Kennecott Copper Corporation

Peter James Lingane

Limin Hsueh

Lawrence MacLagan Cathles, Iii

This invention pertains to a method for in-situ mining of copper values from ore formations and, more particularly, this invention pertains to oxidative in-situ mining of copper wherein, for example, an oxygen-acid, a ferric iron-acid or a nitrate-acid lixiviant is being employed for recovering copper values. Further, this invention pertains to the recovery of copper from a deposit in which the ratio of pyrite to chalcopyrite is low. Still further, this invention pertains to a combination of acid-preinjection, monitoring, acid adjustment and additional monitoring or tell-tale ion monitoring for acid supply increase or decrease in the ore formation as steps in a combination for rendering highly controllable the acid preinjection process, thus providing further improvements to in-situ mining processes. Additionally, this invention pertains to a broad range of in-situ leaching processes including, for example, oxidative leaching of nickel sulfides, molybdenum sulfides or rhenium sulfides, or an oxidative leaching of pitch blende.

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Concord, MA, United States of America

Peter James Lingane