Scientists have learned how to extract metals from the ground without digging

An international team of mining experts has developed a new method for extracting metals from ore. Scientists have shown a working prototype of the installation, in which an acid controlled by a magnetic field dissolves copper ore, then the resulting mixture is pumped out from under the surface of the earth.

Scientists shared the results of the experiment on the pages of the journal Science Advances.

How the new extraction method works

Scientists have called their new approach to extracting minerals from underground "electrokinetic in situ leaching." This technique is fundamentally different from the classical method of mining (digging mines and raising rocks containing metals to the surface of the earth).

So, according to scientists, their method is capable of fundamentally changing the entire mining industry of the future and making the extraction of useful metals available where it was previously impossible.

In addition, non-invasive mining technology is able to preserve the environment of the mining site practically in its original form.

So according to Dr. R. Crane (Kembourne School of Mines at the University of Exeter), the new approach to metal mining can be compared to laparoscopy in surgery.

Indeed, according to the new technology, it is proposed to immerse the electrodes directly into the rock, and then using an electric current to carry out the movement of metal ions, in particular copper, directly in the rock due to the so-called electromigration.

Of course, this technology is still quite far from industrial application and in fact it was reproduced only in laboratory conditions and with the help of computer simulation.

But the researchers are confident that their method of extracting metals will be viable outside the laboratory buildings.

Well, whether the proposed technology turns out to be revolutionary or will remain just a laboratory version, only time will tell.

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