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The stability of backfill plays a crucial role in the process of mine operation. In this study, author combined indoor experiments, surface fitting, numerical simulation, and theoretical derivation to investigate how the filling times (FTs), cement tailings ratio (CTR), and minimum CTR filling position (MCFP) affect the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) and fracture evolution behavior of LCB. The findings demonstrate that an augmentation in FTs reduces the UCS of LCB. Moreover, the highest strength ratio resulting from diverse MCFP amounts to 2.25 times. When once filling, backfill sustain damage as a result of cracks penetrating, whereas LCB that are filled multiple times first encounter damage at the layered contact surface, followed by the gradual spread of cracks until penetrate the LCB. Through an interactive regression model, it is evident that FTs, CTR, and MCFP significantly affect the UCS. Additionally, the interaction between CTR and MCFP has a considerable impact on the UCS. Based on numerical simulation, an increase in FTs results in a wider large displacement area generated by the backfill, leading to greater horizontal and vertical displacement. The MCFP has a significant impact on the lateral displacement and maximum stress of the backfill. Theoretical derivation verifies that MCFP at the top or middle layer results in an increase in the UCS, which is consistent with the experimental findings and numerical simulation. This paper elaborates on the mechanical mechanism behind the interaction between CTR and MCFP. These findings can provide a foundation for assessing the durability and stability of LCB in subsequent stages.

If the cemented paste backfill (CPB) does not contact the roof, it will cause mining safety problems such as roof collapse, and the passive roof contact technology cannot effectively solve the problem. Therefore, the active roof-contact technology based on expansion agent was developed. The orthogonal experiments were carried out to study the influence of mass concentration, tailings-to-cement ratio and expansion agent content on the expansion ratio and mechanical properties of CPB. Through the range analysis of the expansion ratio and unconfined compressive strength (UCS), the significance of influencing factors on the expansion ratio and UCS was obtained. The experimental results show that the tailings-to-cement ratio has the greatest influence on the UCS, and the expansion agent content influence the expansion ratio more. The multivariate nonlinear regression models can accurately predict the expansion ratio and UCS of CPB. It is found that the sensitivity of expansion agent content to the expansion ratio decreases with the increase of tailings-to-cement ratio. According to the requirement of the mine for the expansion ratio and UCS, the expansion ratio and UCS were optimized by multi-objective optimization, and the optimal proportioning schemes suitable for the CPB in mines were obtained. Finally, the expansion mechanism was revealed by scanning electron microscope (SEM), and the evolution of the expansion agent with hydration process was analyzed. This study is of great significance to realize the roof-connect of metal mines, and has important practical value for the safe mining.

The paste slurry exhibits pipe wall slip characteristics during transportation, thereby effectively reducing pipeline transportation resistance. In order to study the characteristics of paste pipeline transportation with wall slip characteristics, a pipeline pressure gradient model considering wall slip effect was applied. In order to verify the accuracy of the model, the overflow tailings and classified tailings of a lead-zinc mine were taken as the research object. According to the two-dimensional compaction theory, the mixing ratio of overflow tailings was determined to be 8% ∼ 39%, and five kinds of tailings with different gradations were configured accordingly. The loop test, rheological test and settlement test were carried out. Taking the rheological parameters, limit volume concentration and average particle size as the basic parameters, the pressure gradient value considering the wall slip effect is obtained and compared with the measured pressure gradient of the loop test. The results show that the relative error between the model prediction results and the measured values is 10%, which has high reliability. The pressure gradient and mass concentration show a quadratic function growth trend, and have a linear relationship with the pipeline flow rate. With the increase of the proportion of －38 µm particles, the pressure gradient shows a secondary growth trend. With the increase of the proportion of + 38 µm particles, the pressure gradient shows a quadratic function decreasing trend; The slip drag reduction rate gradually decreases with the increase of mass concentration, and is not affected by the flow rate of the pipeline. When the proportion of －38 µm particle size is 27.43% ∼ 38.32%, the slip reduction rate is more significant. Considering the actual project and transportation cost, the corresponding overflow tailings incorporation ratio is 16% ∼ 31%.

