4. VatLeaching Process Vat leaching can be described as leaching in a bathtub inside a building. In Vat leaching the ore usually after size reduction (either as a finely crushed or a coarsely ground and deslimed) is manually loaded into the vats. Vats are tanks built by bricks, cement and sand may be rectangular or circular with a partial filter floor. . Picture 1 and 2 .