Simulator for Copper Ore Leaching

摘要

This is the final report of a one-year, Laboratory Directed Research and211u001eDevelopment (LDRD) project at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Copper is a 211u001estrategic metal and the nation needs a secure supply both for industrial use and 211u001emilitary needs. However, demand is growing worldwide and is outstripping the 211u001eability of the mining industry to keep up. Improved recovery methods are 211u001ecritically needed to maintain the balance of supply and demand. The goal of any 211u001eprocess design should be to increase the amount of copper recovered, control 211u001emovement of acid and other environmentally harmful chemicals, and reduce energy 211u001erequirements. To achieve these ends, several improvements in current technology 211u001eare required, the most important of which is a better understanding of, and the 211u001eability to quantify, how fluids move through heterogeneous materials in a complex 211u001echemical environment. The goal of this project is create a new modeling 211u001ecapability that couples hydrology with copper leaching chemistry . once the model 211u001ehas been verified and validated, we can apply the model to specific problems 211u001eassociated with heap leaching (flow channeling due to non-uniformities in heap 211u001estructure, precipitation/dissolution reactions, and bacterial action), to 211u001eunderstand the causes of inefficiencies, and to design better recovery systems. 211u001eWe also intend to work with representatives of the copper mining industry to 211u001ewrite a coordinated plan for further model development and application that will 211u001eprovide economic benefits to the industry and the nation.