Patents by Inventor Lawrence MacLagan Cathles, III

Lawrence MacLagan Cathles, III has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Acid preinjection to decrease instantaneous acid consumption in in-situ mining
    Patent number: 4043599
    Abstract: This invention pertains to a method for in-situ mining of copper values from ore formations and, more particularly, this invention pertains to oxidative in-situ mining of copper wherein, for example, an oxygen-acid, a ferric iron-acid or a nitrate-acid lixiviant is being employed for recovering copper values. Further, this invention pertains to the recovery of copper from a deposit in which the ratio of pyrite to chalcopyrite is low. Still further, this invention pertains to a combination of acid-preinjection, monitoring, acid adjustment and additional monitoring or tell-tale ion monitoring for acid supply increase or decrease in the ore formation as steps in a combination for rendering highly controllable the acid preinjection process, thus providing further improvements to in-situ mining processes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 17, 1975
    Date of Patent: August 23, 1977
    Assignee: Kennecott Copper Corporation
    Inventors: Peter James Lingane, Lawrence MacLagan Cathles, III, Limin Hsueh