Conventional mining technologies face increasing technical challenges and expenses in processing deposits of declining grade, challenging mineralogy, or accessing ores that occur at increasingly greater depths. Economic quantities of high-value metals/critical minerals (Cu, Ni, PGM, REE, Li, Co, Au, Ag, Te, Mo, Re, W) are found within hard rock primary ores, which are igneous and metamorphic hydrothermal deposits generally found 500 to 5000 meters below surface (Haschke et al., 2016). Step changes in in situ recovery (ISR) technologies are needed to access these critical minerals deposits. The first-order major challenge facing hard rock ISR is the low porosity and low permeability of most igneous and metamorphic rocks. The proposed program seeks to test physical and chemical methods to increase in situ accessible reactive surface area and leaching of critical minerals within hard rock ores. We are seeking undergraduate student researcher(s) to assist with the following aspects of this project: Creation of rock core aggregates
Testing of rock core fragmentation methods
Design of proof of concept column leaching experiments
Reactive transport modeling