The Carlota mine is extracted ore from a deposit characteristic of a complex hydrothermal system with some features of a porphyry-copper type.

The area is built of igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks of various ages from the early Proterozoic to the Tertiary.

The Carlota deposit is formed by the surface mineralization of copper oxides in the proterozoic Pinal Schist. Chrysocolla is a dominant ore mineral and usually occurs as coatings, crusts and filling in fractures and heavily desintegrated rock masses.

Copper ore extraction by the Carlota mine is by conventional methods typical for open-pit metals mines, i.e. the ore is mined by blasting and then is transported by haulage trucks. In 2014 mining operations from the open pit ceased in the Carlota-Cactus Pit. In 2018 mining re-commenced in the Eder South area.

Due to the nature of the ore, it is processed using the heap leach, the solvent extraction and electrowinning (SX/EW) method which involves subjecting the ore to sulphuric acid. The pregnant leach solution (PLS) is pumped out of the heap and after the initial mechanical cleaning is subjected to the SX process, followed by the EW electrowinning process. The end product is electrolytic copper in the form of cathodes.