metalliferous

American  

[met-l-if-er-uhs] / ˌmɛt lˈɪf ər əs /

adjective

1. containing or yielding metal.

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metalliferous British  

/ ˌmɛtəˈlɪfərəs /

adjective

1. containing a high concentration of metallic elements

   a metalliferous ore

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Other Word Forms

• nonmetalliferous adjective

Etymology

Origin of metalliferous

1650–60; < Latin metallifer ( metalli-, -fer ) + -ous

Example Sentences

Visitors were barred because they might carry metalliferous dust; even research-staff members had to take their shoes off before entering the animal rooms.

From Time Magazine Archive

In the east lies Ruanda-Urundi, where the seven-foot Watussi live; in the south lies Katanga, the metalliferous wonderland that fronts on Rhodesia and is the site of Shinkolobwe, the world's richest uranium mine.

From Time Magazine Archive

He says, "the slag of bismuth, mixed together with metalliferous substances, which when melted make a kind of glass, will tint glass and earthenware vessels blue."

From De Re Metallica, Translated from the First Latin Edition of 1556 by Agricola, Georgius

It is evidently the American equivalent for the metalliferous limestone of England, and, as a formation, is of the transition era.

From Scenes and Andventures in the Semi-Alpine Region of the Ozark Mountains of Missouri and Arkansas by Schoolcraft, Henry Rowe

The metalliferous material is sometimes found not very deep beneath the surface of the earth, but sometimes so deep that it is necessary to drive tunnels and sink shafts.

From De Re Metallica, Translated from the First Latin Edition of 1556 by Agricola, Georgius