In situ leach

In situ leach is a way to mine minerals from the ground without digging big holes or tunnels.

So let's imagine you have a glass of water with some salt in it. If you wanted to get the salt out, you could use a spoon to scoop it out or you could pour in more water and let it dissolve, and then pour out the salty water. In situ leach is kind of like that second option.

When we want to mine minerals like uranium or copper, we inject a special solution into the ground that dissolves the minerals. This solution is made up of water and chemicals that help it do its job.

Just like with the salty water example, we let the solution sit in the ground for a while so that it can dissolve as much minerals as possible. Then, we pump the solution back up to the surface and remove the minerals from it. This way, we don't have to dig big holes or tunnels to get at the minerals.

In situ leach can be a better option for the environment because it doesn't disturb the ground as much as traditional mining methods. However, it's important to make sure that the solution we use doesn't cause any pollution or harm to nearby communities.