The clean filling pipe can ensure sufficient overflow section, reduce paste transport resistance, and avoid slurry deposition. The introduction of compressed gas into the pipe flushing can improve the flushing effect and efficiency of the pipe and reduce water consumption. However, the dominant factors influencing water consumption water consumption are not well understood. The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of flow velocity, backfill gradient (4–7), gas void fraction (0–1), and gas pressure (0–0.7 MPa) on water consumption. Water consumption was obtained experimentally by modeling the gas–water flushing pipe. The criterion for the completion of pipeline cleaning is to reduce the water solid content of the flushing pipeline from the initial value to 1%. A model was established to predict water consumption, which was validated by industrial tests. The results show that the water consumption of the flushing pipe increased with the power law as the backfill gradient increased and decreased with the increase of gas void fraction, gas pressure, and flow velocity. The water consumption is 0.8–1.1 times the volume of the pipe in water flushing. However, the water consumption of gas–water flushing is 0.60–0.75 times the volume of the pipe. Gas–water flushing can reduce water consumption by up to 30%. The findings are conducive to design pipe flushing parameters to avoid excessive water consumption.

Flocculation is important in the thickening process to improve the underflow concentration in thickeners for tailing suspensions. Traditional zone settling velocity (ZSV) functions ignore the effect of flocculant dosage on the ZSV and the thickening behavior of thickeners. To investigate the effect of flocculant dosage on the settling flux function, a series of batch settling tests were conducted at various flocculant dosages for unclassified and fine tailings. The correlation among flocculant dosage, solid fraction, and parameters in the ZSV function was revealed. Moreover, a simulation of continuous thickening based on the ZSV function was performed. Results indicated that flocculation influenced settling velocity and floc density. With an increased flocculant dosage, the settling velocity of floc increased, resulting in increased underflow concentration. Conversely, floc density decreased due to a stronger particle–particle interaction, leading to a decreased underflow concentration. HIGHLIGHTS Zhang's approach is validated for tailings at various initial solid fractions.; The correlation among flocculant dosage, solid fraction, and parameters in the ZSV function was revealed.; The coupling effect mechanism of flocculant dosage and solid fraction on thickening is proposed.;

Cemented paste backfill (CPB) has been a practical approach for mining waste management, underground goaf treatment, and green mining. Strength deterioration because of high sulfide content (SC) is a severe challenge for sulfide-rich CPB. To investigate the influence of rice straw (RS) on the strength of sulfide-rich CPB, RS was utilized as an inhibitor of strength deterioration. RS dosage (RSD), RS length (RSL), and sulfide content (SC) were chosen as the factors, and two stages of the experiment were carried out. It was found that high SC produced pores, cracks, and loose microstructure of CPB, resulting in the strength deterioration of sulfide-rich CPB. The 90-day uniaxial compressive strength (90 d-UCS) was the maximum of the UCS of sulfide-rich CPB. The hydration products and microstructural characteristics observed by XRD and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) illustrated that RS has the effect of bridging and water retention. Accordingly, adding RS improved the long-term strength of sulfide-rich CPB. The optimal RSD, RSL, and SC for 90 d-UCS of sulfide-rich CPB were obtained through the response surface methodology approach. The optimal conditions within the experimental range of this study for maximum 90 d-UCS of CPB with high SC (17 wt%) were RSD of 0.032 wt% and RSL of 0.28 cm, producing a 90 d-UCS of 5.14 MPa.

In this paper, a multi-physical field coupling curing experimental instrument was developed to study the effect of curing pressure on the stability of bottom cemented paste backfill (CPB) under two different barricades. The effect mechanism was analyzed by using 5TE, MPS-6 sensor, scanning electron microscope (SEM), and binary processing of SEM images. And then, the strength prediction model of CPB under different curing conditions was established. The findings show that the strength of CPB increases with curing pressure regardless of permeable or impermeable barricade, and the relationship between CPB strength and curing pressure conforms to the law of linear function, and the change law of strength grow rate can also be expressed by a linear function. The curing pressure will accelerate the hydration reaction rate and compress the internal pores of the CPB, making the structure of the CPB more denser, thus promoting the formation of strength. It is worth noting that after the curing pressure was increased to 600 kPa, the strength growth rate of CPB slowed down in the later period, and obvious cracks appeared in the bottom CPB during sampling. The results will be helpful to better consider setting different types of barricade at different stope heights

