quick

In mining, quick ground means rock or ore that contains economically viable mineral, or ground that fragments and moves readily during extraction. A quick seam is one worth working; a quick mine produces payable ore at decent rates. The term contrasts sharply with dead ground, which is barren rock, waste, or zones so difficult to break that they cost more to extract than they return.

Quick rock behaves predictably under drill and blast. It fractures along natural planes, responds to standard powder charges, and does not jam or ball up in the bucket. Quick ore grades above the cut-off threshold; if the operation mines at 1.2 grams per tonne gold, quick ground delivers that or better. Conversely, slow ground requires extra passes, deeper blast holes, or selective mining to avoid dilution, all of which erode margins.

A seam can be quick in one section and dead a hundred metres along strike. Folding, faulting, or weathering can flip the character overnight. Miners and ore geologists speak of mining through a dead patch toward quick ground ahead. The distinction shapes pit design, blast patterns, and shift targets. A quick block can be extracted profitably by open cast; the same ore body, if too deeply buried or too thinly seamed, becomes economically dead.

The term also applies to ground conditions. Quick clay or silt is saturated, coherent material that flows or settles unpredictably in underground work. Quick sand or quick gravel in the overburden requires special handling to prevent slumping into the pit. These uses predate modern mining jargon and derive from the same root: capable of motion, susceptible to change, lively or responsive.

Operating decisions hinge on quick versus dead assessments. A contractor may negotiate lower per-tonne rates for dead ground and premium rates for quick ore. Drill plans adjust hole spacing and powder load based on rock type. Reserve calculations separate proven quick mineral from probable dead waste. The word is shorthand for a geological and financial reality that shapes how the deposit is attacked.