In-situ mining method and apparatus
US4116488A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 20, 1976 |
| Grant date | Sep 26, 1978 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 20, 1996 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC E)Fixed Constructions
- CPC primaryE21B43/28
- WIPO fieldCivil engineering
- WIPO sectorOther fields
Abstract
An environmentally compatible, industrially safe, and potentially economic means for recovering copper and/or nickel from deep-seated deposits without resorting to extensive underground development. A two-phase ammoniacal leach solution containing oxygen bubbles is forced under high pressure through an injection hole several thousand feet deep into a leaching interval of a deep lying deposit containing copper or nickel or copper and nickel. The two-phase leach solution travels through the leaching interval of the deep lying deposit and is pumped out of withdrawal holes spaced apart from the injection hole. The two-phase leach solution under high pressure (more than 500 psi) penetrates the deposit through cracks, fissures and fractures, leaching copper and/or nickel along the way. Under a controlled pressure gradient, the leaching solution migrates over a period of time to receiving holes from which the pregnant leaching solution is withdrawn. The pregnant solution is then processed for recovery of copper or nickel or copper and nickel before it is returned to an injection hole. A method and apparatus for producing the two-phase leach solution and for maintaining a system in which t…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.