In the two-step flocculation process, shear has a significant impact on the rheological properties of the flocculating slurry. In this study, the orthogonal experiments of two-step flocculation process for fine iron tailings were designed. Based on the change of shear ratio, different shear rates and shear time were designed, the yield stress, plastic viscosity and maximum packing fraction of the flocculated suspension in each group were measured and calculated with a rheometer. The result of range and variance analysis shows the shear rate in the primary broken phase was the biggest factor affecting the yield stress and plastic viscosity of the flocculated slurry in two-step flocculation process. When the shear rate increased from 100 s-1 to 400 s-1, the yield stress and the plastic viscosity of the flocculated slurry increased by 7.14% and 21.30%, respectively. When the shear rate changed from 400 s-1 to 800 s-1, they decreased by 23.27% and 33.17%, respectively. Since the shear ratio in a two-step flocculation process is also related to both shear action and floc structure parameter, the shear ratio was introduced into the first-order reversible kinetic rate equation. Through establishing the relationship between the shear ratio and the floc structural parameter of flocculating suspension, a theoretical model of the shear-dependent maximum packing fraction was established. The measured values and theoretical calculated values of the maximum packing fraction in two-step flocculation experiments were in good agreement and the error was within 5%. Last but not least, the internal mechanism of the theoretical model was discussed from the microscopic point of view.

The influence of the mass concentration and particle size distribution on rheological parameters and slump was investigated by analyzing the mixture of overflow tailings (OT) and classified tailings (CT). The correlation between the rheological parameters, slump and characteristic value of the tailings particle diameter was discussed. Finally, the ratio parameters of a mixed tailings filling slurry were optimized using a lead–zinc mine in Guangdong, China as the engineering background. The results showed a quadratic decrease in the slump of the tailings slurry as the mass concentration increased, while the slump decreased with a decreasing particle size. With the increase in the mass concentration, the yield stress of the tailings slurry follows a quadratic function, while the plastic viscosity exhibits linear growth. The influence of tailings fine particles on the sensitivity of the yield stress and plastic viscosity to the mass concentration is reduced as their content increases. The yield stress and plastic viscosity of the tailings slurry exhibit a quadratic function decrease and linear growth as the slump increases. The slump of the tailings slurry is related to the particle size characteristic value and the mass concentration of the slurry. The correlation coefficient between the yield stress and the aggregate characteristic particle size increases most obviously at d10~d50, and the increase in the characteristic particle size will enhance the correlation between the yield stress and particle gradation. The correlation coefficient between the plastic viscosity and aggregate particle gradation parameters exhibits an initial increase followed by stabilization with an increasing characteristic particle size, with the most significant increase observed at d10~d50.

In China, cemented paste backfill (CPB) is a common treatment method after the exploitation of basic energy. The homogeneity of slurry influences the performance of CPB. However, the online monitoring and characterization of homogeneity lack relevant technologies and unified standards. This article discusses an online image analysis technique applied to the online monitoring of cemented paste backfill mixing, which is based on the evolution of the texture of images taken at the surface of the mixing bed. First, the grayscale distribution of the image obtained by the high-speed camera in the CPB preparation process was analyzed by Matlab and its variance (s2) was solved, and the texture features of the image were analyzed by the variance of grayscale distribution. Then, a homogeneity discriminant model (cst) was established. The results show that the variance value of the grayscale distribution of the slurry image increases rapidly at first, then gradually decreases, and becomes stable in the final stage since it turns a constant value. When the s2 value tends to be stable, the slurry gradually reaches homogenization, and the discriminant coefficient of paste homogenization based on the homogenization discriminant model reaches 0.05. The homogenization prediction of CPB proves to be consistent with the backfill performance comparison results. The evolution of the texture allows obtaining important information on the evolution of different formulations during mixing, which can be used for intelligent monitoring of CPB preparation process.

Cemented paste backfill (CPB) technology is widely used for environmental protection and underground goaf treatment. The influences of solid concentration, coarse aggregates dosage, and cement dosage on the rheological properties and compressive strength of CPB blended with coarse aggregates (CA-CPB) are investigated through three-factor and four-level orthogonal experiments. The dynamic shear stress and plastic viscosity are selected to characterize the rheological properties of CA-CPB. The uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) is used to describe the compressive strength. The effect of each factor on rheological properties is different from that on UCS. The most significant influences on rheological properties and UCS are solid concentration and cement dosage, respectively. The optimal levels of each factor for rheological properties and UCS are different, resulting in different optimal combinations obtained through range analysis. Therefore, the overall desirability function approach is employed to perform multiple response optimization. The optimal parameters for high fluidity and strength obtained provide valuable information for the CA-CPB process in the Chifeng Baiyinnuoer Lead and Zinc Mine.

