Mineralis

Tonnage (Mt)

Technical

Total quantity of ore in megatonnes (millions of tonnes).

Detail

Tonnage states the size of a mineral deposit in Mt (millions of tonnes). Multiplied by grade, it yields total contained metal — the economically relevant measure. Major producers such as Newmont hold 4-billion-tonne resources at low grade; junior high-grade explorers such as Lundin Gold hold 17 Mt at very high grade. Both can be profitable — what matters is strip ratio, recovery and operating cost.

Example

Newmont globally 4.06 Bt (billion tonnes) at 1.05 g/t gold — volume strategy. Lundin Gold 17.98 Mt at 8.68 g/t — high-grade strategy.

Related Terms

  • Grade (g/t)

    Concentration of the target metal per tonne of ore, measured in grams per tonne.

  • Strip Ratio

    Ratio of waste rock to ore that has to be moved in open-pit mining.

  • AISC (All-In Sustaining Cost)

    Total cost of production per ounce, including sustaining CapEx and G&A.

See Tonnage (Mt) in a Mineralis profile.

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