Abbreviations & Conversions

Units of Measure

amsi – above mean sea level
g – acceleration due to gravity
ac – acre
A – ampere
A – annum (year)
bbl – barrel
bbl/d – barrel per day
B – billion
Ggal/d – billion gallons per day
Bt – billion tonnes
b.y. – billion years
Ga – billion years ago
BTU – British thermal unit
£ – British Pound Currency
CAD$ – Canadian dollar
cm – centimetre (1 cm = 10-2m)
CV – Coefficient of Variation
CVs – Coefficients of Variation
cm3 – cubic centimetre
cfm – cubic feet per minute
ft3/s – cubic feet per second
ft3 – cubic foot or feet
in3 – cubic inch
m3 – cubic metre
yd3 – cubic yard
cu3 – cubic millimetre
c/s – cycles per second
Hz – cycles per second (Hertz)
cyl – cylinder
d – day
d/wk – days per week
da – days per year (annum)
dwt – dead weight tonnes
dB – decibel
dBa – decibel adjusted (a-weighted)
° – degrees of arc or angle
deg – degrees of arc or angle
° – degrees of temperature
°C – degrees Celsius
°F – degrees Fahrenheit
Ø – diameter
÷ – divided by
US$ – dollar (American)
Cdn$ – dollar (Canadian)
$ – dollar(s)
dmt – dry metric tonne(s)
dtpd – dry metric tonnes per day
€ – Euro – European Currency
fpm – feet per minute
fps – feet per second
ft – foot or feet (1 ft = 30.48 cm = 0.3048 m)
ft-lb – foot-pound
FTS – foot-pound-second
gal – gallon
gpm – gallons per minute
GJ – gigajoule
GPa – Giga Pascal
GW – gigawatt
GWh – gigawatt-hour
AuEq – Gold Equivalent grade
 – Good results
g – gram (1 g = 10-3 kg)
g/L – gram(s) per litre
g/t – gram(s) per tonne
gpt – gram(s) per tonne (1 g/t = 1 ppm = 1,000 ppb)
> – Greater than
≥ – Greater than or equal to
GMT – Greenwich Mean Time
ha – hectare (10,000 m2)
T1/2 – half-life
fT1/2 – half-life reduced
Hz – hertz
hp – horsepower
HQ – Diamond Drill core Size 63.5 mm (inside diameter of core tube)
h – hour
h/d – hours per day
h/wk – hours per week
h/a – hours per year
“ – Inch (es)
in. – Inch (es)
in Hg – inches mercury
∞ – Infinity
ID – inside diameter
SI – International System of Units
¥ – Japanese Yen Currency
J – Joule
kt – karat
K – kelvin
k – kilo (thousand)
kg – kilogram(s) (1 kg = 1,000 g)
kg/m3 – kilograms per cubic metre
kg/h – kilograms per hour
kg/m2 – kilograms per square metre
kJ – kilojoule
km – kilometre(s) (1 km = 1,000 m)
km/h – kilometres per hour
km2 – kilometers square
kPa – kilopascal
kt – kilotonne
kV – kilovolt
kVA – kilovolt-ampere
kV – kilovolt(s)
kW – kilowatt(s) (1 kW = 1,000 W)
kWh – kilowatt hour(s)
kWh/t – kilowatt hours per tonne (metric tonne)
kWh/a – kilowatt hours per year
lat – latitude
< – Less than
≤ – Less than or equal to
LED – light emitting diode
L – litre
L/m – litres per minute
L/s – litres per second
LT – local time
long – longitude
lm – lumen
max – maximum
M – mega (million)
Mb/s – megabytes per second
MPa – megapascal
MVA – megavolt-ampere
MW – megawatt(s)
MWh – megawatt hour(s)
m – metre(s) (1 m = 100 cm)
masl – metres above sea level
mbsi – metres Baltic sea level
m/min – metres per minute
m/s – metres per second
t – metric ton (tonne)
µ – Micro (10-6)
µm – micrometre (micron = 0.001 mm)
µg – microgram (10-6g)
µ or mu – microns(s) (1 µm = 10-3 mm = 10-6 m)
mi – mile
mph – miles per hour
mA – milliampere
mg – milligram (10-3 g)
mg/L – milligrams per litre
mL – millilitre(s)
mm – millimetre(s) (10-3 m) or (1 mm = 10-1 m)
mm Hg – millimetres mercury
MPa – millipascal
mPa.s – millipascal second
Mbm3 – million bank cubic metres
Mbm3/a – million bank cubic metres per annum
ML – million litres
Moz – million troy ounces
Mt – million tonnes
m.y. – Million years
Ma – million years ago
moz – milliounces (Troy) per short ton
mV/V – millivolt per volt
‘ – minute (plane angle)
min – minute (time)
mo – month
x – multiplication sign (times)
ng – nonogram
nm – nanometre
N – newton
oz – ounce
oz troy – ounce (Troy) (1 oz. = 31.10348 grams = 0.0310348 kg)
opT – ounces per short ton
Pa – pascal
Pa.s – pascal-second
mPa.s – centipoisemPa∙s
pt(s) – part(s)
ppm – parts per million (1 ppm = 1 g/t = 1,000 ppb)
ppb – parts per billion (1 ppb = 10-3 ppm = 10-3 g/t)
ppt or ‰ – parts per thousand
% or pct – percent or percentage
P2O5 – phosphorus pentoxide
pt – pint
± – plus or minus
 – Poor results
lb – pound(s)
lbf – pound force
lb t – pound troy (12 troy ounces or 373.24 g)
psi – pounds per square inch
qt – quart
rpm – revolution(s) per minute
rps – revolution(s) per second
RF – radio frequency
ROM – read only memory
‰ – Salinity (parts per thousand)
“ – Second (plane angle)
s – second (time)
sec – second
SG – specific gravity
sq – square
cm2 – square centimetre
ft2 – square foot or square feet
in2 – square inch
km2 – square kilometre
m2 – square metre
mm2 – square millimetre
std – standard
scfm – standard cubic feet per minute
scmh – standard cubic metres per hour
sd – standard deviation
STP – standard temperature and pressure
∑ – Summation sign
temp – temperature
kt – thousand tonnes
t – tonne(s) metric (1,000 kg or 2,204.6 lbs)
t/d or tpd – tonnes per day
t/h or tph – tonnes per hour
t/y or t/a or tpy – tonnes per year
ts/hm3 – tonnes seconds per hour metre cubed
TREE – total rare earth element(s)
TREO – total rare earth oxide(s)
TSS – total suspended solids
tr. – Trace
oz t – troy ounce (31.1035 grams)
UV – ultraviolet
UCS – unconfined compressive strength
USACE – United States Army Corps of Engineers
US$ – United States dollar
USD$ – United States dollar
UT – universal time
UZ – Upper Zone
U – uranium
Ur – urea
VHF – very high frequency
Vvh – vessel volumes per hour
V – volt(s)
Vol – volume
Vol % – volume percent
W – watt
Wk – week
Wt – weight
W/v – weight per volume
Wt % – weight percent
w/w – weight/weight
wmt – wet metric ton
Yd – yard
y – year
a – year (annum)
ZULU – Greenwich Mean Time

