commercial value. On public lands such minerals are considered saleable and are disposed of by sales or by special permits to local governments. See also Sidebar 1–2.

CONCENTRATION

See “beneficiation.” It also refers to the amount of a material in a host (e.g., the amount of gold in a ton of ore.)

CONSTRUCTION MINERALS (OR MATERIALS)

Materials used in construction, notably sand, gravel, crushed stone, dimension stone, asbestos, clay, cement, and gypsum.

COOPERATING AGENCY

Any federal, state, or local agency or Indian tribe with jurisdiction by law or special expertise enabling it to cooperate with the lead agency preparing an environmental impact statement under NEPA.

CORPORATE BONDING

As used in this report, the use of corporate assets as part or all of the financial assurance for the successful completion of reclamation or other corporate responsibility.

CRITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERN

Describes an area under BLM management and having special attributes.

CULTURAL RESOURCES

As used in this report, natural or manmade features having cultural or historical significance, such as structures, graves, religious sites, vistas, or bodies of water.

CUMULATIVE IMPACT

As used in this report, the collective impacts of several operations involving human activities, including mining, grazing, farming, timbering, water diversion or discharge, and industrial processing, also includes future impacts not immediately observable.

DEVELOPMENT

The preparation of a mining property so that an ore body can be analyzed and its tonnage and quality estimated. Development is an intermediate stage between exploration and mining.

DISCOVERY

As used in this report, initial recognition and demonstration of the presence of valuable mineral within a claim.

DUMP

A pile of ore, coal, or waste at a mine.

EMERGENCY FUNDS

(re: for low-probability, post-closure events) As used in this report, funds provided to deal with unexpected failures of reclamation on closed mining sites.

EPHEMERAL STREAM

A stream or reach of a stream that flows briefly only in direct response to precipitation in the immediate locality and whose channel is at all times above the water table.

EXPLORATION

As used in this report, the search for valuable minerals by geological, geochemical, geophysical, or intrusive physical examination. (See also “prospecting,” which in this report is considered part of exploration.)

FEDERAL LAND MANAGEMENT AGENCIES

In this report the term refers to the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service;