Underground mining operations are adopting innovative technologies to address the growing need for critical minerals while upholding sustainability goals. As a result, underground leaching operations are gaining more attention in recent years due to their capacity for low cost and low environmental footprint mineral extraction. Among these, In-Place Recovery (IPR) targets hard rock formations with limited natural permeability. IPR involves blasting a stope, using a lixiviant to dissolve metal-bearing minerals, and pumping the solution to the surface for processing. Blasting plays a critical role in generating small rock fragments to increase contact between the ore and the lixiviant. Supported by a Cooperative Research Centres Projects (CRC-P) grant, this project assesses the viability of IPR at the BHP Prominent Hill mine site. A test area has been defined, and representative rock samples have been collected, mineralogical analysis completed ahead of leaching kinetics testing. The rock mass has also been characterised for blast modelling and a suite of blast designs has been simulated to determine suitable designs that maximise fragmentation. In parallel, computational fluid dynamic models coupled with leaching reaction has been developed to simulate the performance of a leaching column while varying influential parameters such as ground temperature, lixiviant diffusion through the rock fragment, and fluid flow rate. This cross-functional collaborative project involves foundational research on blast optimisation for IPR, effective mineral leaching methods, and hydro-thermo-chemical fluid flow modelling, prior to in proof-of-concept field trials. The outcome of this work provides a framework for operations to assess the feasibility and viability of IPR for low-grade deposits which are often left un-mined, achieving increased copper production while meeting sustainability goals.