| Term | Explanation | Editorials |
| FACE | Face An exposed area of ore body from where ore is extracted. I t could be the far end of a drift, cross-cut or stope. | Search Editorials |
| FAULT | Fault A rock fracture zone or slip along which there has been relative displacement of the two sides of the earth's surface or crust. The fault may provide a channel for the passage of mineral-bearing solutions and the deposition of minerals such as ld or silver. Fault zones, geographical locations | Search Editorials |
| FEASIBILITY STUDY | Feasibility Study (Bankable Feasibility Study) The financial or economic evaluation of the entire costs of building and putting a mine into production. A calculation of the cost per ounce of ld and how much ld there is to be mined and for how long. The feasibility study determines whether a mine can make a profit at the current market price for ld. There is also a consideration made based on the estimated future price of ld. Over the past few years, a number of projects have been cancelled or sold off to other mining companies due to the low price of ld. | Search Editorials |
| FINENESS | Fineness he purity of a metal or the proportion expressed in parts per thousand:- for example, 925 fine ld indicates 925 parts of a thousand or 92.5% pure ld, which has a value of 22 karat | Search Editorials |
| FINE OUNCE | Fine Ounce A descriptive measurement for ld which has a minimum purity of 99.5% | Search Editorials |
| FISSURE | Fissure An extensive fracture or crack in the earth's crust. | Search Editorials |
| FLOTATION | Flotation milling process that uses bubbles in a solution to capture mineral particles that float to the surface, allowing other particles or waste, to sink to the bottom. | Search Editorials |
| FOLD | Fold term used to describe any bending or wrinkling of a rock strata caused by the movement of tectonic plates . | Search Editorials |
| FOOL'S LD | Fool's ld P yrites of iron sulphide that looks like ld to the untrained eye. s fooled many an amateur prospector into thinking they ld ! | Search Editorials |
| FOOTWALL | Footwall Wall or rock on the underside of a vein or ore body. eferred to as the floor of a stope. | Search Editorials |
| FRACTURE | Fracture / Cross-Fracture A break in the rock that allows a mineral- bearing solution to flow through. A cross-fracture is a secondary fracture or break in the rock that is more or less at right angles to the main fracture. break in the rock that allows a mineral- bearing solution to flow through. A cross-fracture is a secondary fracture or break in the rock that is more or less at right angles to the main fracture. | Search Editorials |
| FREE LD | Free ld An alternative description for alluvial or placer ld. | Search Editorials |
| FREE MILLING | Free Milling term used when ore can recover precious metals by crushing, gravity separationor amalgamationconcentrating methods only and does not need the method of roasting or other chemical treatment. | Search Editorials |