heap leaching


heap leaching

[′hēp ‚lēch·iŋ] (metallurgy) A process used for the recovery of copper from weathered ore and material from mine dumps; material is laid to a thickness of 20 feet (6 meters) in alternately fine and coarse beds and treated with water at intervals during which oxidation occurs; liquor that runs off is treated with scrap iron to precipitate copper.