Show underground industry 4 i W M le A A M an AA A V X a I 1 1 4 1 it j 4 mu RIF mx X 4 JP gw f P b in at ohio in one of the most unique mining operations in the world is that of 0 the ohio copper company of utah at binham where it is winning copper from a disseminated ore body years ago the company mined its copper ores in the usual manner driving tunnels and drifts through through the underground this was expensive and could only be done during high market prices tor for the metal owing to the low grade character of the product mined in addition to the product mined there was a vast amount of 0 low grade copper ore in the porphyry on which the property is located the propriety pro was not adaptable to the open cut methods so a process of leaching was adopted using the old workings to collect the copper in solution in the process water is sprinkled on the surface and collected in tunnels deep down in the deposit after the water has percolated through the ore masses picking up certain amounts of the copper in the ground it is diverted to tanks in the tunnels these tanks contain tin which again attracts the copper from the water and eventually turns the tin to copper the water Is then pumped back to the surface to rework the ore again precipitating copper from water which percolates through copper deposits is a common practice but ohio copper is the only place where it is known to be mined in a such a manner the precipitation ot of copper Is said to have been discovered by a miner living near a stream which originated in the hills ot of a C opper copper deposit tin cans that he disposed ot in the stream soon turned to copper and to his amazement he had discovered a process which has tor for years played an important part in the production of 0 the red metal |