The leach is inexpensive to produce and can be made almost anywhere, with the basic ingredients being salt and an additive which gives it a pH of -1, thus making it one of the most corrosive chemicals known. The unusual nature of the leach is that it is also buffered against all organic material rendering it safe to use and enabling safe disposal.

The single most important element of the hydrometallurgical method of removing metal from ore is to be able to get the metal in the ore into solution. Once in solution there are different ways to extract the metal. The LEACH system has been designed to selectively remove the dissolved metals with the use of designer resins. The designer resin industry has been extensively developed for the hazardous waste industry; however, we have found it to be an excellent and relatively inexpensive method for removing the metals from solution.

Once the metal has been extracted from the leach solution, the remaining leach fluid can be recycled and used over and over again. The environmental impact of the leach residue in the tailings is negligible and contains no harmful chemicals. At worst this residue will increase normal salt values in the vicinity of the tailings piles by a fraction of a percent.

This system requires no heat and no pressure in order for effective operation in a mining facility. This allows for construction of a commercial plant at fraction of the cost of hydrometallurgical or other installations. The cost of ongoing operations in an LEACH plant would be significantly lower than other systems. Also, the construction time and effective maintenance of an LEACH plant would increase bottom-line profits for any company utilizing the system.