For that sort of primer, Jim Puplava recommended "Mining Explained, In Simple Terms, by the Northern Miner Press Limited.
I got it from Amazon.com. It's basic and old, but it's a start, and there seems not to be much else out there in print. Although I seem to remember some PDF file of some sort of Geological list of terms that's available. I'll try to hunt for it later...
Cheers,
Baires