Page 16 - Introduction to Mineral Exploration

Units, Abbreviations,

and Terminology

NOTE ON UNITS

With few exceptions the units used are all SI (Système International), which has been in common
use by engineers and scientists since 1965. The principal exceptions are: (a) for commodity prices
still quoted in old units, such as troy ounces for precious metals and the short ton (= 2000 lb);
(b) when there is uncertainty about the exact unit used, e.g. tons in certain circumstances might
be short or long (2240 lb); and (c) Chapter 16 where all the original information was collected
in American units, but many metric equivalents are given.
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SI prefixes and suffixes commonly used in this text are k = kilo-, 10 ; M = mega-, 10 (million);
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G = giga-, 10 .
SOME ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE TEXT
AAS atomic absorption spectrometry
ASTM American Society for Testing Materials
CCT computer compatible tapes
CIF carriage, insurance, and freight
CIPEC Conseil Inter-governmental des Pays Exportateurs de Cuivre (Intergovernmental
Council of Copper Exporting Countries)
CIS Commonwealth of Independent States (includes many of the countries formerly in
the USSR)
d.c. direct current
DCF ROR discounted cash flow rate of return
DTH down-the-hole (logs)
DTM digital terrain model
EEC see EU
EIS environmental impact statement
EM electromagnetic
ERTS Earth Resources Technology Satellite
EU European Union sometimes still referred to as EEC
FOB freight on board
FOV field of view
GA Golder Associates
GIS Geographical Information Systems
GPS global positioning satellites
GRD ground resolution distance