Equivalents

1 troy ounce = 31.1035 gram
1 gram = 0.03215 troy ounce
1 tonne = 1.102 short tons (2000 pounds)
1 ton (short) 0.907 tonnes
1 g/t = 0.0292 opt
1 opt = 34.2857 g/t
1 ha = 2.471 ac
1 acre = 0.405 ha
1 km = 0.621 miles
1 mile = 1.609 km
1 metre = 3.28 feet
1 foot = 0.305 metres

Metric Conversions

Commonly Used Gold Weights

Based on troy ounces

1 troy ounce = 31.1034807 grams
1 troy ounce = 480 grains
1 troy ounce = 20 pennyweights
3.75 troy ounces = 10 tolas (Indian sub-continent)
6.02 troy ounces = 5 taels (Chinese)
32.15 troy ounces = 1 kilogram
32,150 troy ounces = 1 metric ton (1,000 kilos)

Karats to Gold Percentage

10K = 0.416
14K = 0.585
18K = 0.750
22K = 0.916
24K = 100%

Specific Gravity of Minerals

The specific gravity of a substance is the ratio of its weight to the weight of an equal volume of water.

Water weight = 8.34 pounds per imperial gallon.

2.7 –      rock
2.7 –      quartz
4.2 –      copper
4.3 –      garnet
5.1 –      pyrite
5.1 –      magnetite
5.3 –      hematite
7.3 –      tin
7.5 –      galena
7.9 –      iron
10.5 –    silver
11.3 –    lead
13.6 –    mercury
19.2 –    gold
21.5 –    platinum

Drill Core Sizes

Prefixes and Abbreviations for Multiples and Submultiples, SI Units

vunda   (10³³)     V
weka     (10³⁰)     W
xona     (10²⁷)     X
yotta     (10²⁴)     Y
zetta     (10²¹)     Z
exa       (10¹⁸)     E
peta      (10¹⁵)     P
tera       (10¹²)     T
giga      (10⁹)      G
mega    (10⁶)      M
kilo       (10³)      k
hectare (10²)      h
deka     (10)       da
deci      (10^-1)     d
centi     (10^-2)     c
milli      (10^-3)     m
micro    (10^-6)     µ
nano     (10^-9)     n
pico      (10^-12)    p
femto   (10^-15)    ƒ
atto      (10^-18)    a
zepto    (10^-21)    z
yocto    (10^-24)    y

