Rockpicking

nounStandard termMining

The process of manually or mechanically removing waste rock from an ore stream.

The physical sorting step where large, barren stones are pulled off a conveyor belt or sorting table before the material undergoes further crushing and grinding. This early separation step improves the overall head grade of the ore and saves energy in the comminution circuit.

Heard on the job

We need to improve the lighting over the sorting belt because the rockpicking has been sloppy on the night shift.