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A mining method for the momentIt is less expensive and more environmentally friendly than traditional mining, so why is in-situ recovery not more widely used for copper extraction?

It is less expensive and more environmentally friendly than traditional mining, so why is in-situ recovery not more widely used for copper extraction?

By Lynn Greiner

December 02, 2024

The in-situ copper recovery wellfield at Taseko Mines’ production test facility at its Florence Copper project in Arizona. Courtesy of Taseko Mines

In-situ recovery (ISR), also known as in-situ leaching (ISL), is most commonly used in uranium, potash or oil sands mining. However, as global copper demand has steadily grown in recent years, there has been renewed interest in applying low-cost, low-environmental footprint ISR methods to copper deposits.

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