Anti-Handling Device — A device fitted to, added on, placed under, attached to or near that acts as part of a mine or munitions mechanism, which can be electrically or mechanically operated when the mine or munition is disturbed.

Anti-Personnel Mine — An explosive or material, normally encased, designed to wound, kill or otherwise incapacitate personnel. It may be detonated by the action of its victim, by the passage of time or by controlled means.

Anti-Tank Mine — A mine which is designed to disable or destroy vehicles and tanks.  The explosive can be activated by many types of fuse mechanism normally by pressure, tilt rod, influence or command detonated.

Area Reduction — The act of defining and marking the extent of a mined area, usually undertaken as a part of a Level 2 survey. (see survey)

Armed Delay Device — A device which has been fitted to the mine or fuse in order to prevent activation for a set period after being activated.  Normally used to ensure that the person or laying equipment has been able to withdraw from the immediate area.

Armed Period — The period in which a mine or munition is electronically and/or mechanical armed and active.

Ballistic Protection — Protection from projectiles, often referred to for protection against sniper or small arms ammunition but in demining terms is used for protection against fragmentation and blast.  See body armor.

Barrier Minefield — A minefield which aims to block a direction.

Base Line — The line which is used to initiate all demining operations and is the point from which all clearance lanes start.  Also known as the start line.

Battle Area Clearance — The term used for the clearance of all mines and UXO from an area of land.

Belleville Spring — A metal or plastic disc shaped diaphragm, with a metal striker on the concave side, which inverts when pressure has been exerted to one side.  This causes the metal striker to come into contact with a detonator causing an explosion.

Benchmark — A fixed point of reference outside the minefield. This point has known coordinates that have been either ascertained by survey, resection  or use of DGPS.

Black Widow — A name given to the Russian PMN mine so called because of its effectiveness and color of the pressure plate.

Blasting Cap — See detonator

Blind — Any ammunition that has been thrown, projected at or placed upon a target and which fails to function completely at the point of delivery or placement.

Blow in situ — The destruction of any item of ordnance by explosives without moving the item from where it was found,  normally by placing a explosive charge alongside.  Sometimes referred to as Blow in Place (BIP).

Body Armour — In demining, the term protective armour normally refers to the flak jacket, but for EOD work this refers to the full body ‘Bomb Suit’.

Bomb Disposal — The act of disposing of UXO and IED. (NATO definition)

Bomblet — A term used to describe types of sub-munitions especially those packed within cluster bombs.  Bomblets are designed to explode on contact with the target or ground.

Booby Trap — Any device or material which is designed, constructed or adapted to kill or injure and which functions unexpectedly when a person or object (vehicle) disturbs or approaches an apparently harmless object or performs an apparently safe act.

Booster Charge — The addition of explosives in order to increase the detonation capability of the detonator in order to detonate the main charge.  Sometimes used in order to increase the explosive content.  This can be done by stacking mines and/or adding explosives.

Bounding Mine — An Anti Personnel mine which is activated by either a trip wire or pressure.  The activation of the fuse causes a primary charge to be initiated which ejects the mine to a predetermined height before the main fragmentation charge is initiated.

Box Mine — A mine normally manufactured from plastic or timber,  containing the explosive charge and the activating mechanism.  Mainly used for AP mines but has also been used for some AT mine models.

Breaching — Operations which clear a path thought a mine field using a variety of military equipment, manual means, Mine Detecting Dogs or mechanical means.

Bund Walls — Earth protections generally surrounding explosives storage.

Call Signs — Names or means of identification assigned to specific personnel used when communicating by radio.

CASEVAC — (Casualty Evacuation) The process of moving a casualty from the site of the accident to medical facilities.

Claymore Mine — A directional AP mine, the claymore consists of a curved outer case containing a huge number of fragments.  Behind the fragments is a layer of explosive.  The mine can be initiated by either pull or command detonation.

Clearance — Clearing an area of all mines, UXO and IED to a predefined standard.

Clearance Site — The site where demining activities (the removal of mines and/or UXO) are being conducted.

Clearance Standards — The standards that are to be applied to clearance operations.  Normally specified in the contract document or clearance plan.  In the UN it is normally achieved to a clearance standard of 100 per cent with a tolerance error of not more than 0.4 per cent.

Clear Lane — A lane that has been cleared of all mines and UXO.

Cluster Munition — A number of sub-munitions in one container that is aerially delivered.

Countermine — The activities, equipment or process, used to counter mines.

Crimp — The act of fixing (crimping) the open end of a non electric detonator to a length of safety fuse.

Crimper — The tool used to crimp.

Datum point — A point on the perimeter of a mine field that has been surveyed in from the benchmark. It has known coordinates and it can also be the start point of the first lane. Turning points and intermediate points are also datum points as they have known coordinates.

