Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct. 2 / Trend /
The Geology Institute of the Azerbaijani National Academy of Sciences (ANAS), following three years of experiments and field studies, decided on the possibility of using underground leaching technology for a number of gold deposits in Azerbaijan, the institute reported.
The Institute's scientists used a solution of common salt activated by an electrochemical method for this end. The advantage of this technology is that it does not require extracting the ore to the surface. It is enough to wash in directly in situ and remove already metal-rich solution to surface. This method is cheap, efficient and has ecological qualities.
The technology proved itself in industrial production of metals in many ore deposits of the world, but this technology has not yet been applied in Azerbaijan.
The Geology Institute created scientific-technological base with modern equipment for the development and implementation of this method in Azerbaijan. The work is performed under the the Azerbaijani Cabinet of Ministers' order "Program of activities for research, development and application of environmentally geotechnologies for metal mining for ore deposits in Azerbaijan."
The program provides for testing of technologies on the gold deposits in Gedabek and Goygol regions of the country, together with the Azerbaijani International Mining Company.