Solution Mining
Agapito Associates, Inc. (AAI) offers integrated capabilities in design and permitting solution mine plans for recovery of soluble minerals such as potash, trona, nahcolite and salt.
AAI has over 20 years of experience in developing solution mine plans, pilot testing, and permit support. Projects have ranged from full feasibility studies to due diligence for exploration targets. Specific areas of expertise include:
- Resource evaluation including authoring 43-101 and JORC compliant Technical Reports (click here for a listing of recent 43-101 and JORC submittals)
- Designing and implementing exploration and confirmation drilling programs
- Permitting
- Design of commercial production wells and multi-well pad design
- Implementation of rock mechanics testing programs
- Evaluation of cavern sizes and shape
- Cavern layouts including evaluation of pillar sizes to control cavern closure and surface subsidence
- Development of capital and operating costs for large solution mine plans
AAI has provided solution mining expertise worldwide. AAI’s solution mining services include task-specific technical support, feasibility assessment, and complete solution mining project management.
Capabilities
- Geological characterization and resource and reserve estimation
- Lithologic, structural, and geotechnical core logging
- Laboratory geomechanical testing and test program management
- Geophysical log interpretation
- Resource characterization, cutoff grades and selection of mining intervals
- Drilling management
- Directional & conventional drill planning
- Field operations management
- Pilot test planning and interpretation
- Solution mining well design
- Monitoring well design
- Solution mine cavern design and stability analysis
- Subsidence analysis and monitoring
- Wellfield layout design
- Solution mining instrumentation and equipment selection
- Solution mine wellfield scheduling
- Capital and operating cost estimates
- Permitting (EA, EIS and UIC)
- Solution mining well remediation
- Solution mining well and cavern abandonment
- Feasibility, pre-feasibility, scoping and preliminary assessments studies
- Due diligence
For a closer look at Agapito Associates, Inc.’s work in solution mining, please see Kore Potash Plc’s recent update to their Dougou Extension PDF and Production Target.
