Glossary
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4E or 4 Elements - platinum, palladium, rhodium, and gold.
AEM - an abbreviation for airborne electromagnetic. A method of detecting electrically conductive or magnetic bodies in the earth from the air.
Ag - silver
anomalous - a sample or location in which either (i.) the concentration of elements or (ii.) geophysical measurement is significantly different from the average background values in an area
anomaly - the geographical area corresponding to anomalous geochemical or geophysical values
anorthosite - a light coloured feldspar-rich rock type. Anorthosite layers are part of the cycles of crystallized layers that occur near the platinum bearing layers of the Bushveld Complex.
As - arsenic
assay - an analysis to determine the quantity of one or more elemental components
Au - gold
BIC - an abbreviation for the Bushveld Igneous Complex in South Africa, the source of most of the world's platinum, a significant producer of palladium, and other platinum group metals (PGMs) as well as chrome
breast stoping - a mining method used for narrow tabular orebodies. Mining is done along the strike line and scrapped to gullies for transport (see diagram).
breccia - a coarse grained rock composed of angular broken rock fragments held together by a mineral cement or fine-grained matrix
bulk placer sampling (in the context of placer properties) - the process of obtaining individual gravel samples in the order of 5 to 15 cubic yards using an excavating machine and running the samples through a concentrating device to measure the placer gold content per cubic yard.
Bushveld Complex - a large, once molten rock mass that cooled approximately 2 billion years ago in such a way as to "layer out". The Bushveld Complex is a geological wonder of the world and accounts for 79% of the world's platinum production. Two layers or "reefs" are mined for platinum around the rim of the large (350 kilometres across) salad bowl shaped body. The two layers are known as the Merensky reef, named after Hans Merensky who discovered the extraordinary layered properties in 1926, and UG2 reef named for the Upper Group Two layer. These two layers are mined over approximately one metre thickness around the Bushveld Complex. The layers typically dip 10-20 degrees towards the centre of the bowl and are mined up to approximately 2,000 metres vertically below the surface. The edges of the intrusion are broken into three limbs; the North Limb, the East Limb, and the West Limb. The West Limb contains twelve mines producing 4.5 million ounces of platinum, or 70% of the world's total production, in 2004.
capital costs - the costs to set up and build a project, usually ending with the achievement of a specific set of startup milestones in the case of a mine.
chalcopyrite - a copper sulfide mineral
channel sample is a surface sample which has been collected by continuous sampling across a measured interval, and is considered to be representative of the area sampled
chargeability - a measure of electrical capacitance of a rock that may indicate the presence of disseminated sulfide minerals. Not all chargeability features are caused by such sulfides.
chromite - an accumulation of chrome minerals found in the Upper Group, Middle Group, and Lower Group of the Bushveld Complex, the so called "UG", "MG", and "LG" layers. The UG2 layer, mined for platinum, is a series of chromite layers.
cm - centimetres
common shares - the common shares in the capital of the Company
Company or the Company - Platinum Group Metals Ltd.
Critical Zone - the portion of the Bushveld intrusive complex that contains the Merensky and UG2 reefs, located below the Main Zone.
Cu - copper
deposit - a volume of rock that has been defined in three dimensions, containing valuable mineralization, classified into resource and reserve categories.
dilution - the normal effect of grade reduction from idealized that occurs when mining takes place. Some dilution, or non-mineralized material below an "ideal cut", is mined and sent to the mill along with the ore.
discount rate - an arbitrary rate selected to apply to a stream of costs and benefits for the calculation of Net Present Value. The discount rate allows for the time value of money to be factored into the calculation of Net Present Value. Discount rates can also be used to make an assessment of projects of different risk levels by assigning a higher discount rate to projects of higher risk.
