In-situ leaching (ISL), also called in-situ recovery (ISR) or solution mining, is a mining process used to recover minerals such as copper and uranium through boreholes drilled into a deposit, in situ. In situ leach works by artificially dissolving minerals occurring naturally in a solid state. For recovery of material occurring naturally in solution, see: Brine mining.
The process initially involves the drilling of holes into the ore deposit. Explosive or pathways in the deposit for solution to penetrate. Leaching solution is pumped into the deposit where it makes contact with the ore. The solution bearing the dissolved ore content is then pumped to the surface and processed. This process allows the extraction of metals and salts from an ore body without the need for conventional mining involving drill-and-blast, open-cut or underground mining.
In-situ leach mining involves pumping of a lixiviant into the ore body via a borehole, which circulates through the porous rock dissolving the ore and is extracted via a second borehole.
The lixiviant varies according to the ore deposit: for salt deposits the leachate can be fresh water into which salts can readily dissolve. For copper, acids are generally needed to enhance solubility of the ore minerals within the solution. For uranium ores, the lixiviant may be acid or sodium bicarbonate.
In-situ leach is widely used to extract deposits of water-soluble salts such as potash (sylvite and carnallite), rock salt (halite), sodium chloride, and sodium sulfate. It has been used in the US state of Colorado to extract nahcolite (sodium bicarbonate). In-situ leaching is often used for deposits that are too deep, or beds that are too thin, for conventional underground mining.
Uranium mining in the United States
In-situ leach for uranium has expanded rapidly since the 1990s, and is now the predominant method for mining uranium, accounting for 45 percent of the uranium mined worldwide in 2012.
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Mining in the engineering discipline is the extraction of minerals from underneath, open pit, above, or on the ground. Mining engineering is associated with many other disciplines, such as mineral processing, exploration, excavation, geology, and metallurgy, geotechnical engineering and surveying. A mining engineer may manage any phase of mining operations, from exploration and discovery of the mineral resources, through feasibility study, mine design, development of plans, production and operations to mine closure.
Uranium mining is the process of extraction of uranium ore from the ground. Over 50 thousand tons of uranium were produced in 2019. Kazakhstan, Canada, and Australia were the top three uranium producers, respectively, and together account for 68% of world production. Other countries producing more than 1,000 tons per year included Namibia, Niger, Russia, Uzbekistan, the United States, and China. Nearly all of the world's mined uranium is used to power nuclear power plants.
Mining is the extraction of valuable geological materials from the Earth and other astronomical objects. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agricultural processes, or feasibly created artificially in a laboratory or factory. Ores recovered by mining include metals, coal, oil shale, gemstones, limestone, chalk, dimension stone, rock salt, potash, gravel, and clay. The ore must be a rock or mineral that contains valuable constituent, can be extracted or mined and sold for profit.
Les étudiants comprennent le comportement mécanique de la roche intacte, des joints et des massifs rocheux et savent déterminer les facteurs influençant un projet. Ils savent utiliser les méthodes app
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