Demining — Term used to describe all  aspects of mine clearance.  ( see mine clearance).

Demolition Pit — A hole in which mines and UXOs are placed for destruction.

Density — The amount of mines in the minefield divided by the minefield length.  This is normally referred to as mines per metre of minefield frontage.

Destruction in situ — Destruction of the mine or UXO normally by explosives, without moving the item.  See also Blow in Situ.

Detonator — A sensitive explosive item that can be initiated by either electrical or non electrical means.  The first item in the explosive chain, used to initiate the main or booster charge. (NATO definition)

Detonation Wave — A shock wave which passes through  high explosive as a uniform front, from the point of ignition, breaking the chemical bindings at molecular level.( > 3000m/s)

Differential GPS — A GPS which can provide readings to an accuracy of  ± 5 cm.

Disposal Work — EOD work.

Disarming — The act of making a mine safe by removing the fuse or igniter. The procedure normally removes one or more links from the firing chain.  See also neutralization.

Double Impulse Mine — A mine, normally a Anti Tank, that is fitted with a Double Impulse fuse which requires two separate pressures on the fuse in order to initiate the detonation chain.

Electrical Initiation — Initiation of an electrical detonator.

Exploder — A device used to safely produce an electrical current through electrical cable in order to initiate electric detonators or safety fuse ignitors. Also known as a blasting machine or firing device.

Exploratory Breach — A method of breaching the suspect mined area in order to identify the actual location of the mine strips or rows and obtain  mines information.

Explosive — A substance or mixture of substances which under external influences, is able of rapidly releasing energy in the form of gases and heat.  (NATO definition)

Explosive Detector Dogs (or Explosive Sensing Dogs) — Dogs that are specially trained to detect the vapours emitted by explosives contained in IEDs, mines and munitions.  Some dogs can also be trained to detect tripwires and non-explosive booby traps.  The dogs are normally referred to as explosive or mine detection dogs.

Explosive Ordnance — Munitions that contain explosives, nuclear fission or fusion material, biological and chemical agents.  This includes bombs and warheads, guided and ballistic missiles, artillery, mortar, small arms ammunition, mines, torpedoes, depth charges, demolition stores, pyrotechnics, cluster munitions and dispensers, cartridges and propelled actuated devices, electric explosive devices and similar items that are explosive in nature.

Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) — The detection, identification, field evaluation, render safe, recovery and disposal of Unexploded Ordnance (UXO). EOD may be undertaken:

a) As a routine part of mine clearance operations, upon the discovery of UXO.
b) To dispose of UXO discovered outside mined areas, ( this may be a single UXO, or a larger number inside a specific area).
c) To dispose of explosive ordnance which has become hazardous by damage or destruction.

Extraction Drill — The immediate action undertaken in response to an uncontrolled detonation which has caused injury to personnel.  It involves team members in the recovery of injured personnel and the provision of first aid. Also known as man down drill.

Firing Device — A device such as an exploder, used  to produce an electrical current in order to initiate an electrical detonator. See exploder.

Free From Explosive(FFE) — The state of a particular manufactured munitions which has had all the explosive removed.  All mines or munitions being used for training and demonstrative aids should have the explosives removed and be marked ‘FFE’.

Fragmentation Zone — The area covered by that fragmentation will travel from the point of detonation.  There are several factors which require to be reviewed when determining this zone; the amount of explosive, body construction, type of material, ground conditions etc.  See also secondary fragmentation.

Full Width Clearance — Clearance of a lane to the total vehicle width. This normally includes a small margin at each side.  Associated with mechanical mine clearance equipment such as flails, rollers in tandem, sifters  and full width ploughs.

Fuse — A designed and manufactured mechanism to activate a mine or munition.  It can be designed for use by electrical, chemical or mechanical systems; by push, pull, pressure, release and time activation, singly or in combination. Usually consists of an igniter and  detonator.

Gunpowder — An explosive that must be confined in order to create an low order explosion.  It decomposes through a combustion reaction at a very fast rate.  This reaction takes place on the surface of the composition and burns layer by layer.

Hand Clearance — The act of clearing hazardous areas manually. Normally refers to clearance teams using mine detectors and probes.

Hollow charge — See shaped charge.

Humanitarian Mine Clearance — The removal of mines and UXO under the auspices of a humanitarian organization  in order to allow the land to be returned to the local community.

Horizontal Action Mine — An Anti Tank /Vehicle mine placed at the side of the track or road which will normally be activated by a vehicle. The Horizontal Action Mine will propel  a shaped charge warhead into the side of the vehicle or tank.  See also Off Route Mine.

