Global chemical company BASF and geophysical services company hydroGEOPHYSICS (HGI) have announced a strategic partnership aimed at combining expertise in mineral processing, hydrometallurgy, and deep well injection to optimize copper extraction.
The collaboration will utilize HGI’s geophysical techniques to identify areas within the heap that currently offer poor recovery and will involve the design and implementation of a deep well injection program, incorporating BASF’s novel LixTRA leach aid to facilitate a significant uplift in copper extraction rates.
“Technological advancements are essential if the industry is to meet the projected copper demand going forward,” said Caren Hoffman, vice president, Mining Solutions at BASF. “Using HGI’s expertise to identify areas of poor heap leach performance and then targeting these areas through deep well technology and BASF’s LixTRA reagent is a great example of how partnerships can drive sustainable process improvements in the mining industry.”
The companies said initial results from a customer’s site have demonstrated a 20% increase in copper recovery during a trial period, prompting further testing on a larger scale to quantify the benefits.
Source: BASF