A Simulator for Copper Ore Leaching

This is the final report of a one-year, Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Copper is a strategic metal and the nation needs a secure supply both for industrial use and military needs. However, demand is growing worldwide and is outstripping the ability of the mining industry to keep up. Improved recovery methods are critically needed to maintain the balance of supply and demand. The goal of any process design should be to increase the amount of copper recovered, control movement of acid and other environmentally harmful chemicals, and reduce energy requirements. To achieve these ends, several improvements in current technology are required, the most important of which is a better understanding of, and the ability to quantify, how fluids move through heterogeneous materials in a complex chemical environment. The goal of this project is create a new modeling capability that couples hydrology with copper leaching chemistry . once the model has been verified and validated, we can apply the model to specific problems associated with heap leaching (flow channeling due to non-uniformities in heap structure, precipitation/dissolution reactions, and bacterial action), to understand the causes of inefficiencies, and to design better recovery systems. We also intend to work with representatives of the copper mining industry to write a coordinated plan for further model development and application that will provide economic benefits to the industry and the nation