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US 8,409,321 B2Granted
Method and apparatus for leaching metal from mining ore
AssigneeTekni-Plex, Inc.
InventorWilliam S. Mitchell
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Porous leach pipe and method for leaching metals from mining ores. The porous pipe may be buried beneath the surface of a pile of mined ore, providing a more even and uniform distribution of the leaching solution across the pile, increasing metal yields, reducing water consumption and eliminating pooling and ponding of the solution on the top of the piles as occurs with prior art drip line emitters.
Claims20
A method of leaching metal from a pile of mining ore, comprising:
- locating a length of leach pipe lengthwise across the pile and below the surface of the pile;
- supplying a leach solution to an inlet end of the pipe to pressurize the pipe with the leach solution;
- and
- the leach pipe comprising a flexible microporous tubular wall of select length providing a substantially continuous and consistent delivery rate of the leach solution along such length as the solution seeps through the microporous wall of the pressurized pipe.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.