CoTec, McGill alliance aims to crack copper leaching code
- 24 February 2025
Canada’s CoTec Holdings Corp says it will aim to leverage McGill University’s applied microwave technologies research and expertise to explore copper sulphide leaching applications under a new agreement with the Quebec university.
Their “WaveCracker” project will examine the potential for using microwaves on copper sulphide materials to pre-condition them ahead of the leaching process.
“Microwave pre-conditioning causes stresses and micro fractures in the rock, potentially increasing permeability and copper recoveries,” CoTec CEO Julian Treger said.
The Toronto-listed company is an investor in Chile’s Ceibo, which has proprietary high-throughput inorganic leaching technology for extracting metal from low-grade primary copper sulphides such as chalcopyrite, and copper waste material.
“We are very pleased with this collaboration as McGill is a world-renowned mineral processing centre and we are very excited about the potential of WaveCracker in copper sulphide extraction,” Treger said.
McGill University has more than 30 years of microwave technologies applied research and mineral processing experience.
“The agreement to collaborate with CoTec provides an exciting opportunity to work with an extremely experienced industrial team in copper extraction,” McGill professor Kristian Waters said.
“The guidance provided by CoTec in developing WaveCracker will be an important part of our project. McGill has a track record of developing new and innovative mineral processing technologies, and this agreement significantly enhances the university's capability to develop microwave pre-conditioning targeting copper sulphide leaching processes.”
