In-situ leaching of crownpoint New Mexico uranium ore. - 2. Laboratory study of a mild leaching system

Conference · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1981 · Soc. Pet. Eng. AIME, Pap.; (United States)

OSTI ID:6352501

Vogt, T C; Strom, E T; Dixon, S A; Johnson, W F; Venuto, P B

This paper describes laboratory leaching studies using Crownpoint uranium ore samples and a mild leaching system. Batch leach tests using sodium bicarbonate solution and either high-pressure oxygen or hydrogen peroxide at low pressure gave qualitative data used to estimate leach rate and potential recovery. It was observed that leach rates varied by a factor of 50 for samples taken from different areas at Crownpoint; samples from the same ore trend often varied by a factor of 10. Packed column and core leach tests using oxygen at pressures up to 800 psi provided more quantitative estimates of leach rate and uranium recovery. Batch tests results were correlatable with leach rates and uranium recoveries in packed column or core tests. Mineralogical studies before and after leaching using electron microprobe analyses inferred that exposed coffinite crystals are dissolved easily, but finely disseminated coffinite crystallites persist after leaching if they are encapsulated in the carbonaceous matrix. 44 refs.

• Research Organization: Mobil Res and Dev Corp
• OSTI ID: 6352501
• Report Number(s): CONF-811023-
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Soc. Pet. Eng. AIME, Pap.; (United States)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

050400* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Feed Processing
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
ACTINIDES
BENCH-SCALE EXPERIMENTS
DISSOLUTION
ELEMENTS
FEDERAL REGION VI
LEACHING
METALS
MINING
NORTH AMERICA
ORES
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SOLUTION MINING
TEXAS
URANIUM
URANIUM ORES
USA