Copper SX-EW technology
Heap leaching copper from oxide and secondary sulfide ores has been practiced commercially since the late 1960’s. This
methodology is mostly used for low-grade ores and involves the following basic processing steps: Mining, Crushing, Leaching, Solvent Extraction (SX) and Electrowinning (EW). Depending on ore characteristics other techniques such as Grinding and Agglomeration can also be employed.
Specific highlights
Key Extraction Technologies in 2026
- Next-Generation Leaching: Startups like Jetti Resources and Ceibo use specialized catalysts and chemical alterations to extract copper from chalcopyrite (primary sulfides), which contain 80% of world reserves but were traditionally resistant to leaching.
- Bio-Mining (Bio-leaching): This process uses naturally occurring or engineered microorganisms to break down copper minerals. Companies like Endolith and Nuton (a Rio Tinto venture) leverage industrial microbiology to recover up to 85% of copper from ores with minimal chemical use.
- Electrochemical Reductive Leaching: Technologies such as Still Bright’s use liquid vanadium solutions to react with copper at ambient temperature and pressure, claiming recovery rates of up to 99% in minutes without traditional smelting.
- Digital Twin & AI Integration: Modern mines use AI-driven data analysis to predict high-grade deposit locations and "digital twins" (virtual replicas) to simulate and optimize extraction processes in real-time, improving productivity and safety.
Chemical
Technical data
Heap and Dump leaching are processes used to extract metals such as copper, gold, nickel and uranium from their ores by placing the ore on a pad in the form of a heap. A heap leach encompasses a level of comminution while a dump leach is run of mine (ROM), where the ore is moved directly from mining to lixiviation. In the copper industry, irrigation takes place whereby a lixiviant (dilute sulfuric acid) is sprayed over the ore and dissolves the available copper. The resultant Pregnant Leach Solution (PLS) containing the dissolved copper, is collected from the bottom of the pad and passed through further processing steps. These include Solvent Extraction to purify and concentrate the metal containing solution and Electrowinning to produce high quality finished copper metal, known as cathode.
Performance data
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