Schlumberger Technology Corporation

Kent Lang

Gilles Mathieu

Roland Banas

Peter D Wraight

James A Grau

Edward Clayton

Robert A Will

The present invention provides systems and methods capable of improving the efficiency and effectiveness of leaching operations. In one embodiment, the present invention may utilize a coiled tubing directional drilling system capable of treating interior portions of the heap/formation. In one embodiment, the present invention may utilize a system and method capable of capturing real time temperature and resistivity data pertaining to pregnant solution characteristics in the heap/formation. In one embodiment, the present invention may utilize one or more wire line deployed X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectrometers capable of quantitatively measuring concentrations of desired metals in the heap/formation during leaching operations. In one embodiment, the present invention utilizes multiple passes of elemental capture spectroscopy logs acquired at regular time intervals to monitor metal concentrations during leaching operations. In one embodiment, the present invention provides one or more subsurface barriers capable of optimizing leaching operations.

Mining systems and methods

A method of heap leaching including forming a heap lift, installing a horizontal solution collection system between the heap layers including a horizontal tubing with a wireline data collection tool disposed therein, providing a heap leach model for modeling the heap leach operation including a solvent formulation and a irrigation setting, obtaining collected data from the wireline data collection tool while irrigating the heap lift, the collected data including in-situ material parameters of the heap layers and in-situ solution parameters of the solution flowing in the heap layers, modeling the heap leach operation using the collected data based on the heap leach model to generate a result, and adjusting the heap leach operation based on the result.

Heap leach operations

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Denver, CO, United States of America

Kent Lang