Abbreviations and Acronyms

AVRD – Absolute Value of Relative Difference
ABA – Acid Base Accounting
Acme – Acme Analytical Laboratories (Vancouver) Ltd.
ARD – acid rock drainage
AcOH – acetic acid
Ac – actinium
Actlabs – Activation Laboratories Ltd.
ALS – ALS Limited (global laboratories)
ac – alternating current
Al – Aluminum
Al2O3 – Aluminum Oxide
Am – americium
ANFO – Ammonium Nitrate and Fuel Oil
AM – amplitude modulation
Sb – antimony
AIR – Application Information Requirements
Ar – argon
As – arsenic
At – astatine
Atm – atmosphere (29.92in Hg, 760mmHg, 101.3kPa)
AA – atomic absorption
AAS – atomic absorption spectroscopy
Ar – atomic weight
AF – audio frequency
az – azimuth
BSE – backscattered electron imaging
Ba – barium
BZ – Basal Zone
BZ-B – Basal Zone – Bottom
BZ-T – Basal Zone – Top
BCC – BCC Research
Bk – berkelium
Be – beryllium
Bi – bismuth
Bh – bohrium
bp – boiling point
Wi – Bond work index
B – boron
{ } – braces
[ ] – brackets
BCFS – British Columbia Forestry Service
Btu – British thermal units
Br – bromine
BOO – Build-Own-Operate
Cd – cadmium
Cs – caesium
Ca – calcium
CaO – calcium oxide
calc – calculated
Cf – californium
cal – calorie
CDN – Canadian
CCME – Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment
CDA – Canadian Dam Association
CEAA – Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency
CIM – Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum
CNR or CN – Canadian National Railway
CPR or CP – Canadian Pacific Railway
CAPEX – capital cost estimate
CDNR – CDN Resource Laboratories Limited
ct – carat
C – carbon
CO2 – carbon dioxide
CO – carbon moxide
CIL – carbon-in-leach
CIP – carbon-in-pulp
CL – cathodoluminescence
CCR – central control room
CPU – central processing unit
Ce – cerium
CRMs – Certified Reference Materials
Cs – cesium
cp or cpy – chalcopyrite
RMB or CNY or CN¥ – Chinese Renminbi (Yuan) Currency
Cl – chlorine
Cr – chromium
ca. – circa (about)
cir – circular (shape)
exHM – citrate-extractable heavy metal
CCTV – closed circuit television
Co – cobalt
coef – coefficient
exCu – cold-extractable copper
conc – concentrate
concd – concentrated
concn – concentration
G – conductance
(gamma) – conductivity
(kappa) – conductivity
(sigma) – conductivity
CM – Construction Management
Cu – copper
CuEq – copper equivalent
UTC – Cordinated Universal Time
cos – cosine
CIF – cost-insurance-freight
CNF – cost and freight
CR – Cost of Risk
CACs – Criteria Air Contaminants
CWi – Crusher Work Index
cr or cryst – crystalline (phase)
cu – cubic
Cm – curium
cps – cycles per second
Ds – darmstadtium
dia – diameter
HQ – Diamond Drill core Size 63.5 mm (inside diameter of core tube)
DDH or ddh – Diamond Drill Hole
N2O – dinitrogen oxide
N2O4 – dinitrogen tetroxide
dc – direct current
DO – dissolved oxygen
DS – dissolved solids
dist – distilled
DCS – Distributed Control System
DB – dry basis
Db – dubnium
Dy – dysprosium
E – East
Es – einsteinium
EM – electromagnetic
emu – electromagnetic unit
emf – electromotive force
elev – elevation
EDS – energy-dispersive x-ray detection
XRF or EDXRF – energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence
EPCM – Engineering, procurement and construction management
EZC – Enriched Zirconium Concentrate
EA – Environmental Assessment
EAO – Environmental Assessment Office
EIA – Environmental Impact Assessment
EIS – Environmental Impact Statement
EMP – Environmental Management Plan
EMS – Environmental Management System
eU – equivalent uranium
equiv. wt. – Equivalent weight
Er – erbium
Eu – europium
EPP – exchangeable-potassium-percentage
ESP – exchangeable-sodium-percentage
