Petrology, mineralogy, and ore leaching of sandstone-hosted uranium deposits in the Ordos Basin, North China

Su, Xuebin; Liu, Zhengbang; Yao, Yingming; Du, Zhiming

doi:10.1016/j.oregeorev.2020.103768

Cited by 17 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 22 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Sandstone uranium (U) deposits, accounting for approximately 18% of world U resources, are the important primary materials for the generation of nuclear power (Asghar et al., 2020). Uranium roll‐front deposits are found in sandstone‐type U deposits (Cumberland et al., 2016), and are characterized by high contents of carbonate and argillaceous substances, low permeability, low ore grade, and complex hydrogeological conditions (Q. Ma et al., 2017; Su et al., 2020; Yue et al., 2020, 2021). In situ leaching (ISL) is the main leaching method for sandstone‐type uranium ore (Abzalov, 2012; Mudd, 2001a, 2001b), mainly including acidic (Su et al., 2020; Zhou et al., 2020), neutral (Yang et al., 2022), and alkaline ISL (Abzalov, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi‐Isotope Based Identification and Quantification of Oxygen Consuming Processes in Uranium Hosting Aquifers With CO₂ + O₂ In Situ Leaching

Xiu

Guo

et al. 2023

Water Resources Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Although neutral in situ leaching through CO2 + O2 is employed to extract uranium (U) in sandstone by in situ leaching (ISL), mechanisms of U mobilization and O2 consumption remained unclear. To address this gap, 18 groundwater samples were taken from the Qianjiadian sandstone U ore field, including seven samples from production wells in mining area M1 (mining for 5 years), six samples from production wells in mining area M2 (mining for 4 years), and five samples from monitoring wells (GC), to quantify U‐mobilizing processes in the mining aquifer by employing hydrogeochemical compositions and multi‐isotopes. The introduction of O2 and CO2 efficiently stimulated U mobilization in the mining aquifer. The injected CO2 critically promoted the dissolution of carbonate minerals, which enhanced the formation of uranyl carbonate (predominantly CaUO2(CO3)22− and Ca2UO2(CO3)3(aq)) and thus facilitated U mobility. Generally, δ34SSO4 and δ18OSO4 in M2 and M1 were significantly lower than those in GC (p < 0.01). A Bayesian isotope mixing model of δ34SSO4 and δ18OSO4 showed that the contribution of pyrite oxidation to SO42− concentration increased from 1.7% in GC to 13.6% in M2 and to 15.0% in M1. During ISL, pyrite, ammonium, and dissolved organic carbon were major compounds competing with U(IV) for introduced O2 in the ore‐bearing aquifer. Most of the consumed O2 was used for pyrite oxidation (56.2%) and U(IV) oxidation (39.3%), following the thermodynamic sequence of those redox reactions. The current results highlighted the significance of increasing O2 utilization efficiency in improving the performance of ISL operations.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi‐Isotope Based Identification and Quantification of Oxygen Consuming Processes in Uranium Hosting Aquifers With CO₂ + O₂ In Situ Leaching

Xiu

Guo

et al. 2023

Water Resources Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…4-] (Su, 2017;Su et al, 2020). The chemical characteristics of the pregnant solution during the ISL process give insight into the geochemical behavior of uranium.…”

Section: Geochemical Processes Of Isl (1) Co 2 and O 2 Islmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In summary, when compared to acid ISL, CO 2 and O 2 ISL has a potentially smaller environmental footprint (Dong and Brooks. 2006;Su et al, 2020;Qiu et al, 2023).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of the Greenhouse Gas Footprint and Environmental Impact of CO₂ and O₂ in situ Uranium Leaching

Yang

ZUO

Qiu

et al. 2023

Acta Geologica Sinica (Eng)

