| Abstract |
The Bureau of Mines and El Paso Mining and Milling Company conducted a cooperative in situ leaching research program at the Emerald Isle mine near Kingman, Ariz. The objective of this research was to develop in situ leaching methods for 200,000 tons of ore exposed in the pit bottom and also 3,000,000 tons of ore under 200 feet of overburden adjacent to the pit. The research included core drilling for fragmentation analysis, in-place permeability testing, seismic surveys, blasting tests, blast vibration measurements, in-place leaching, and ground water monitoring. A 15,000-ton test area in the pit bottom was blasted and leached in place for 117 days. This successful test was followed by leaching of 100,000 additional tons of unblasted pit bottom ore. Two test blasts under 205 feet of overburden and extending to 290 feet were detonated in an area near the open pit. Based on the research completed, an expanded in situ leaching system was designed, but not implemented, to recover copper from a 1,500,000-ton area at the Emerald Isle mine. |