As lots of underground mines have been exploited in the past decades, many stope instability and surface subsidence problems are appeared in the underground mines, while the cemented paste backfill (CPB) technology has been applied for more than 40 years, and it can solve these problems. As it is shown that the effect of backfilling is mainly affected by the mechanical properties of the CPB, and there are lots of factors which can influence the strength of the CPB, but the coupled effects of curing conditions has not been reported. In this research, the coupled effects of curing conditions are importantly considered, and the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) is adopted as the important evaluation index of CPB, then the evolution law of the UCS for CPB are analyzed, also the mathematical strength model of CPB is established. The findings suggest that the relationship between the UCS of CPB and curing stress develops the function of quadratic polynomial with one variable, while the UCS of the CPB shows the power function as the curing temperature increases. Moreover, the established mathematical strength model is verified on the basis of laboratory experiments, the error between the measured UCS and the prediction UCS is less than 15%. It shows that the established strength model of the CPB by considering the curing conditions can predict the UCS very well, it has great significance for the safety design of CPB.

Both shear and flocculation have a significant influence on the rheological behavior of tailings, especially the yield stress. In the two-step flocculation process, the above two kinds of actions exist at the same time, and they influence each other. In order to explore the change rule of the yield stress and its internal causes, a two-step flocculation process of the iron ore fine tailings with different shear conditions in the four different phases was designed. In the primary flocculation phase, tailing particles combined with the primary flocculant and formed a primary floc network structure. In the primary broken phase, shear destroyed the primary floc network structure and decreased the average floc size, so the shear-dependent yield stress, the floc strength factor, and the fractal dimension decreased. In the secondary flocculation phase, broken floc combined with the secondary flocculant and produced a more compact floc network structure which had a better shear resistance. Therefore, in the secondary broken phase, with the increase of shear, the decrease of yield stress, the floc strength factor, and fractal dimension were less obvious than that in the primary broken phase. In both two broken phases, the yield stress of the secondary flocculating slurry was always higher than that of the primary flocculating slurry, but with the increase of shear, the difference became smaller. The floc strength and fractal dimension also showed the same rule. The internal reasons for the stronger shear resistance of the secondary flocculating slurry were the increase of the number of binding sites, the electric neutralization between the two flocculants, and the steric hindrance effect of the flocculants.

Shear-induced polymer-bridging flocculation is widely used in the solid–liquid separation process in cemented paste backfill, beneficial to water recycling and tailings management in metal mines. A flocculation kinetics model based on Population Balance Model (PBM) is proposed to model the polymer-bridging flocculation process of total tailings. The PBM leads to a system of ordinary differential equations describing the evolution of the size distribution, and incorporates an aggregation kernel and a breakage kernel. In the aggregation kernel, a collision frequency model describes the particle collision under the combined effects of Brownian motions, shear flow, and differential sedimentation. A semi-empirical collision efficiency model with three fitting parameters is applied. In the breakage kernel, a new breakage rate coefficient model with another three fitting parameters is introduced. Values of the six fitting parameters are determined by minimizing the difference between experimental data obtained from FBRM and modeling result through particle swarm global optimization. All of the six fitting parameters vary with flocculation conditions. The six fitting parameters are regressed with the flocculation factors with six regression models obtained. The validation modeling demonstrates that the proposed PBM quantifies well the dynamic evolution of the floc size during flocculation under the given experimental setup. The investigation will provide significant new insights into the flocculation kinetics of total tailings and lay a foundation for studying the performance of the feedwell of a gravity thickener.

A method was proposed to calculate the earth pressure from a cohesionless backfill with a high aspect ratio (ratio of height to width of retaining wall). An exponential equation of slip surface was proposed first. The proposed nonlinear slip surface equation can be obtained once the width and height of the backfill as well as the internal friction angle of the backfill were given. The failure surface from the proposed formula agreed well with the experimental slip surface. Then, the earth pressure was calculated using a simplified equilibrium equation based on the proposed slip surface. It is assumed that the minor principal stress of the backfill near the wall and at its corresponding slip surface where the depth is the same is the same. Thus, based on the vertical force balance of the horizontal backfill strip, assuming the wall-soil interface and the slip surface is in the limit equilibrium state, defined by the Mohr–Coulomb criterion, the differential equilibrium equation was obtained and numerically solved. The calculated results agreed well with the test data from the published literature.

