In situ leaching of copper from porphyry copper ore bodies through stimulated natural fracture networks

A method of leaching copper from a porphyry copper ore body within a subsurface volume of rock comprising:

• forming an injection well adjacent to or within the porphyry copper ore body;
• forming at least one lateral injection hole extending from the injection well;
• stimulating the at least one lateral injection hole through the injection well under a hybrid stimulation phase, wherein the hybrid stimulation phase includes:
• a first hydraulic fracturing phase at an injection rate and a pressure which exceeds a minimum principal horizontal stress (Shmin) such that a first set of hydraulic fractures are formed which extend from the at least one lateral injection hole to intersect with a first set of natural fractures,
• a first hydroshearing phase, where the injection rate is held at a target rate until hydraulic fracture growth is allowed to arrest, and leak-off into natural fractures becomes a dominant pressure sink,
• mapping the first set of natural fractures during stimulation using a micro-seismic array to form a stimulated natural fracture map, and
• emplacing a proppant in the first set of hydraulic fractures and the first set of natural fractures to form a first set of stimulated propped hydraulic fractures and a first set of stimulated propped natural fractures;
• drilling at least one production well adjacent to or within the first set of stimulated propped natural fractures using the stimulated natural fracture map;
• completing at least one production well using a hybrid open hole completion where a production interval is completed using a blank liner and external casing packers;
• stimulating the at least one production well under a second hydroshearing phase, where an injection pressure is held near Shmin, such that a portion of the first set of natural fractures intersected by the production well are preferentially stimulated and intersect the porphyry copper ore body;
• emplacing a proppant in the natural fractures intersected by the production well to form a stimulated reservoir including a set of stimulated propped natural fractures;
• and
• leaching copper from the porphyry copper ore body by contacting a leaching fluid with the porphyry copper ore body via the stimulated reservoir to form a copper-laden solution.