EM - an abbreviation for electromagnetic
fault - a fracture in a rock across which there has been displacement
feasibility study - a comprehensive study of the deposit from which all of the geological, engineering, operating, and economic factors are considered in sufficient detail that it could reasonably serve as the basis for a final decision by a financial institution to finance the development of the project for mineral production. The feasibility study considers defined resources, mining methods, potential production profile, and economic assumptions including metals prices and recoveries. The feasibility study also considers the environmental, permitting, and sociological issues associated with the development of the mine. The study is usually completed by an independent engineering firm and has cost estimates defined to +/- 15% or better.
fracture - a break in a rock, usually along flat surfaces
g/t - grams per tonne (metric tonne or 1,000 kgs)
gabbro - an intrusive rock comprised of a mixture of mafic minerals and feldspars
gossanous - a rock outcrop that is strongly stained by iron oxides
grab sample - a sample of selected rock chips collected from within a restricted area of interest
grade - the concentration of an ore metal in a rock sample, given either as weight percent for base metals (e.g. Cu, Zn, Pb) or in grams per tonne (g/t) or ounces per short ton (oz/t) for precious or platinum group metals. A typical platinum mine in South Africa has a grade of 4-6 grams per tonne.
Gross Metal Value or Gross In-Situ Metal Value (GMV or GIMV) - a broad estimate, based on metal prices and grade, of the value of one tonne of rock from a mine or deposit, before any associated production costs (extraction, recovery, etc) are factored in.
harzburgite - a dark coloured iron and magnesium rich rock type that contains the mineral olivine. It is significant because it is often associated with areas of better platinum grade. The olivine may be associated with well developed layering and therefore better concentration of platinum.
hectare - an area totaling 10,000 square metres or 100 metres by 100 meters
highly anomalous - an anomaly which is in approximately the 90th percentile of the sample or measurement population.
ICP, or Inductively Coupled Plasma - a laboratory technique used for the quantitative analysis of samples (soil, rock, etc.) taken during field exploration programs.
internal rate of return or "IRR" - the discount rate at which the present value of the future cash flows of investment equals the cost of the investment, or the discount rate that returns a Net Present Value of 0. This measures the rate of return that a project generates.
intrusive - a rock mass formed below earth's surface from molten magma which was intruded into a pre-existing rock mass and cooled to a solid
IP survey or Induced Polarization survey - a geophysical method of exploring an area in which physical properties relating to geology are used.
joint venture - an unincorporated business agreement between two parties where their interests and business objectives are pooled and aligned. A joint venture is usually governed by a management committee composed of all of the parties. One of the parties is nominated as the operator and is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the joint venture and reporting to the management committee. Commonly the joint venture is governed by a vote of management committee where the votes cast are a proportion of their percentage interest in the joint venture. Joint ventures also usually provide for the dilution, or reduction in interest, of one of the parties should it elect not to contribute to the ongoing business of the joint venture.
km - kilometre
layered intrusive - an intrusive rock that has cooled slowly enough and in such a way that the minerals contained in the intrusive crystallize, settle, and harden into layers of different mineralogical and chemical compositions. This process is important in the formation of some of the world's key platinum group element deposits, however there are many layered intrusives that contain no significant platinum group elements
lode mining - mining in solid rock
m - metres
mafic - rock type consisting of predominantly iron and magnesium silicate minerals with little quartz or feldspar minerals
magmatic - pertaining to magma, a naturally occurring silicate melt, which may contain suspended silicate crystals, dissolved gases, or both; magmatic processes are at work under the earth's crust
Merensky Reef - the key platinum producing layer of the Bushveld intrusive complex identified by Hans Merensky in the 1920's.
mid-stage exploration property - one hosting a known zone of mineralization, which has been subjected to a limited amount of physical testing and systematic exploration work
mineralization - the minerals of value occurring in rocks.
mineral reserves - classified as probable and proven, the classifications are as set out by the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum. Mineral reserves are supported by an economic assessment and a feasibility study that demonstrate they can be mined profitably.
mineral resources - classified as inferred, indicated, and measured, the definitions of the classifications are as used by the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum. Inferred to measured resources have increasing degrees of competence and in order to be a resource mineralized material must have a reasonable expectation of potentially being mined profitably, although at the resource stage this is not supported by a feasibility study.
