll Over Protective Structure. A device fitted over the cab of some
equipment, which can support the weight of the vehicle so if the vehicle rolls
over, the operator will not be crushed by the weight of the vehicle.

Service Truck

A truck (either on road or derived from a haul truck) that has been equipped
with fuel and oil tanks and can refuel mobile equipment in the field. Service
trucks are used to refuel dozers in the pit, along with certain other equipment.

Short-Term Parking

This is when the heavy equipment will be parked for a short period of time and
the operator will remain in the operators position. Short-term parking
procedures will be used when queuing, loading and dumping. The heavy
equipment is brought to a complete stop, the load brake or park brake is
applied and the shifter is placed in neutral.
Skids are the loss of traction between the wheels and the road surface. Aside
from mechanical breakdown, skids can be caused in four ways (see also front
wheel skids; rear wheel skids and rear wheel skids):

Skids

Over-acceleration

Over-braking

Over-steering

Over-speed when negotiating a bend or corner

Sleep Debt

Sleep debt is the term used to describe a shortfall in the amount of sleep a
person is getting. If your sleep requirement is 8 hours per day and you are
only receiving 6 hours, you will accumulate a sleep debt which can ultimately
lead to fatigue.

Sleep Requirement

This is the amount of sleep that a person regularly requires in order to remain
alert and conduct their day-to-day work in a safe manner without becoming
fatigued. Sleep requirement varies from person to person and with their
activities during the day (physical and mental) but the average is 7 to 8 hours
per day.

Slip

An area of high wall that has collapsed or subsided.

Slump

Area of dump, floor, ramp or road that has dropped below design level.

Slurry

Water based Prill mixture used for blasting wet holes. Referred to as an
Emulsion explosive.

SOP

Standard Operating Procedure a formal set of step-by-step work

instructions that must be followed when conducting the tasks they describe.

Term

Definition

Spillage

From time to time a truck will be slightly overloaded, or the load will not be
centered. When this happens it is possible for some material to fall out of the
back of the truck when it starts to climb a ramp or encounters undulations in
the road. This material is referred to as spillage and is cleaned up as soon as
possible due to the high potential for tyre damage.

Spragging

Term used when a track-mounted machine is turning.

Stand Pipe

A standpipe is a device used to fill a water cart. The water cart can drive under
the outlet on the standpipe and the water flow is controlled by a value on the
ground. It may also be known as a water gantry.

Subsidence

A subsidence occurs where an old working opens to surface or near surface

and causes a hole or depression in the bench. Subsidence areas can be
dangerous and are treated as Red & White zones, unless they can be
backfilled.

Sub Grade

Lower than marginal material that is currently not economic to treat although it
is being separately stockpiled in the event that either the gold price increases
or a new technology is developed which can reduce the cost of treatment.
Currently sub grade material is between 0.5 g/t and 0.9 g/t.

Tip Head

Active edge of dump where material is tipped over.

Topsoil

The top layer material of the ground. It is often removed and stored in
stockpiles for later reclamation and revegetation.

Traction

A situation where adhesion between the wheels and the road surface is
maintained. Traction is considered lost when the drive wheels spin or skid
and/or the front wheels stop rotating and directional control is lost. Overacceleration, over-braking and/or turning too sharply for the conditions will
cause loss of traction and loss of control.
The violent and instant destruction of a tyre. Because of the size and pressure
of haul truck tyres, flaming debris and metal components can be discharged
several hundred metres. In most cases, the explosion will be accompanied by
violent flame. Tyre explosions can be caused by:

Tyre Explosion

Tyre Fire (External)

tyre faults, failure or damage

build-up of heat within the tyre

situations where the tyre has been through an electrification event

under-inflation

over-inflation

severely overloaded haul truck

brake faults

wheel motor faults, etc.

An external fire is evidenced by the presence of smoke and flame issuing from
the tyre. The causes of external tyre fires can be similar to those described for
tyre explosions. An external tyre fire has the potential to develop into a tyre
explosion.
Danger!
Never attempt to fight a tyre fire. A 500-metre exclusion zone must be
enforced as soon as a tyre fire is identified.

Term

Tyre Fire (Internal)

Definition
In the case of internal fire, there may be no visible indication until the fire has
existed for some time. In most cases of internal tyre fire, the first evidence
may be the smell of burning rubber and/or excessive heat radiating from the
tyre. Similar to an external tyre fire, there is a potential for an internal tyre fire
to develop into a tyre explosion. Internal tyre fires can be caused by similar
means to a tyre explosion as described above.
Danger!
Never attempt to fight a tyre fire. A 500-metre exclusion zone must be
enforced immediately a tyre fire is identified and the equipment
quarantined for a minimum period of time.
An unplanned or unwanted movement of the machine where the operator is
not in full control. An uncontrolled movement can be momentary or can be for
a longer period of time. Some of the possible types of uncontrolled movement
of a machine are caused by (but are not limited to) the following:

Uncontrolled
Movement

Failed brakes

Failed Steering

Unexpected engine shutdown

Roll-away on an incline

Skids (rear, front or all wheels)

Operator error

Operator in microsleep.

Walk-Around
Inspection

A walk-around inspection is conducted by the incoming operator at the time of

a hot-seat changeover. Because the machine is not shut down and fully
isolated, the person conducting the inspection must remain a minimum of onemetre outside of the footprint of the machine. Any hydraulic implements must
be on ground with slight gain of weight.

Walking

See Tramming

Warning signal

A distinctive audible warning used to indicate the progress of blasting

operations.

Waste

Material that contains no or uneconomic amounts of gold mineralisation. At

Boddington Gold Mine waste is considered any material with less than 0.5 g/t
of gold.

Windrow

Material left behind, or constructed at a predetermined height, on the edge of

dumps, haul roads, ramps, and berms around open stopes/voids and pit edges
as a safety barrier.
Material pushed out by graders during road and floor maintenance