Fracking for copper and gold

BHP, Barrick Gold and mining contractor Hatch are all looking at ways to replace mines with grids of wells that pump metal out of the ground, up-ending the industry's economics.

Engineers in the mining industry say the same could be about to happen in copper and gold, as some of the world's largest mining companies examine ways to replicate fracking, injecting liquid into deposits to extract metal from ore, before pumping it back to surface.

Fracking for copper and gold