Glossary of NR-22

Accessories – Devices (e.g., detonators, detonating cord) used to initiate the explosive charge by providing or transmitting flame or energy to initiate detonation, delay (e.g., delay or booster), or propagate an explosive wave from one point of the explosive charge to another.

Aggravation – Injury, illness, health disorder, disturbance, dysfunction, or syndrome of acute, subacute, or chronic evolution, of clinical or subclinical nature, including death, regardless of latency period.

Air Inflow – All air in usable condition for machines and humans to ventilate work fronts (mining, services, and development).

Assessment of Exposure – Process to define exposure profiles and judge the acceptability of exposures to environmental agents in the workplace.

Backfill – Sediment deposited between slopes. The width and angle of the backfill are dimensioned to ensure slope stability and facilitate drainage.

Blaster – Worker responsible for organizing and connecting the distribution and arrangement of explosives and accessories used in rock blasting. Also known as Fire Officer. The blaster must be authorized and possess a license issued by the state police authority.

Booster Fans – Also known as booster fans. These are fans with sufficient capacity to push air into a specific area of the mine, located underground, with the remaining energy supplied by the main fans on the mine surface.

Buckets – In the construction phase of shafts, they are not yet equipped with permanent equipment. In this situation, personnel or material transport used in the opening or deepening of shafts is carried out by a large bucket system, equipped with a lid with a swing opening to prevent the fall of material or people during movement or when stopped.

Chamber of Refuge – Shelters to protect workers in risk situations underground. The purpose of a chamber of refuge is to provide and sustain the lives of people underground in case of emergency, whether fire, toxic or harmful gases. A chamber of refuge should always be capable of maintaining a habitable environment for the necessary time until normal conditions are restored or people are rescued.

Chimney – Vertical opening usually between levels of an underground mine, used for ore transport, waste, ventilation, or escape route. Also called “raise.”

Chocks – Disarticulated rock fragments located on the ceilings and sides of mine galleries with a risk of falling, smaller than unstable blocks. They originate from rock massif movements, occurring naturally or induced by detonations and machine movements. Chocks pose a great danger as they can fall on workers, machines, and equipment if not removed.

Classified Area – Area with potential occurrence of an explosive atmosphere.

Collar of the Shaft – The upper and circular part of the shaft opening.

Continuous Transporters – Equipment intended for bulk and volume transport in horizontal, vertical, or inclined routes, making curves or not, and with a fixed operation position. They consist of a bed where the material slides on an endless belt or chain system, driven by drums or pulleys.

Development Front – Each location where operations aim to access the ore body or other excavations.

Environmental Monitoring – Systematic, continuous, and repetitive activity of measuring and evaluating agents in the environment to estimate environmental exposure and health risk by comparing results with appropriate references. Monitoring implies confirming that control measures are sufficient to manage hazards or risk factors.

Environmental Particulate Matter – Solid residues resulting from incomplete combustion of fuels used in machines and equipment. Particulate matter evaluations can be carried out by analytical or instant methods, such as the Ringelmann Scale.

Equipment or Stationary Machine – Equipment that remains fixed at a workstation, i.e., transportable for use on a bench or another stable surface where it can be fixed.

Equipment or Self-propelled Machine – Equipment that moves on land with its own propulsion system.

Evaluation of Exposure – Process to define exposure profiles and judge the acceptability of exposures to environmental agents in the workplace.

Explosives – Substances or mixtures capable of chemically transforming into gases, generating a large amount of heat and energy and high pressures in a very short time.

Exposure Profile – Magnitude and variability of exposures for a Similar Exposure Group (SEG) or worker. It includes understanding the central tendency of exposures (such as the average exposure) and the range or variability of exposures, such as the range of exposures or the frequency with which exposures exceed the tolerance limit.

Failed Shots – Explosives that did not detonate during rock blasting activities and must be removed by the fire officer using appropriate non-spark generating equipment.

Feeder – Machines used to meet the feeding, resumption, and dosing needs in material processing circuits to break rocks and raw material into smaller particles and classify them. They are applicable from feeding primary crushers, resuming materials under silos and piles, dosing re-crushers and mills, and others.

Garimpo – Mining activity for the exploitation of mineral substances, executed within designated areas, carried out by Brazilians or cooperative miners authorized to operate as a mining company under the garimpeiro mining permit regime (Law No. 7,805/89).

Gates – Devices used to direct or separate ventilation flow in an underground mine. In coal mines, they must be constructed of non-combustible material.

General Ventilation – That which occurs with air supply and circulates through the main accesses of the mine.

Hazard or Occupational Risk Factor / Hazard or Source of Occupational Risk – Source with the potential to cause injury or health damage. An element that, alone or in combination with others, has the intrinsic potential to cause injury or health damage.

Hoppers – Locations for storing ore concentrate that will supply the processing plant. The hopper also feeds the plant in case of an eventual stoppage in the crushing process. They can also be used to transfer ore to other storage or transport equipment.

Hydraulic Fill – Material composed of fine sand and water used to fill mined-out spaces and provide support to surrounding rock structures.

Indicators – Accident and work-related disease indicators must be kept updated, ensuring full access to this documentation for CIPAMIN and SESMT, if available.

Internal Transport – The movement of ore, waste, and materials within the mine.

Leachate – Solution and removal of rock and soil constituents to extract ore from rocks through physico-chemical processes.

Loading – Operation involving the placement of ore or waste into transport vehicles or systems.

Loading Point – Location where ore or waste is loaded onto transport vehicles or systems.

Loading Ramp – Inclined surface used to transport materials or equipment to different levels in the mine.

Main Stream – The airflow supply that circulates through the main accesses of the mine.