Mo - molybdenum, a hard, silver-white metal.
net present value or "NPV" - a future stream of benefits and costs converted into equivalent values today. This is done by assigning monetary values to the benefits and costs discounting future benefits and costs using appropriate discount rate and subtracting a sum total of discounted costs from the total at discounted benefits.
Ni - nickel
NSR - Net Smelter Royalty
operating costs - the costs of operating a mine, usually including all onsite costs of mining, milling, storing concentrate, and administration. Typically quoted in Rand per tonne or $/tonne. Major sustaining capital items such as mill expansion or large underground development during the life of a project are excluded.
ore - a natural occurrence of one or more minerals that may be mined and sold at a profit, or from which some part may be profitably separated. The word ore should only be used in situations where: an extensive study of the deposit resources is complete, commercial processes to extract the minerals have been designed for the specific deposit, all of the capital and operating cost and environmental issues have been estimated by qualified persons
outcrop - an exposure of rock at the earth's surface
overburden - any material covering or obscuring rocks from view
Pd - palladium
PGE - mineralization containing platinum group elements, i.e. platinum and palladium
PGM - platinum group metals, i.e. platinum, palladium, rhoduim, ruthenium, osmium, iridium.
Pilanesberg Complex - a specific intrusive body of rock approximately 30 kilometres across that is younger than and crosscuts the Bushveld Complex.
placer mining - the mining of unconsolidated material which overlies solid rock (bedrock)
platinum group metals or PGMs include platinum, palladium, rhodium, osmium, ruthenium, and iridium, which are also known as the platinum group elements or PGEs. These rare metals have similar extraordinary catalytic properties and industrial applications.
Po - pyrrhotite, an iron sulphide mineral
ppb - parts per billion
ppm - a unit of measurement which is 1,000 times greater than ppb (1ppm = 1,000 ppb = 1 gram/tonne)
pre-feasibility study - a technical study of the potential economics of a mining project that includes the size of the resource, the grade of the material, the mineability of the material, the metallurgy and recovery methods of recovering the valuable minerals, and a comprehensive study of all of the attributes of the potential projects including risks and opportunities in the project. The pre-feasibility study is usually completed by an independent engineering group and makes a forecast of potential capital, operating, sustaining capital, and reclamation costs for the project. The pre-feasibility study also includes a projected cash flow from the project using recovery rates for the metal from the metallurgical test work concluded and assumptions on future metal prices, exchange rates and economic conditions.
Pt - platinum
pyrite - an iron sulfide mineral
pyroxenite - a relatively uncommon dark-coloured rock consisting chiefly of pyroxene; pyroxene is a type of rock containing sodium, calcium, magnesium, iron, titanium and aluminum combined with oxygen
quartz - a common rock-forming mineral (SiO2)
reclamation - the process of environmental remediation during and after mining and milling takes place.
recovery rates - the percentage of valuable minerals that are recovered in the milling and processing and captured for potential payment, after shipment to the smelter.
reef - a mineral layer containing economic mineralization of interest; usually flat and tabular.
Rh - rhodium, a platinum metal. Rhodium shares some of the notable properties of platinum, including its resistance to corrosion, its hardness and ductility. Wherever there is platinum in the earth, there is rhodium as well. In fact, most rhodium is extracted from a sludge that remains after platinum is removed from the ore. A high percentage of rhodium is also found in certain nickel deposits in Canada.
strike - a horizontal line along an inclined plane.
sustaining capital - the capital expenditure planned after startup.
UG2 - the Upper Group Two layer consisting of chromite that is mined for platinum. It is located stratigraphically below the Merensky Reef.
ultramafic - a rock type consisting almost entirely of iron and magnesium silicate minerals with little quartz or feldspar minerals
VLF - very low frequency
ZAR - an abbreviation for the Rand, the currency of South Africa.