EDA – Exploration data analysis
FS – Feasibility Study
Fm – fermium
FA-AA – fire assay with AAS finish (analytical technique)
FA-GRAV – fire assay with gravimetric finish (analytical technique)
FA-ICP – fire assay with ICP finish (analytical technique)
F – fluorine
FW – footwall
Fr – francium
FCA – free carrier
FOB – free-on-board, freight-on-board or free board marine
fp – freezing point
FELs – front-end loaders
Gd – gadolinium
Ga – gallium
G&A – General & Administrative
GA – General Arrangement
GES – Geophysical Engineers & Surveys
GSLIB – Geostatistical Software Library
Ge – germanium
GPS – Global Positioning System
Au – gold
AuEq – gold equivalent grade
GHG – Green House Gas (emissions)
Hf – hafnium
Hs – hassium
HS&E – Health, Safety and Environmental
HVAC – heating, ventilation and air conditioning
HREE – Heavy Rare Earth Elements
HREO – Heavy Rare Earth Oxides
He – helium
HDPE – high density polyethylene
HPGR – High Pressure Grinding Rolls
Ho – holmium
HLEM – horizontal loop electromagnetic type of survey
cwt – hundredweight (112 pounds)
HCl – hydrochloric acid
H – hydrogen
IBA – Impact Benefits Agreement
In – indium
INAC – Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
IP – Induced Polarization (type of survey)
ICP – Inductively Coupled Plasma (analytical technique)
ICP-AES – Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectroscopy
ICP/MS – Inductively Coupled Plasma/Mass Spectrometry
I/O – inlet/outlet
IPCC – in-pit crushing and conveying
IPCC/S – in-pit crushing, conveying and waste crushing
IRR – Internal Rate of Return
IEC – International Electrotechnical Commission
ISO – International Standards Organization
IS – International System of Units
IDW4 – inverse distance weighting to the fourth power
I – iodine
Ir – iridium
Fe – Iron
IMH – iron Mask Hybrid
Fe2O3 – iron oxide
JV – joint venture
Kr – krypton
LRMP – Land and Resource Management Plan
La – lanthanum
lat – latitude
Lr – lawrencium
Pb – lead
LOM – life-of-mine
LREE – Light Rare Earth Element(s)
LREO – Light Rare Earth Oxide(s)
LL – Liquid Limit
LI – Liquidity Index
Li – lithium
LHD – load-haul-dump
LAN – Local Area Network
LCT – Locked Cycle Test
long – longitude
LOI – loss on ignition
LPDES – Louisiana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
LIMS – low intensity magnetic separation
Lu – lutetium
M.Sc. – Master of Science
MVEIRB – Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board
MUM – mafic-ultramafic
Mg – magnesium
MgO – magnesium oxide
MPMO – Major Projects Management office
Mn – manganese
MnO – manganese oxide
MSDS – Material Safety Data Sheet
MSL – mean sea level
M&I – Measured & Indicated
Mt – meitnerium
MOU – Memorandum of Understanding
Md – mendelevium
Hg – mercury
Mesh – mesh (wires) per linear inch (Tyler series is norm)
MIBC – methyl isobutyl carbinol
ML – mineral lease
MCAF – mining cost adjustment formulas
MPP – mini-pilot plant
MRN – Ministère des Ressources Naturelles (Prov. of Québec)
MOE – Ministry of Environment
MC – Moisture Content
mol – mole
Mo – molybdenum
MCC(s) – Motor Control Centre(s)
NELAP – National Environmental Lab. Accreditation Program
NTS – National Topography System
NI 43-101 – Canadian National Instrument 43-101
NTS – National Topographic System
NN – nearest neighbour
Nd – neodymium
Ne – neon
Np – neptunium
NSR – net smelter return
NAG – net acid generating
NMR – net metal return
NPV – net present value
NRS – net smelter return (type of royalty)
N – newton
Ni – nickel
Nb – niobium
Nb2O5 – niobium oxide
Nb2O5 – niobium pentoxide
HNO3 – nitric acid
N – nitrogen
NO2 – nitrogen dioxide
NO – nitrogen oxide
No – nobelium
