Mine Surveying

Definition of Terms

Adit – a horizontal of nearly horizontal passage driven from the surface for working of
dewatering a mine
Back – the top of a drift, cross cut or slope. Also called roof.
Back fill – waste rock or other material used to fill a mined out stope to prevent caving
Bedded deposit – an ore deposit of tabular form that lies horizontally or slightly inclined
and is commonly parallel to the stratification of the enclosing rocks
Cage – an elevator for workers and materials in a mine shaft
Chute – a channel or trough underground, or inclined trough above ground, through which
ore falls or is shot by gravity from a higher to a lower level 1
Collar – term applied to the timbering or concrete around the mouth or top of a shaft and
the mouth of the drill hole
Cone – a funnel-shaped excavation located at the top of a raise, and it is used to collect
rock from the area above
Cross cut – a horizontal opening driven from shaft to a vein across the course of the vein in
order to reach the ore zone
Dip – the angle at which a bed, stratum, or a vein is inclined from the horizontal
Drift – a horizontal opening in or near a mineral deposit and parallel to the course of the
vein or along the dimensions of the deposit
Drawpoint – a place where ore ca be loaded and removed; it is located beneath the
stoping area, and gravity flow is used to transfer the ore to the loading place
Entry – manway, haulage, way, or ventilation way below the ground, of a permanent
nature
Face – end wall of a drift or across cut or of bedded deposit
Finger Raise – Used for transferring ore; The usual arrangement is as a system of several
raises that branch together to the same delivery point
Foot wall – the wall or rock under a vein or under other steeply inclined mineral formations
Gangue – undesired minerals associated with ore
Gangway – A main haulage road underground
Grizzly - an arrangement that prevents oversize rock from entering an ore transfer system;
consists of a steel grating for coarse screening or scalping
Hanging Wall – the wall or rock on the upper side of steeply inclined deposits. It is also
called a roof in bedded deposits
Headframe – a construction at top of a shaft which houses hoisting equipment
Level – mines are customarily worked from shafts through horizontal passages or drifts
called levels. These are commonly spaced at regular intervals in depth and are
either numbered from the surface in regular order or are designated by their actual
elevation below the top of a shaft
Ore – a mineral deposit that can be worked at a profit under existing economic conditions
Ore pass – vertical or diagonal opening between levels to permit the movement of ore by
gravity
Out crop – exposed portion of the mine
Pillars – natural rock, or ore supports, left in slopes to avoid or decrease the roof
subsidence as mining progresses
Prospect – a mineral deposit for which the economic value has not yet been proven
Raise – a vertical or inclined opening driven upward in ore from one level to a higher level
or the surface
Ramp – an inclined underground opening that connects levels or production areas; usually
driven downward

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Can also be spelled shoot

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Rib – wall in an entry; can also be called as wall
Shaft – a vertical or inclined excavation in a mine extending downward from the surface or
from some interior point as a principal opening through which the mine is exploited
Slot – a vertical or incled ore section that is excavated to open up for further stoping
Sill – synonymous with floor
Stope – underground room or working area from which ore is removed
Strike – the horizontal course, bearing or azimuth of an inclined bed, stratum or vein;
Sump – an excavation made at the bottom of a shaft to collect water
Tunnel – a horizontal or nearly horizontal underground passage that is open to the
atmosphere at both ends
Vein – a mineral ore
Waste – mined rock that do not contain useful mineral
Winze – a vertical or inclined opening driven downward from a point inside a mine for the
purpose of connecting with a lower level or of exploiting the ground for a limited
depth below a level

Mine Surveying Terms

Vein – thin deposit of minerals between definite boundaries
Strike – line of intersection between the vein and the horizontal plane
Dip – angle of inclination of the vein from the horizontal plane
Drift – passage following the direction of the vein

B dip
D

B
tan dip = CD / BD C

D A C
e

drift
rik
st

drift
C D
Grade of drift = CD / AD
strike
A B
 

A
sin θ = BD / AD
D

Based on the drawing and the given relationships:

First Figure: CD = BD x (tan dip)
Second Figure: CD = AD x (grade of the drift)
Combining the 2: CD = BD x (tan dip) = AD x (grade of the drift)
Regrouping: BD / AD = grade of drift / tan dip
Third Figure: Sin θ = BD / AD
Therefore:
Sin θ = grade of drift / tan dip

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