Mining or in situ disintegration of hard material – In situ conversion of solid to fluid – Input and output wells
Patent
1981-01-16
1986-12-23
Pate, III, William F.
Mining or in situ disintegration of hard material
In situ conversion of solid to fluid
Input and output wells
166250, 166308, E21B 4326
Patent
active
046308687
ABSTRACT:
The present invention embodies an improved method for the in situ mining of low to impermeable minerals to sweep out sections of deposits beneath the surface of the earth. Practicing the method of the invention generally involves: locating, by exploration at depth, a mineral deposit suitable for in situ mining and drilling a well bore into that deposit; hydraulically fracturing that well bore utilizing a disintegrating solution to break up aggregate bonding, fully opening the formation, and, at the time of fracturing, by ground surface stress changes determining the principal fracture direction; from the determined fracture direction, locating at least one production well bore appropriately alongside the first well bore and fracturing that production well bore using a disintegrating solution, which solution, optionally, includes proppants therein; passing a leaching solution flow between the well bore and production well bore to dissolve appropriate minerals from the deposit; and drawing out, preferably through the production well bore, the pregnant leaching solution for further refining above ground.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3637261 (1972-01-01), Porter
patent: 3810510 (1974-05-01), Fitch
patent: 3896879 (1975-07-01), Sareen
patent: 3917345 (1975-11-01), Davidson
patent: 4005750 (1977-02-01), Shuck
patent: 4044828 (1977-08-01), Jones
patent: 4082359 (1978-04-01), Spence
Petroleum Reservoir Engineering, James Amyx, et al., McGraw Hill, 1960, p. 78.
Green Sidney J.
Jones Arfon H.
Pate III William F.
Russell M. Reid
Terra Tek, Inc.
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