Representativeness of large sample INAA in the study of Brazilian uranium mine waste

Journal Article · Mon Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 1997 · Transactions of the American Nuclear Society

OSTI ID:552344

De Nadai Fernandes, E A ^[1]; Bode, P ^[2]

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1. Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura, Piracicaba (Brazil)
2. Interfaculty Reactor Institute, Delft (Netherlands)

Osamu Utsumi was the first uranium mine to be explored in Brazil and has been active for approximately two decades. It is located on the Poqos de Caldas plateau in the state of Minas Gerais, which is an area of the world with one of the highest levels of natural radioactivity. Mining activities were terminated in April 1996, leaving some tons of uranium at depths at which exploration is not economically viable. The decision to prematurely terminate mining activities was taken in light of the planned commissioning within 2 yr of a new mine in the state of Bahia in the Jazida da Cachoeira region, where a high-grade uranium ore is found. This paper describes the use of INAA for the analysis of wastes produced from ores.

• OSTI ID: 552344
• Report Number(s): CONF-971125--
• Journal Information: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society, Journal Name: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society Vol. 77; ISSN 0003-018X; ISSN TANSAO
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

05 NUCLEAR FUELS
40 CHEMISTRY
MILL TAILINGS
NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS
ORE PROCESSING
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
URANIUM ORES