The present invention disclosed herein relates to an apparatus for mining useful underground resources, and more particularly, to a solution mining method in which a solvent is injected into an underground ore deposit containing concentrated useful resources to dissolve the useful resources, thereby collecting the dissolved useful resources, and a solution mining apparatus using the same.
As underground resources are developed for a long time, conventional mining methods meet with difficulties in economical and technical aspects. Thus, in these latter days, a solution mining method that gets out of the conventional mining methods is being actively applied as a method for developing natural resources.
As illustrated in table of FIG. 1, although the solution mining method is first used in 1922, the solution mining method is being more actively applied at present. Presently, at least about 25% of an output of natural resources such as gold, silver, copper, uranium, sodium, magnesium, sulfur, lithium, and the like in the U.S is being developed by using the solution mining method.
According to solution mining method, a borehole is formed up to an ore deposit in which useful ores are concentrated, and a solvent is injected into the borehole to dissolve or leach the useful ores in the solvent. Then, the solvent may be collected again to produce the useful ores.
In the existing solution mining method, studies with respect to solvents, which are adequate for a kind of ores to be mined and surrounding geological environments, and a temperature of a solvent to be injected, or studies with respect to fluidity of a solvent according to surrounding environments such as porosity, permeability, and the like are being mainly conducted.
However, studies with respect to methods for improving a production rate and economic feasibility by effectively permeating and diffusing the solvent into the ore deposit are much to be desired.