- (E) Heap leaching is an industrial mining process that is used to extract
copper, nickel, gold, uranium, and other compounds from ore. The
advantage of heap leaching is its relatively low operational costs and the
ability to extract valuable mineral resources from what otherwise would be
low grade ores. The mined ore is usually crushed into small chunks and
heaped into a pile where cyanide is used to dissolve the valuable metals. The
environmental consequences of the heap leaching processes are cyanide
leaks and infiltration of cyanide and other toxins into the water supply. The
production of one gold ring through the heap leaching method can generate
up to 20 tons of waste material.
marvins-underground-k-12
(Marvins-Underground-K-12)
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