At constant shear rate, the process of deformation of the paste slurry is divided into two stages: one is the initial structural failure process with increasing shear stress; the other is the thixotropic process with decreasing shear stress after yielding. Based on experiments, the mechanical response characteristics of the paste slurry in the initial structural failure process under different shear rate conditions were studied in this paper. At the same time, according to the Maxwell model, the stress-time model equation describing the initial structure failure stage of the paste was deduced and the constant shearing test was carried out on the paste slurry at different mass concentrations; the model equation was used to fit the test data of the initial stress increment stage. The results showed that the model equation had higher prediction accuracy and better popularity. In the initial structural failure stage, the paste had a nonlinear stress-time relationship. At different shear rates (0.05, 0.5, and 1 s−1), the lower the rotation speed, the smoother the curve, and the slurry at various stages in the yielding process could be more clearly reflected; in the range of low constant shear rate (0.03, 0.05, and 0.07 s−1), the initial stress and yield stress of the paste increased with the increase of shear rate at the same mass concentration, and the time to yield was shorter. The yield stress increased exponentially with mass concentration.

Cemented paste backfill (CPB) technology has been applied quite popular around the world. Yield stress is a key factor determining whether CPB could be transported. In order to reveal the effect of solid components on yield stress of CPB, a uniform design experimental program (four factors and six levels) was conducted to test the rheological property of a mine’s CPB. The tested four factors including mass fraction, cement versus other solids ratio, coarse tailings, and gravel contents were considered during the experiment design. Likewise, six experimental levels were given to each factor. Results of the test show that yield stress increased with the mass fraction and cement content. However, the trend reversed for the content of coarse tailings and gravel. Contribution of the four factors to yield stress in descending order is mass fraction > content of gravel > content of coarse tailings > cement versus other tailings ration. Effect of solid components on the yield stress of CPB is mainly due to the different flocculation structure inside the CPB. These various flow structures result in the different free-water content of CPB, leading to a different yield stress value.

Sedimentation of filling materials could cause pipe blocking accident in mines. However, few quantitative characterization studies have investigated the sedimentation characteristics of filling materials. In this study, the sedimentation property of iron tailings with a cement-sand ratio of 1 : 4 and mass concentration of 73%∼82% was investigated based on rheology measurements. Results showed that shear stress increased as shear rate rose from 0 s−1 to 120 s−1. The shear stress increased as the filling material concentration increased as well. However, when the shear rate was reversed from 120 s−1 to 0 s−1, the shear stress presented an increase-constant-decrease change pattern as the mass concentration increases in the rheological curve. Accordingly, the sedimentation performance of iron tailings filling material was divided into three types: intense sedimentation (the ascending rheological curve) in the mass concentration range of 73%∼76%, slight sedimentation (the constant rheological curve) in the mass concentration range of 77%∼79%, and almost no sedimentation (the descending rheological curve) in the mass concentration range of 80%∼82%. The associated mechanism involving slurry mass concentration-rheological curves-sedimentation performance was illustrated. A correlation between the pipeline rheology and filling material sedimentation performance was established, which provides a practical guide to avoid pipeline blocking while transporting the filling material.

Cemented paste backfill (CPB) is an economic and environmental friendly technique applied in underground mining for supporting surrounding rock and replacing the pillar. However, little is known about the temperature effects on CPB in mines having a large temperature fluctuation. The main purpose of this research was to investigate the effect of temperature change on the rheological properties (e.g., shear stress and apparent viscosity) of CPB with copper mine tailings. Specifically, a series of rheological tests were conducted on 6 CPB samples using a Brookfield R/S+ Rheometer under various temperatures (2°C, 10°C, 20°C, 30°C, 40°C, and 60°C). Our results showed that both shear stress and apparent viscosity of these tailing samples increased with temperature rising from 2 to 60°C. Likewise, temperature has a significant impact on the Bingham yield stress of thickened tailings. The yield stress decreased from 122 Pa (2°C) to 112 Pa (20°C) and then increased to 152 Pa (60°C). Moreover, the pipeline transport pressure drop of CPB at various temperatures was calculated, illustrating an obvious effect on the paste pipeline transport. Compared with 20°C, the pressure drop under 2°C and 60°C increased by 11% and 22%, respectively. The results of this study indicate that the temperature plays an essential role in determining rheological properties of CPB and its engineering application in mines particularly with naturally fluctuating temperatures.

