Electrolysis in copper ore processing. Visitors examining copper plates being lifted from an electrolysis bath applied to bioleached liquids during copper ore processing. Electrolysis uses electricity to force the deposition of pure copper metal (red-brown) from dissolved copper solutions (blue). This site is at the open-pit Skouriotissa copper mine, located near Lefka in north-west Cyprus. Mining of copper has taken place here for over 4000 years, with modern techniques including bioleaching and electrolysis.