Improvised Explosive Device (IED) — An improvised explosive device is normally of local manufacture and is often associated with booby traps.  It has all the elements of a mass manufactured mine or booby trap.

Inert — A mine or munition without explosives, made from the actual parts of the real explosive item and assembled by the manufacturer.  It is identical to the actual live object but has no explosive content.  Used for training and should be marked “inert”. (NATO definition) See also FFE.

Influence Fuse Mine — A mine with a fuse which has been designed to be activated by the actual magnetic or other influences such IR, radar, seismic or combinations thereof.

Intermediate Lane — A lane forward of the start or base line where all cleared lanes finish and successive lanes commence.  Intermediate lanes are numbered successively forward of the start line.

Intermediate Marker — A marker used between the start and finish markers or between turning points on the perimeter of a mine field to indicate an intermediate point.  There can be several such markers.

Irregular Outer Edge — Short mine strips laid in an irregular manner or pattern in front of minefields, facing the enemy, to deceive them as to the  the shape and density of the main minefield.  It can consist of both AT and AP mines.

Landmark — A permanent feature or object that has known coordinates and is easy to identify on the ground. Used in conjunction with a benchmark to locate the start point of a mine field perimeter. Also called a reference point.

Low Order Technique — A specific EOD technique which uses a small explosive charge to disrupt a UXO without initiating the main charge.

Main Charge — The main and normally the largest explosive charge of a mine or munition.  Normally initiated by either the detonator or a booster charge.

Mine — An explosive or other material, normally encased, designed to destroy or damage vehicles, boats, or aircraft, or designed to wound, kill, or otherwise incapacitate personnel. It may be detonated by the action of its target, the passage of time or by controlled means. (NATO definition)

Mine Action — All aspects at a national programme to address the mine problem in a country.

Mine Action Centre — Mine Action Centre usually refers to a facility, containing personnel who coordinate and assist the national mine action activities in a country.

Mined Area — An area declared dangerous due to the presence or suspected presence of mines. (NATO definition)

Mine Awareness — A method of informing, teaching and relaying messages about landmines to the public, normally through a mine awareness programme.  Mine awareness encompasses mine risk education, mine awareness training (MAT) for peacekeepers, multi media presentations, and what action to take when a mine or UXO is found. It is intended to modify behaviour patterns to reduce casualties. A result of Mine Awareness is the flow of information back to a MAC about mine and ordnance locations.

Mine Clearance — The clearance of mines and UXO from a specified area to a predefined standard.

Mine Cluster — Anti Tank or Anti Personnel mines are often laid in groups or clusters.  They can consist of one or several mines of one or various types.

Mine Database — A collection of information on land mines and UXO, used for determining national plan priorities, collating and analyzing the mine information, surveys, performance and other mine clearance related details.  Most MACs also contain a limited map producing capability.

Mine Field — In land warfare, an area of ground containing mines laid with or without a pattern.  (NATO definition)

Mine Investigation — An investigation into a mine related accident or incident.

Mine Protected Vehicles — Vehicles that have been specially designed or have additional protection from  land mines in order to deflect the shock waves past the vehicle.

Minefield Survey — One of three disciplines in demining which involves the gathering of intelligence in order to identify suspect or known minefields areas.  It also involves the reduction and marking of the areas prior to demining activities. There are three levels of survey.( See Survey)

Mine Verification — The act of verifying that an area or road is clear of mines and munitions.  Normally undertaken when roads have been frequently used but actual mine clearance operations have not taken place.

Minimum Metal Content — A term given to both AT and AP mines, but more commonly to AP mines with a limited amount of metal content.  Minimum metal content mines normally have a few very small components of metal, for example a spring, ball bearing/s and the striker pin.  In addition these metal components may have been manufactured from specialised material such as stainless steel which can be difficult to detect. It has been recommended that protocol II of the Geneva Convention be amended to specify a metal content of at least 8 grams.

Misfire — The failure of a munition or explosive charge to fire or explode as intended.

Monitoring — The authorised observation, by qualified personnel, in order to report on a clearance or demining activity, without taking responsibility for the quality or effectiveness.

Neutralization — The act of replacing safety devices, such as pins or rods into an explosive item   to prevent the fuse or ignitor from functioning.  It does not make the item completely safe as removal of the pins or rods will immediately make the item active again. It should not be confused with Disarming.

NG-Based Explosives — Nitro-Glycerine based explosives.

Non-Metallic Mine — A mine that contains no metal content but is a title often used, incorrectly for mines that have minimum metal content.

Nuisance Minefield — The term used for a few mines placed randomly around locations that will disorganize or demoralize an enemy.

