Uranium Extraction Technology (Technical Reports (International Atomic Energy Agency))

380 Pages·1993·5.93 MB·English

by  International Atomic Energy Agency

359
TECHNICAL REPORTS SERIES No.
Uranium Extraction Technology
%ffij INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, VIENNA, 1993
The cover picture shows the in situ uranium central processing facility, Hobson
Uranium Project, Everest Mineral Corporation, Karnes County, Texas, United
States of America.
By courtesy of Lanmon Aerial Photography Inc., Corpus Christi, Texas.

URANIUM EXTRACTION TECHNOLOGY
The following States are Members of the International Atomic Energy Agency:
AFGHANISTAN GUATEMALA PANAMA
ALBANIA HAITI PARAGUAY
ALGERIA HOLY SEE PERU
ARGENTINA HUNGARY PHILIPPINES
ARMENIA ICELAND POLAND
AUSTRALIA INDIA PORTUGAL
AUSTRIA INDONESIA QATAR
BANGLADESH IRAN, ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF ROMANIA
BELARUS IRAQ RUSSIAN FEDERATION
BELGIUM IRELAND SAUDI ARABIA
BOLIVIA ISRAEL SENEGAL
BRAZIL ITALY SIERRA LEONE
BULGARIA JAMAICA SINGAPORE
CAMBODIA JAPAN SLOVAK REPUBLIC
CAMEROON JORDAN SLOVENIA
CANADA KENYA SOUTH AFRICA
CHILE KOREA, REPUBLIC OF SPAIN
CHINA KUWAIT SRI LANKA
COLOMBIA LEBANON SUDAN
COSTA RICA LIBERIA SWEDEN
COTE D'lVOIRE LIBYAN ARAB JAMAHIRIYA SWITZERLAND
CROATIA LIECHTENSTEIN SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC
CUBA LUXEMBOURG THAILAND
CYPRUS MADAGASCAR TUNISIA
CZECH REPUBLIC MALAYSIA TURKEY
DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S MALI UGANDA
REPUBLIC OF KOREA MAURITIUS UKRAINE
DENMARK MEXICO UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC MONACO UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT
ECUADOR MONGOLIA BRITAIN AND NORTHERN
EGYPT MOROCCO IRELAND
EL SALVADOR MYANMAR UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA
ESTONIA NAMIBIA UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
ETHIOPIA NETHERLANDS URUGUAY
FINLAND NEW ZEALAND VENEZUELA
FRANCE NICARAGUA VIET NAM
GABON NIGER YUGOSLAVIA
GERMANY NIGERIA ZAIRE
GHANA NORWAY ZAMBIA
GREECE PAKISTAN ZIMBABWE
The Agency's Statute was approved on 23 October 1956 by the Conference on the Statute of the
IAEA held at United Nations Headquarters, New York; it entered into force on 29 July 1957. The Head
quarters of the Agency are situated in Vienna. Its principal objective is "to accelerate and enlarge the
contribution of atomic energy to peace, health and prosperity throughout the world".
© IAEA, 1993
Permission to reproduce or translate the information contained in this publication may be
obtained by writing to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Wagramerstrasse 5, P.O. Box 100,
A-1400 Vienna, Austria.
Printed by the IAEA in Austria
December 1993
STI/DOC/10/359
TECHNICAL REPORTS SERIES No. 359
URANIUM EXTRACTION TECHNOLOGY
INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY
VIENNA, 1993
VIC Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Uranium extraction technology. — Vienna : International Atomic Energy
Agency, 1993.
p. ; 24 cm. — (Technical reports series, ISSN 0074-1914 ; 359)
STI/DOC/10/359
ISBN 92-0-103593-4
Includes bibliographical references.
1. In situ processing (Mining). 2. Leaching. 3. Solution mining.
4. Uranium mines and mining. I. International Atomic Energy Agency.
II. Series: Technical reports series (International Atomic Energy Agency) ;
359.
VICL 92-00074
FOREWORD
In 1983 the Nuclear Energy Agency of the Organisation for Economic Co
operation and Development (OECD/NEA) and the IAEA jointly published a book
on Uranium Extraction Technology. A primary objective of this report was to docu
ment the significant technological developments that took place during the 1970s.
The purpose of this present publication is to update and expand the original
book. It includes background information about the principles of the unit operations
used in uranium ore processing and summarizes the current state of the art. The
publication also seeks to preserve the technology and the operating 'know-how'
developed over the past ten years. Relatively little of this experience has been
documented in recent years because technical personnel have moved to other
industries as mines and mills have closed down throughout the world. Extensive
references provide sources for specific technological details.
This publication is one of a series of Technical Reports on uranium ore
processing that have been prepared by the Division of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste
Management at the IAEA. A complete list of these reports is included as an
addendum.
The IAEA wishes to thank the consultants and their associates who took part
in the preparation of this publication. It is primarily the work of a consultants group
consisting of the following members: G.M. Ritcey (Gordon M. Ritcey and Associ
ates, Canada), R.J. Ring (Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation,
Australia), M. Roche (Compagnie gen6rale des matieres nucl6aires, France) and S.
Ajuria (Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Nucleares, Mexico). Components of
several chapters were provided by other contributors. The IAEA is also grateful to
the Member States and individual organizations for their generous support in provid
ing experts to assist in this work. The IAEA officer responsible for this work was
D.C. Seidel of the Division of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Management.
Mr. Seidel also participated as a technical expert and contributing author.
EDITORIAL NOTE
The use of particular designations of countries or territories does not imply any judge
ment by the publisher, the IAEA, as to the legal status of such countries or territories, of their
authorities and institutions or of the delimitation of their boundaries.
The mention of names of specific companies or products (whether or not indicated as
registered) does not imply any intention to infringe proprietary rights, nor should it be
construed as an endorsement or recommendation on the part of the IAEA.