NAG – non-acid generating
N – North
NAD – North American Datum
NE – Northeast
NAD-83 – Northern American Datum (1983)
NW – Northwest
OISs – Object-Oriented Input Systems
OPA – Ontario Power Authority
OPG – Ontario Power Generation Inc.
OPEX – operating cost estimate
OK – ordinary kriging
Os – osmium
OTCQX – OTC Markets Group Inc. Int’l Trade Platform
O – oxygen
Pd – palladium
DWT – penny weight (1 oz. = 20 DWT)
P – phosphorus
P2O5 – phosphorus oxide
PCI – phosphorous pentachloride
P&IDS – piping and instrumentation diagrams
PL – Plastic Limit
Pl – Plasticity Limit
Pt – platinum
PGE – platinum group elements
PGM – Platinum group metals
Pu – plutonium
Po – polonium
PD – positive displacement
K – potassium
PAX – potassium amyl xanthate
K2O – potassium oxide
Pr – praseodymium
PEA – Preliminary Economic Assessment
PFS – Preliminary Feasibility Study
PMP – probable maximum precipitation
PACK – probability-assisted constrained kriging
PFD – process flowsheet diagram
P&ID – process and instrument diagram
PC – programmable controller
PLC – programmable logic controller
Pm – promethium
Pa – protactinium
py – pyrite
po – pyrrhotite
QPs – Qualified Person(s)
QA – Quality Assurance
QA/QC – Quality Assurance/Quality Control
QC – Quality Control
QQ – Quantile-Quantile (data plot)
QL – Quarry lease
Ra – radium
Rn – radon
REE – Rare Earth Element(s)
REO – Rare Earth Oxide(s)
RC – reverse circulation drilling
Re – rhenium
Rh – rhodium
RMR – rock mass rating
RQD – rock quality designation or description
Rg – roentgenium
RBC – rotating biological contractor
Rb – rubidium
ROM – run-of-mine or run-of-mill
Ru – ruthenium
Rf – rutherfordium
Sm – samarium
Sc – scandium
SEM – scanning electron microscopy
Sg – seaborgium
Se – selenium
SAG – semi-autogenous grinding
st – short ton (2,000 pounds)
SiO2 – silica
Si – silicon
SiO2 – silicon dioxide
SiO2 – silicon oxide
Ag – silver
Na – sodium
Na2O – sodium oxide
S – South
SARA – Species at Risk Act
SG – specific gravity
σ – standard deviation
SRMs – standard reference materials
Sr – strontium
H2SO4 – Sulfuric acid
S – sulphur
SO2 – sulphur dioxide
SO3 – sulphur trioxide
H2SO4 – sulphuric acid
Sm – samarium
TMF – tailings management facility
TSF – tailings storage facility
Ta – tantalum
Tc – technetium
Te – tellurium
Tb – terbium
Tl – thallium
TTP – Thickened Tailings Plant
Th – thorium
ThO2 – thorium dioxide
3D – three-dimensional
3DBM – three-dimensional block model
3DM – three-dimensional model
Tm – thulium
Sn – tin
Ti – titanium
TiO2 – titanium oxide
TSX – Toronto Stock Exchange
TSX.V – TSX Venture Exchange
TDS – Total Dissolved Solids
TREO – Total Rare Earth Oxide
TAC – Transportation Association of Canada
TSTZ – Trans-Superior Tectonic Zone
TC/RC – treatment and refining charges
U3O8 – Triuranium octaoxide
TSX.V – TSX Venture Exchange
W – tungsten
2D – two-dimensional
UV – ultraviolet
UTM – Universal Transverse Mercator
Uub – ununbium
Uuh – ununhexium
Uuo – ununoctium
Uup – ununpentium
Uuq – ununquadium
Uus – ununseptium
Uut – ununtrium
U – uranium
UO3 – uranium oxide
V – vanadium
VTEM – Versatile Time Domain Electro-Magnetics
VoIP – Voice-over Internet Protocol
VMS – volcanic massive sulphide
vol – volume
Tetra Tech – Wardrop, a Tetra Tech Company
WRF – waste rock storage facility
wt – weight
W – West
Wmt – wet metric ton
H2O – water
WBS – Work Breakdown Structure
WHMIS – Workplace Hazardous Materials Information Systems
Xe – xenon
XEM – x-ray element mapping
XRF – x-ray fluorescence spectometer
XPS – Xstrata Process Support
yellow cake – enriched uranium oxide
Yb – ytterbium
Y – yttrium
Y2O3 – yttrium oxide
Zn – zinc
Zr – zirconium