Enhancing the knowledge on the deformation behavior of cemented paste backfill (CPB) in terms of stress-strain relations and modulus of elasticity is significant for economic and safety reasons. In this paper, the effect of the initial backfill temperature on the CPB’s stress-strain behavior and modulus of elasticity is investigated. Results show that the stress-strain relationship and the modulus of elasticity behavior of CPB are significantly affected by the curing time and initial temperature of CPB. Additionally, the relationship between the modulus of elasticity and unconfined compressive strength (UCS) and the degree of hydration was evaluated and discussed. The increase of UCS and hydration degree leads to an increase in the modulus of elasticity, which is not significantly affected by the initial temperature.

The commercial application of copper bioleaching, an environmentally-friendly approach for low-grade and secondary mineral resources recycling, has increased worldwide since the 2000s. As the world’s second-largest economic entity and the largest developing country, China has the largest demand for metal resources, significantly advancing the theory and industrial technology of copper bioleaching. This paper reviews the exploration and application of copper bioleaching in China. Two typical bioleaching applications and technological processes, bioheap leaching at the Zijinshan Copper Mine and bioheap leaching at the Dexing Copper Mine, are introduced. The considerable research completed by researchers is summarized, especially focusing on the isolation and identification of leaching bacteria, the bioleaching mechanism and interface reactions, multistage percolation behavior, bioleaching system reconstruction, the multiphysics coupled model, and enhanced copper bioleaching from waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs). Based on this investigation in China, key trends and prospects in copper bioleaching—such as efficiency improvement, environmental protection, and improved technology applications—are proposed.

In order to solve the bleeding problem of self-flowing tailings filling slurry with low concentration, the influences of the dosage of special additive on the bleeding rate were investigated. The improving mechanism of special additive on the bleeding of tailings filling slurry was studied by measuring the bleeding rate and compressive strength of the slurry. Also, microstruture analysis was conducted by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS), and infrared spectroscopy (IR) of the hardened body. The results show that with the slurry concentration of 60%, the binder-to-tailings ratio of 1:6 and the special additive dosage of 10%, the filling slurry is not bleeding and the compressive strength of hardened body can increase by 43.5% at three days. A large amount of needle-like ettringite is generated in the hardened body after adding the special additive, and the structure becomes denser. The special additive can effectively improve the bleeding of the filling slurry and increase the compressive strength of the filling material at early age.

The integrated disposal of surface subsidence pits and surface solid waste can be realized by backfilling a surface subsidence area with a paste made from the solid wastes of mines, such as tailings and waste rock. The microstructures of these wastes determine the macroscopic properties of a paste backfill. This paper presents an experimental study on the internal structure evolution of pasty fluid mixed with different waste rock concentrations (10%, 30%, and 50%) and cement dosages (1% and 2%) under damage. To this end, a real-time computed tomography (CT) scan is conducted using medical CT and a small loading device. Results show that UCS (uniaxial compressive strength) increases when the amount of cement increases. Given a constant amount of cement, UCS increases first and then decreases as waste rock content increases. UCS is maximized at 551 kPa when the waste rock content is 30%. The paste body is a typical medium used to investigate initial damage, which mainly consists of microholes, pores, and microcracks. The initial damages also exhibit a high degree of random inhomogeneity. After loading, cracks are initiated and expand gradually from the original damage location until the overall damages are generated. The mesostructure evolution model of the paste body is divided into six categories, and this mesostructure is reasonable when the waste rock content is 30%.

A new heterotrophic strain, named Providencia sp. JAT-1, was isolated and used in bioleaching of low-grade complex copper ore. The strain uses sodium citrate as a carbon source and urea as a nitrogen source to produce ammonia. The optimal growth condition of the strain is 30 C, initial pH 8, sodium citrate 10 g/L and urea 20 g/L, under which the cell density and ammonia concentration in the medium reached a maximum of 4.83 × 108 cells/mL and 14 g/L, respectively. Ammonia produced by the strain is used as the main lixiviant in bioleaching. Bioleaching results revealed that higher strain growth led to a higher copper recovery, while higher pulp density will cause a greater inhibitory effect on strain growth and ammonia production. The copper extraction reached the highest value of 54.5% at the pulp density of 1%. Malachite, chrysocolla and chalcocite are easy to leach out in this bioleaching system while chalcopyrite is difficult. Results of comparative leaching experiments show that bioleaching using JAT-1 is superior to ammonia leaching at the same condition. The metabolites produced by the strain other than ammonia are also involved in bioleaching.