Abstract
Leaching now yields about 12 percent of the Nation's annual new copper production. About 200,000 tons of copper a year is being won by heap and vat leaching of ore, dump leaching of waste, and in-place leaching of caved underground workings. Although in-place leaching was practiced as long ago as the 15th century, it is little used and contributes only a few percent of the total leach copper production. Current technology in this area is exemplified by practice at the Miami, Ariz., mine of the Miami Copper Co. Despite its limited use, the concept of extracting copper by in-place leaching without physically mining and transporting the ore continues to present intriguing cost saving possibilities. Project SLOOP has been proposed as an experiment to test the feasibility of nuclear fracturing and acid leaching the oxidized portion of a deep ore body near Safford, Ariz. However, the bulk of the copper in deep ore deposits occurs as sulfide minerals that are not easily soluble in acid solutions. This paper explores the concept of in-place leaching of nuclear fractured, deeply buried copper sulfide deposits. On the assumption that fracturing of rock and solution injection and collection would be feasible, an assessment is made
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Rosenbaum, Joe B;
McKinney, W A
[1]
- Salt Lake City Metallurgy Research Center, Bureau of Mines, US Department of the Interior, Salt Lake City, UT (United States)
Citation Formats
Rosenbaum, Joe B, and McKinney, W A.
In situ recovery of copper from sulfide ore bodies following nuclear fracturing.
IAEA: N. p.,
1970.
Web.
Rosenbaum, Joe B, & McKinney, W A.
In situ recovery of copper from sulfide ore bodies following nuclear fracturing.
IAEA.
Rosenbaum, Joe B, and McKinney, W A.
1970.
"In situ recovery of copper from sulfide ore bodies following nuclear fracturing."
IAEA.
@misc{etde_20768806,
title = {In situ recovery of copper from sulfide ore bodies following nuclear fracturing}
author = {Rosenbaum, Joe B, and McKinney, W A}
abstractNote = {Leaching now yields about 12 percent of the Nation's annual new copper production. About 200,000 tons of copper a year is being won by heap and vat leaching of ore, dump leaching of waste, and in-place leaching of caved underground workings. Although in-place leaching was practiced as long ago as the 15th century, it is little used and contributes only a few percent of the total leach copper production. Current technology in this area is exemplified by practice at the Miami, Ariz., mine of the Miami Copper Co. Despite its limited use, the concept of extracting copper by in-place leaching without physically mining and transporting the ore continues to present intriguing cost saving possibilities. Project SLOOP has been proposed as an experiment to test the feasibility of nuclear fracturing and acid leaching the oxidized portion of a deep ore body near Safford, Ariz. However, the bulk of the copper in deep ore deposits occurs as sulfide minerals that are not easily soluble in acid solutions. This paper explores the concept of in-place leaching of nuclear fractured, deeply buried copper sulfide deposits. On the assumption that fracturing of rock and solution injection and collection would be feasible, an assessment is made of solution systems that might be employed for the different copper sulfide minerals in porphyry ore bodies. These include the conventional ferric sulfate-sulfuric acid systems and combinations of sulfide mineral oxidants and different acids. (author)}
place = {IAEA}
year = {1970}
month = {May}
}
title = {In situ recovery of copper from sulfide ore bodies following nuclear fracturing}
author = {Rosenbaum, Joe B, and McKinney, W A}
abstractNote = {Leaching now yields about 12 percent of the Nation's annual new copper production. About 200,000 tons of copper a year is being won by heap and vat leaching of ore, dump leaching of waste, and in-place leaching of caved underground workings. Although in-place leaching was practiced as long ago as the 15th century, it is little used and contributes only a few percent of the total leach copper production. Current technology in this area is exemplified by practice at the Miami, Ariz., mine of the Miami Copper Co. Despite its limited use, the concept of extracting copper by in-place leaching without physically mining and transporting the ore continues to present intriguing cost saving possibilities. Project SLOOP has been proposed as an experiment to test the feasibility of nuclear fracturing and acid leaching the oxidized portion of a deep ore body near Safford, Ariz. However, the bulk of the copper in deep ore deposits occurs as sulfide minerals that are not easily soluble in acid solutions. This paper explores the concept of in-place leaching of nuclear fractured, deeply buried copper sulfide deposits. On the assumption that fracturing of rock and solution injection and collection would be feasible, an assessment is made of solution systems that might be employed for the different copper sulfide minerals in porphyry ore bodies. These include the conventional ferric sulfate-sulfuric acid systems and combinations of sulfide mineral oxidants and different acids. (author)}
place = {IAEA}
year = {1970}
month = {May}
}