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Solution Extraction
The pregnant leach solution is mixed with a diluent similar to kerosene that contains an organic compound specifically designed to extract the copper. After the solutions have been combined for about two minutes, the mixture is allowed to settle. The pregnant leach solution, which gives up its copper to the organic compound, is the heavier of the two solutions and settles to the bottom of the tank, becoming raffinate again, where it is pumped back to the top of the stockpile to begin the cycle all over. The diluent containing the copper-laden organic, now known as "loaded organic," floats to the top of the tank and is pumped to the next section of the solution extraction plant.
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