{"id":3483,"date":"2025-09-27T23:15:22","date_gmt":"2025-09-27T23:15:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fmminermag.com\/htdocs\/?post_type=issue-article&p=3483"},"modified":"2025-10-21T19:56:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T19:56:08","slug":"degrees-of-separation","status":"publish","type":"issue-article","link":"https:\/\/fmminermag.com\/htdocs\/issue-article\/degrees-of-separation\/","title":{"rendered":"Degrees of Separation"},"content":{"rendered":"

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VOL. 08\u00a0 |\u00a0 ISSUE 3\u00a0 |\u00a0 Fall 2025<\/p>\n

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Degrees of
Separation<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text content_tablet=”<\/p>\n

Bagdad Autonomous Haulage Fleet Driving
Toward Full Site Conversion<\/h2>\n

” content_phone=”<\/p>\n

Bagdad Autonomous Haulage Fleet Driving Toward Full Site Conversion<\/h2>\n

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Application of Heat Driving Improved
Leach Recovery<\/h2>\n

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It started with a mid-December email in 2022.<\/p>\n

It ended with the realization that within a 12-page document, there existed a roadmap for Freeport\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

Officially, it was known as \u201cIncremental Cu Recovery based on Temperature and Mineralogy for Leaching Operations at Freeport.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unofficially, \u201cThe Heat Memo.\u201d<\/p>\n

It distilled years of field and lab tests into a single reference point, charting copper yields by temperature, method and mineralogy, giving the company the clarity to envision transformative approaches toward recovery efforts.<\/p>\n

Now, almost three years later, Freeport stands on the threshold of the door that insight opened, with a wave of stockpile experiments about to begin. And while these projects are scattered across the map, they all originate from the same point: More heat produces more copper.<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/fmminermag.com\/htdocs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Bringing-the-Heat-3crop.jpg” title_text=”Bringing-the-Heat-3crop” force_fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”CUTLINE” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Fira Sans Condensed|200|||||||” text_text_color=”#d8d4ca” text_font_size=”18px” text_line_height=”1.25em” header_2_font=”Fira Sans Condensed|500|||||||” header_2_text_color=”#3d485e” header_2_font_size=”30px” header_3_font=”Fira Sans Condensed|600|||||||” header_3_text_color=”#4d4d4f” header_3_font_size=”18px” header_3_line_height=”1.5em” header_4_font=”Fira Sans Condensed|600|||||||” header_4_text_color=”#4d4d4f” background_enable_color=”off” width=”26%” width_tablet=”60%” width_phone=”85%” width_last_edited=”on|phone” custom_margin=”-615px||140px|15px|false|false” custom_margin_tablet=”-300px||100px|315px|false|false” custom_margin_phone=”-60px||0px|20px|false|false” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|phone” custom_padding=”15px|15px|15px|15px|false|false” custom_padding_tablet=”|125px|||false|false” custom_padding_phone=”15px|15px|15px|15px|false|false” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” custom_css_before=”content: %22%22;||position: absolute;||top: 0;||left: 0;||width: 100%;||height: 100%;||background-color: #454545;||mix-blend-mode: multiply;” custom_css_main_element=”position: relative;||background: transparent;||color: white !important;||font-weight: bold !important;||text-shadow: 1px 1px 3px rgba(0,0,0,0.8);” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

El Abra\u2019s SulfoLix Phase 2 is one of two South American projects coming online in 2026.<\/p>\n

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<\/span>
Degrees of separation<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve always known heat was an important lever in leaching,\u201d said Robert Crossman, Operational Improvement Manager. \u201cThe Heat Memo represented a massive step forward in how we utilized that lever. The Leach Excellence Center quantified our data in a way that allowed us to develop clearcut business strategies.\u201d<\/p>\n

With close to two decades in mining and metallurgy, Crossman helps determine Freeport\u2019s leaching opportunities. When it comes to the idea of heated raffinate \u2013 solution pre-heated to boost reactivity and recovery \u2013 Crossman sees a big opportunity.<\/p>\n