Mining Panel – A section of the mine that encompasses a set of work fronts (mining, service, and/or development) operating in an integrated manner using the same infrastructure, independent of distinct or adjacent panels.

Mining Waste – All economically non-recoverable materials resulting from the mineral processing to which ores are subjected to extract economically valuable elements. These processes aim to regulate the fragment size of the ore, remove associated non-economic minerals, and increase the quality, purity, or content of the final product.

Mines – Areas, whether surface (or open-pit) or underground, where coordinated operations aim to exploit the deposit, including its beneficiation, encompassing all machinery, equipment, vehicles, accessories, installations, and civil works used in these operations. Every building, structure, material deposit, ore, waste, or tailings piles, basins, or dams used for any purpose necessary for mineral exploitation or subsequent treatment of products and materials discharged from the mine are considered part of the mine.

Open-Pit Mining – Extraction of ore from surface deposits and/or at shallower depths, accessed via circulation routes constructed for this purpose.

Operation Unit – Each activity required to carry out mining, such as drilling, loading with explosives, blasting, loading and transporting material, roof support, ventilation, and other similar operations.

Ore or Mineral – Any solid substance existing in nature that, at the current stage of technology, can be used to extract one or more commercially valuable metals.

Perimeter Berm – Structure consisting of rock material (generally non-economic material) deposited along the edges of benches, mine roads, or open-pit deposits to prevent vehicle falls.

Permanent Fan – Fans installed permanently in a specific location to provide general ventilation to the mine.

Predictive Maintenance – Maintenance that ensures a desired service quality based on the systematic application of analysis techniques, using centralized supervision or sampling methods to minimize preventive maintenance and reduce corrective maintenance.

Preventive Maintenance – Maintenance carried out at predetermined intervals or according to prescribed criteria to reduce the probability of failure or degradation of a component’s functionality.

Professional or Trained Worker – Worker who has received training under the guidance and responsibility of a qualified professional, provided by the organization.

Qualified Professional – Worker qualified through completion of a specific course in their field of activity, recognized by the official education system.

Raise – Vertical or steeply inclined openings between levels of an underground mine, used for ore transport, waste, ventilation, or escape routes.

Ramp – Inclined surface used to transport materials or equipment to different levels in the mine.

Reclaimed Water – Water recovered from mining processes, treated and reused within the mine.

Refill – Material used to refill excavated spaces, providing structural support and stability.

Research – Execution of necessary work to define the deposit, evaluate it, and determine the feasibility of its economic exploitation. Research must be conducted under the responsibility of a legally qualified mining engineer or geologist.

Retention Dam – Structure (dam, dike, or similar) forming a containment wall for tailings or residues from the mineral beneficiation process, aiming to minimize socio-environmental impacts.

Rock Mass – Geological units formed by various rocks. A set of blocks originated from intact rock, limited by discontinuities.

Rock Massif – Composed of large volumes of unstable rock (large volumes of disarticulated rock) with high risk of collapse.

Self-propelled Equipment or Machine – Equipment that moves on land with its own propulsion system.

Service Front – Each location where support and infrastructure operations occur within the mine.

Shafts – Underground mining routes, vertical or steeply inclined, usually equipped with a cable transport system. Used for transporting people, materials, ore, and waste.

Silos – Structures for storing materials.

Similar Exposure Group (SEG) – Group of workers with the same general exposure profile (in magnitude and variability) to the agent under study due to the similarity and frequency of tasks they perform, materials and processes they work with, and the similarity in how they perform tasks. A SEG should not be confused with a similar function or position and can consist of workers from the same process, area, sector, function, or performing a specific activity.

Static Condition – Occurs when the load and distribution of forces on the foundations do not cause excessive total or differential deformations or rupture of the foundation by shear.

Subsidence – Refers to the movement of a surface as it moves downward relative to a reference level. Abrupt or gradual sinking of the surface, with little or no horizontal movement.

Subsoil Mining or Underground Mining – Extraction of ore at greater depths, accessed initially through vertical shafts or ramps constructed from the surface and later through galleries. People, equipment, supplies, and ore pass through them.

Tailings Dam Emergency Action Plan (PAEBM) – The PAEBM, which is part of the Dam Safety Plan (PSB), is a technical document registered with municipalities and Civil Defense (municipal, state, and federal), establishing procedures to be taken in emergency situations. It is a requirement regulated by ANM Resolution No. 95, of February 7, 2022, of the National Mining Agency (ANM), provided for in Law No. 12,334, of September 20, 2010, which established the National Dam Safety Policy (PNSB) and created the National Information System on Dam Safety (SNISB).

Telescopic Antenna with Flag – Equipment attached to a light vehicle that serves to indicate its presence in vehicle traffic areas, avoiding collisions with large equipment.

Transport Cage – Cage-shaped cabin used for vertical transportation of people or equipment.

Unstable Blocks – Generally composed of larger rock blocks than chocks. In some situations, unstable blocks cannot be removed and require appropriate treatment through adequate and safe support to eliminate the risk of falling on workers and equipment.

Ventilation Doors – Installed where it is necessary to maintain access for the air supply and return system. Two doors are installed in series, separated by a determined distance. The first door, when opened, allows personnel, equipment, or vehicles to access the empty space and then be closed before the second door is opened to cross the door system without altering airflows or changing the air flow direction.

Waste – Rock material without economic value generated after mineral beneficiation. It does not have commercial value at a given time to justify ore extraction due to low concentration. It is usually disposed of in piles to be utilized in the future, for example, when deposits are exhausted.

Weathered Area – Area where exposed rocks have been subject to physical, chemical, and biological weathering processes caused by factors such as climate, sudden temperature changes, and water. Weathering is a geological term referring to soil wear. Depending on the rock’s location, it undergoes weathering (weathering), i.e., it wears out.