Copy of `Liberty Star - Minerals glossary`

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Liberty Star - Minerals glossary Category: Agriculture and Industry > Minerals terms Date & country: 10/11/2016, USA Words: 619

Amortization
The gradual and systematic writing off of a balance in an account over an appropriate period.

Amphibolite
A gneiss or schist largely made up of amphibole and plagioclase minerals.

AMT
Audio-range magneto-telluric. A type of geophysical survey which uses frequencies generally within the range of human hearing, except as electromagnetic (EM) waves rather than audible mechanical sound waves. AMT is able to detect narrow mineralized bodies or veins of sulfide mineralization at significant depths, from 500 to 5,000 feet below the surface. There are two types of AMT: CSAMT and NSAMT.

Alpha ray
A positively charged particle emitted by certain radioactive materials.

Alteration
Any physical or chemical change in a rock or mineral subsequent to its formation. Milder and more localized than metamorphism.

Amorphous
A term applied to rocks or minerals that possess no definite crystal structure or form, such as amorphous carbon.

Airborne survey
A survey made from an aircraft to obtain photographs, or measure magnetic properties, radioactivity, etc.

Alloy
A compound of two or more metals.

Alluvium
Relatively recent deposits of sedimentary material laid down in riverbeds, flood plains, lakes, or at the base of mountain slopes. (adj. alluvial)

Alpha meter
An instrument used to measure positively charged particles emitted by radioactive materials.

Agitation
In metallurgy, the act or state of being stirred or shaken mechanically, sometimes accomplished by the introduction of compressed air.

Agglomeration
A method of concentrating valuable minerals based on their adhesion properties.

Agglomerate
A breccia composed largely or entirely of fragments of volcanic rocks.

Aeromagnetic survey
A geophysical survey using a magnetometer aboard, or towed behind, an aircraft.

Aerial magnetometer
An instrument used to measure magnetic field strength from an airplane.

Adit
An opening driven horizontally into the side of a mountain or hill for providing access to a mineral deposit.

Acidic rocks
Igneous rock carrying a high (greater than 65%) proportion of silica.

Acid mine drainage
Acidic run-off water from mine waste dumps and mill tailings ponds containing sulfide minerals. Also refers to ground water pumped to surface from mines.

Acidic precipitation
Snow and rain that has a low pH, caused by sulfur dioxide and nitric oxide gases from industrial activity released into the atmosphere.