Liquid collection process with secondary channels for in-situ leaching an ore body to extract rare earth elements

Abstract

A liquid collection process with secondary channels for in-situ leaching an ore body to extract rare earth elements, including: 1) multiple liquid collection channels are provided in an ore body; 2) secondary channels are provided on both sides of the liquid collection channels, and all of the channels jointly constitute a multi-channel mother liquid drainage and collection control network; 3) a blocking wall is provided in the liquid collection channels, the front lower part of the wall is connected to a channel outlet by a conduit which is controlled with a ball valve switch at the outlet; 4) in the measurement and production, a multi-channel mother liquid collection network of liquid collection engineering control system is finally formed through the alternate operation of pressure release and increase; 5) the rare earth recovery rate is finally improved by adjusting the non-mineral liquid and the loss ratio of the mother liquid.

1 . A liquid collection process with secondary channels for in-situ leaching an ore body to extract rare earth, characterized in that: 1) multiple liquid collection channels are provided in the ore body; 2) secondary channels are provided on both sides of the liquid collection channels, and through increasing and releasing pressure, a multi-channel mother liquid drainage and collection engineering network is finally formed with the liquid collection channels, the secondary channels, and the ore earths among channels; 3) a blocking wall is provided in the liquid collection channels, the lower part of the blocking wall is connected to a channel outlet by means of a conduit, and the conduit is controlled with a ball valve switch at the outlet; 4) in measurement or production, through the changes of the pressure, the pressure gradient is formed between the above ore body and the below engineering network, a multi-channel mother liquid collection engineering system is finally formed, and the multi-channel mother liquid collection engineering network and the lean ore formation or dead ground with a changed water content ratio (i.e. saturated with the non-mineral liquid) jointly constitute a mother liquid collection system; 5) in specific condition, it is allowable to merely provide the primary channels and the secondary channels, without providing the blocking walls and/or anti-seepage treatment for the bottom of channels. 
     
     
         2 . The liquid collection process of  claim 1 , characterized in that, the positions of the liquid collection channels are determined according to the following principles:
 1) the bottom of the liquid collection channels is 0.015-0.02% of the thickness of the ore body over the bottom of the ore body;   2) the liquid collection channels are arranged along the profile of the mountain body; and/or   3) the liquid collection channels are arranged to pass through the ore bodies with rich rare earth.   
     
     
         3 . The liquid collection process of  claim 1 , characterized in that, the slope or gradient of the liquid collection channels is 1-2°, and the liquid collection channels are 2-3 parallel channels which are arranged at interval of 20-30 m and along the contour or inclination of the mountain. 
     
     
         4 . The liquid collection process of  claim 1 , characterized in that, the secondary channels are arranged at interval of 5-10 m and have an angle of 90° with respect to the liquid collection channel, or these secondary channels are parallel with each other. 
     
     
         5 . The liquid collection process of  claim 1 , characterized in that, the bottom of the liquid collection channels is provided with anti-seepage treatment by means of a dilute cement slurry. 
     
     
         6 . The liquid collection process of  claim 1 , characterized in that, the bottom of the secondary channels arranged on both sides of the liquid collection channels is provided with anti-seepage treatment by means of a dilute cement slurry. 
     
     
         7 . The liquid collection process of  claim 1 , characterized in that, the blocking walls are impermeable walls embedded into the periphery of the channels, and the front and back of the blocking walls are constructed to prevent the channels from collapse. 
     
     
         8 . The liquid collection process of  claim 1 , characterized in that, the front of the blocking walls is filled with an anti-blocking material, and the liquid collection pipe at the lower part of the blocking walls is extended to a channel outlet where a ball valve switch is used to control the infiltration of non-mineral liquid and the collection of the mother liquid. 
     
     
         9 . The liquid collection process of  claim 1 , characterized in that, the ball valve switch is operated to open or close for many times, to make a decreased/increased pressure gradient between the above ore earth and the below engineering control network, and finally a water-sealed multi-channel mother liquid collection system with high pressure gradient is formed. 
     
     
         10 . The liquid collection process of  claim 1 , characterized in that, the sections of both the liquid collection channels and the secondary channels are trapezoidal; the lower bottom and the upper bottom of the liquid collection channels are respectively 1.4-1.6 times as wide as those of the secondary channels, while the liquid collection channels is 0.8-1.0 times as high as that of the secondary channels.