More to the point, others see it as well.<\/p>\n

The Heat Memo showed projections of almost a full percentage point or more of additional recovery for each degree added. Those were the sort of recovery rate projections needed for a paradigm shift to convince people the challenge of \u201cheating a mountain\u201d was worth taking on.<\/p>\n

And it is a shift meeting both the moment and the mission, Crossman explained, with leaching never being more important.<\/p>\n

As copper grades decline in established deposits, traditional operating practices no longer are viable. Reprocessing previously mined copper offers quicker and cheaper production, but much of it already has been leached, requiring new extraction methods. By adapting to this challenge and leveraging improved technology, the company is turning what once was deemed unrecoverable into tomorrow\u2019s motherlode.<\/p>\n

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<\/span>
Coming in hot<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n

That\u2019s why things are really heating up for Leach to the Last Drop going into 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have three projects that could open the door for improved strategies built on lessons learned instead of assumptions,\u201d Crossman said. \u201cAnd there\u2019s a lot of interest and support in this technology, from executive leadership to the sites to other key players in the industry. That gives us a lot of confidence that we\u2019re on the right track.\u201d<\/p>\n

Arizona will set the stage for heated raffinate, starting with a surface leaching trial beginning at Morenci\u2019s Lone Star stockpile later this year. Boilers will heat raffinate before it\u2019s applied via standard irrigation. While similar to traditional leaching, instrumentation will measure heat transfer \u2013 how much, how long and how deep \u2013 at scale.<\/p>\n

In the third quarter of 2026, focus will shift to South America with SulfoLix Phase II at El Abra. Heated solution will be applied to freshly crushed ore in sections, each held at temperature for about 30 days, allowing Freeport to validate models on new placements.<\/p>\n

Later in 2026, Cerro Verde will test new heating technology and add heat subsurface into drill holes. The test uses downhole injected heat to track how far heat propagates from wells. The heat will be introduced via submerged combustion\u2014firing gas burners into the raffinate to eliminate boilers and heat exchangers, aiming for more efficient heat transfer.<\/p>\n

Given the scale of engineering and operating commitments for the three projects, it\u2019s clear the company expects the investment to pay off. However, it isn\u2019t putting all its eggs in one basket.<\/p>\n

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Ahead of the first heated raffinate test, Morenci employees prepare the Lone Star stockpile for installation of natural gas lines and boilers.<\/p>\n

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<\/span>
Warm-up acts<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n

While some sites, like the leach-only Tyrone, are potential candidates for heated raffinate, others are continuing to use covers and other tried-and-true solutions.<\/p>\n

And one site is taking an all-inclusive approach.<\/p>\n

Referred to as the \u201cPerfect Stockpile,\u201d North Lampbright is Chino\u2019s first new stockpile in decades and represents a considerable investment that could have an equally considerable payoff.<\/p>\n

The stockpile incorporates years of learning into a single project, leveraging everything from air injection to Chino\u2019s high pyrite concentration to raise the temperature, said Jose Carrasco, Senior Project Engineer-Chino.<\/p>\n

More than just being a feat of engineering, the project represents an opportunity to validate models from a rapidly approaching Day 1, Carrasco said. Breaking ground last year, the project recently finished its 7.2-million-ton foundation pad, with pregnant leach solution impoundment and other milestones expected later this year.<\/p>\n

The team expects the first leachable pounds to be placed early 2026, with final project completion in April.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think what we\u2019re about to see is the culmination of a lot of effort,\u201d Carrasco said. \u201cNot just here, but across Freeport. Chino, Morenci, South America\u2014one day, we\u2019ll look back and say these are the places where we stopped talking about the future and started building it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Jose Carrasco (left) and Yancey McCauley, Senior Supervisor Shared Services Special Projects-Chino, look on as more materials are delivered to Chino\u2019s \u201cPerfect Stockpile.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Boilers and other solutions are used to heat raffinate temperature.<\/p>\n

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