Heap Leach Dynamics Services
Schlumberger Water Services developed its proprietary Heap Leach Dynamic Technology (HLDT) to assist mines in designing, operating, and closing heap leach facilities. HLDT uses a combination of geophysical, laboratory, field and modeling techniques to fully characterize and optimize the heap leaching process. With its wide understanding and experience in water flow and solute transport, Schlumberger Water Services is able to assist mine metallurgists in optimizing key design and operational conditions that affect the hydrodynamics of the leaching process. This gives the operator control of solution-to-rock interaction, thereby greatly increasing the potential for higher yields during the leaching operation.
Schlumberger Water Services has successfully improved leaching efficiency, increased recovery and lowered costs through application of this technology at mines worldwide. Results demonstrated include operational costs reduced by up to 30%, expansion of economically leachable reserves, ability to leach ores with very high fine contents, and significantly increased recoveries. Services offered for HLDT include:
- Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) surveys of heap leach facilities
- Laboratory testing of unsaturated flow parameters affecting heap leaching in our Tucson laboratory facility
- Field testing and instrumentation of heap leach facilities to monitor flow and leach efficiency
- Integration of hydrodynamics with standard column tests
- Numerical modeling of heap leach hydrodynamics
- Evaluation of existing heap facilities for overall efficiency
- Determination of optimum leaching application rates and dripper spacing
- Design of agglomerates to improve hydrodynamics and recovery
- Development of material handling and placement criteria to improve recovery
- Studies of optimum leach cycles including variable application rates
- Heap leach closure
Project Example:
Hydrogeochemistry of In Situ Uranium Leaching: An Integrated Approach to Management of Solution Mining
Location - Denver, Colorado, USA
Client - Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration (SME) Conference 2007
Description - In February 2007, SWS gave a presentation on the hydrogeochemistry of in situ uranium leaching. In situ leaching is a complex process whose analysis is multidisciplinary. It is the intersection between and integration of geology (geochemistry, mineralogy, structural geology), hydrology (hydrogeology, well hydraulics), metallurgy (hydrometallurgy, electrochemistry, aqueous chemistry), and economics (mineral ore, cost of operations, market). The management of this complex system requires "smart" knowledge integration, flexible modeling, and continual optimization. The resulting expert system ultimately leads to an integrated, real-time, hierarchical management/control system.
Heap leach dynamics investigation
Location - New Mexico, USA
Client - Phelps Dodge
Description - Schlumberger Water Services implemented a hydrodynamic evaluation of the run-of-mine copper heap leach operation at Phelps Dodge's Tyrone property. Phelps Dodge was interested in increasing copper recovery from its ongoing leach pad operation by improving its understanding of the hydrodynamic processes controlling solution movement and copper recovery. Schlumberger Water Services developed a sound understanding of the hydrodynamic properties of the ore material, enhancing solution movement through the leach pads and optimizing the leaching process to improve copper recovery.
Cripple Creek heap leach evaluation
Location - Colorado, USA
Client - Anglo Gold Company
Description - Schlumberger Water Services was retained by Anglo Gold to evaluate problems with an existing gold heap leach facility. Work included electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) surveys of the facility, laboratory testing of unsaturated flow parameters, field investigations in the leach facility, and development of operational criteria. Schlumberger Water Services worked closely with the mine metallurgist to assess the root issues that were contributing to lower recoveries in the heap leach than originally expected.
Heap leach evaluation
Location - Chile
Client - Minera Escondida Limitada
Description - While Minera Escondida Limitada (MEL) was in the feasibility phase of development for the Escondida Norte project, it retained Schlumberger Water Services to complete an initial investigation into the hydrodynamic characteristics of the ore as they related to optimization of conditions required for sulfide leaching. Schlumberger Water Services defined a work plan to develop a sound understanding of the hydrodynamic properties of the ore material and to monitor solution and air movement through the pilot leach pad. Schlumberger Water Services also worked to optimize the leaching process to maximize copper recovery.
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