Off-Route Mine — A mine that fires a projectile into the side of a tank or vehicle, the mine sensor or fuse normally being activated by the vehicle. Sometimes referred to as a Horizontal Action Mine.

Osteomyelitis — The infection of the bone cortex and marrow which occurs if  metal, explosive fragments, or other foreign bodies are not removed from an amputees wound.

Patterned Minefield — An Anti Tank, Anti Personnel or mixed minefield where the mines are laid out in known mine clusters, rows or mine strips.  Can be laid by hand or mechanical means.

Perimeter Marking — The outer visible marking of a minefield, consisting normally of wire, tape and/or mine field warning signs.

Plastic Explosive — A moldable form of high explosive.

Phony Minefield — An area of ground prepared using fences, mine boxes and other minefield identification material to give the impression of a live minefield without it containing any landmines. Used to deceive.

Probe — A tool, consisting of one or more pointed rods or tines that is used to probe the subsurface of the ground at a predetermined angle in order to locate buried ordnance.  Also known as a prodder.

Prodder — See Probe

Propellant — A chemical material or combination of materials which have a high and uniform combustion rate, producing a large quantity of gas and heat upon ignition.

Protective Minefield — A minefield laid by a unit in order to assist its local, close in protection. Normally consists of only Anti Personnel mines.

Pulling — The act of attaching a wire or cable to a mine or munition in order to move the item in case an anti lift or anti disturbance device has been attached.

Quality Assurance — These process and procedures,management oriented, which if followed would result in a quality product or outcome.

Quality control — Activities focussed on determining through measurement, the level of compliance with technical standard.

Quality Management System: QMS — The combination of an organization’s quality philosophy, quality assurance and quality control measures.

Reference Point — A fixed point of reference outside the minefield. This point has known coordinate that have been either ascertained by survey, resection  or use of GPS. Also called a benchmark.  (NATO definition)

Ribbon Charge — Specific technique for emplacing explosives.

Render Safe Procedures (RSPs) — Render Safe Procedures are the procedures that enable the neutralisation and/or disarming of mines and munitions to occur in a recognised and safe manner. (NATO definition)

Safe Lane — A lane that is clear of all mines and UXO

Secondary Fragmentation — The material not belonging to the mine resulting from the detonation such as rocks, branches and dirt. Depending on the material, secondary fragmentation can travel long distances.

Shaped Charge — A charge shaped so as to concentrate its explosive force in a particular direction.

Single Impulse Mine — A mine activated by pressure which is designed to activate after a single actuation on the pressure mechanism.

Site Mapping — A diagram which details the organization of a working site.

Soak Time — A term given to a period of time, when the device or munition is left undisturbed before any further predetermined action will be taken. Normally used when referring to Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) or when a misfire has occurred  Derived from earlier times when items where placed in water to make it inert.  (NATO definition)

Start Line — A line related to the Bench Mark or reference point forward of which all demining occurs.  The line does not have to be straight. See also base line.

Start Point — A point where demining commences within a allotted clearance area.  Normally the Start Point is the location where the first clearance lane intersects the start line.

Stopping Power — The term given to the stopping power of any minefield indicating the capability of the minefield to stop vehicles and tanks before as a percentage of target hits. It is not normally associated with anti personnel minefields.

Sub-munitions — A sub-munition are minelets or bomblets that form part of a cluster bomb or artillery shell payload.

Survey — The method of determining the location of suspect or verified mined areas and further determining through survey methods the perimeters of the actual mined area.  This is undertaken by use of three levels of survey:

• Level one :   General Survey
• Level two :   Technical Survey
• Level three :   Completion Survey

Tethering Wire — A wire connecting the internal body to the outer container of a central portion of the bounding mine which determines the height at which the main charge will detonate.

Tilt Rod — A post or pole normally attached to a fuse mechanism on top of a mine.  Pressure against the tilt rod activates by breaking or releasing mechanical retaining devices, thereby starting the activation chain of the fuzing mechanism.

Track Width Clearance — Normally associated with mechanical clearance devices that clear the width of the vehicle tracks only, such as rollers  and ploughs.  See also full width clearance.

Tripwire — A wire attached to one or more mines in order to increase the activation area of the mine.  Pressure or the breaking of this trip wire will result in activation of the mine fuse.  Normally attached to bounding and fragmentation type mines.

Turning Point — A surveyed point on the perimeter of a mine field where there is a change in direction. This point has known coordinates and is related by bearing (azimuth) and distance to either an earlier turning point or intermediate point.

Unexploded Ordnance — Explosive ordnance which has been primed, fuzed, armed or otherwise prepared for use or used.  It could have been fired, dropped, launched, projected yet remains unexploded either through malfunction or design or for any other cause.

Working Lane — The lane where one or more deminers are working.