The economically mineable part of a mineral deposit — the portion worth extracting, not merely the mineralised rock.
A continuous, well-defined mass of material containing a sufficient concentration of valuable minerals to be economically mined. The size, grade, and geometry of the orebody determine the mining method and project economics.
The word implies economics that may not have been demonstrated. Mineralisation becomes an orebody when a study says it pays, not when a drill hole finds it.