Minerals - Glossary

Saline
Containing salt.

Saline deposit
It is the mineral environment which contain minerals being formed through either full or partial evaporation of a mineral-rich, saline lake.

Saline lake
It is lake which is rich with mineral and are found in arid regions containing heavy salt content. It frequently contains evaporite minerals that form as the lake evaporates.

Salinity
Amount of salt present.

Salt
It is a compound that is formed when a metal either fully or partially takes the place of hydrogen in an acid.

Sand
It is an accumulation of smaller grains of rock that is generally found at beaches and in desert regions.

Sapropelic
It is a type of coal which is composed mostly of algae and plant spores.

Secondary mineral
The minerals being altered to a new form after undergoing a chemical change.

Sediment
It is an eroded pieces of rock being carried away in streams and form deposits in them. This eventually cement together and form a sedimentary rock.

Sedimentary exhalative (Sedex)
It is an ore deposit which is formed from hydrothermal fluids being discharged onto the sea-floor and hosted by sedimentary rocks like black shale, siltstone and chert. The deposits comprise of sheets or lenses of fine-grained laminated sulphides. Sedex deposits are important sources of zinc, lead and silver.

Sedimentary rocks
It is the rocks which are formed from the material derived from other rocks by weathering. It is deposited by water, wind or ice.

Shale
It is a fine-grained, indurated, sedimentary rock of detrital origin which is formed by the consolidation of clay, silt or mud. It is characterised by the finely stratified structure and/or fissility which are approximately parallel to bedding. It is mainly composed of clay minerals and detrital quartz.

Silurian
It is the period of geological time which extends from 440 to 417 million years ago.

Skarn
It is a metamorphic rock formed around an igneous intrusion where it comes into contact with limestone or dolomite. Many of the skarns contain iron ore and various sulphide minerals. It is an important source of metals including tin, tungsten, copper, lead, zinc, iron, gold, silver and molybdenum.

Steam coal
It is a term used for the trade category of bituminous coal which is used for the burning in power stations and other industrial/domestic uses.

Stope
It is a mining term used for the underground void left after the ore extraction has taken place.

Stratabound
It is an ore deposit which is confined to a single stratigraphical bed or horizon. It does not constitute the entire bed.

Stratiform
It is an ore deposit which occurs as a specific stratigraphic bed, sedimentary.

Sulphide
It is a mineral which is formed by the combination of sulphur with another chemical element. Its most economic deposits of non-ferrous metals occur as sulphide minerals like galena (PbS), sphalerite (ZnS), chalcopyrite (CuFeS₂).