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Under the new development philosophy of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, CO2 and O2 in situ leaching (ISL) has been identified as a promising technique for uranium mining in China, not only because it solves carbon dioxide utilization and sequestration, but it also alleviates the environmental burden. However, significant challenges exist in assessment of CO2 footprint and water‐rock interactions, due to complex geochemical processes. Herein this study conducts a three‐dimensional, multicomponent reactive transport model (RTM) of a field‐scale CO2 and O2 ISL process at a typical sandstone‐hosted uranium deposit in Songliao Basin, China. Numerical simulations are performed to provide new insight into quantitative interpretation of the greenhouse gas (CO2) footprint and environmental impact (SO42 –) of the CO2 and O2 ISL, considering the potential chemical reaction network for uranium recovery at the field scale. RTM results demonstrate that the fate of the CO2 could be summarized as injected CO2 dissolution, dissolved CO2 mineralization and storage of CO2 as a gas phase during the CO2 and O2 ISL process. Furthermore, compared to acid ISL, CO2 and O2 ISL has a potentially smaller environmental footprint, with 20% of SO42– concentration in the aquifer. The findings improve our fundamental understanding of carbon utilization in a long‐term CO2 and O2 ISL system and provide important environmental implications when considering complex geochemical processes.

show abstract

“…O 2 leaching system, where uranium is prone to soluble and transport under oxidizing and neutralweakly conditions, involves the injection of leaching solutions with O 2 (aq) as the oxidant through injection wells and the inorganic carbon promotes the release of adsorbed U ?6 from the Uranium-bearing mineral. Within the deposit, uranium is converted from the relatively insoluble tetravalent form of U ?4 into the water-soluble hexavalent form of U ?6 under oxidizing conditions, mainly exists as uranyl-carbonate complexes of UO 2 (CO 3 )2-2 and UO 2 (CO 3 )4-3; then the dissolved uranium is recovered through production wells and treated in surface plants (Langmuir 1978;Regnault et al 2012;Asghar et al 2020;Su et al 2020). The principal geochemical reactions between mining solutions and minerals as well as the host rock include oxidation and reduction, dissolution and precipitation, and aqueous complexation, among others.…”

Section: Chemical Reactionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…-2 ], and uranyl tricarbonate ions [UO 2 (-CO 3 ) 3 -4 ] (Su et al 2016(Su et al , 2020Su 2017). Understanding and modeling the uranium leaching process is very complex due to the various chemical reactions occurring between the circulating solution pumped/injected into the aquifer and solids (uranium ore minerals), the thermodynamic and kinetic reactions, and the complexity of being able to couple the hydrodynamic transport and chemistry (Sadykov 2019).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying the impact of mineralogical heterogeneity on reactive transport modeling of CO2 + O2 in-situ leaching of uranium

et al. 2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

CO 2 ? O 2 in-situ leaching (ISL) of sandstonetype uranium ore represents the third generation of solution mining in China. In this study, reactive transport modeling of the interaction between hydrodynamic and geochemical reactions is performed to enable better prediction and regulation of the CO 2 ? O 2 in-situ leaching process of uranium. Geochemical reactions between mining solutions and rock, and the kinetic uranium dissolution controlled by O 2 (aq) and bicarbonate ( HCO À3 ) are considered in the

show abstract

Petrology, mineralogy, and ore leaching of sandstone-hosted uranium deposits in the Ordos Basin, North China

Cited by 17 publications

References 22 publications

Multi‐Isotope Based Identification and Quantification of Oxygen Consuming Processes in Uranium Hosting Aquifers With CO₂ + O₂ In Situ Leaching

Multi‐Isotope Based Identification and Quantification of Oxygen Consuming Processes in Uranium Hosting Aquifers With CO₂ + O₂ In Situ Leaching

Assessment of the Greenhouse Gas Footprint and Environmental Impact of CO₂ and O₂ in situ Uranium Leaching

Quantifying the impact of mineralogical heterogeneity on reactive transport modeling of CO2 + O2 in-situ leaching of uranium

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Petrology, mineralogy, and ore leaching of sandstone-hosted uranium deposits in the Ordos Basin, North China

Cited by 17 publications

References 22 publications

Multi‐Isotope Based Identification and Quantification of Oxygen Consuming Processes in Uranium Hosting Aquifers With CO2 + O2 In Situ Leaching

Multi‐Isotope Based Identification and Quantification of Oxygen Consuming Processes in Uranium Hosting Aquifers With CO2 + O2 In Situ Leaching

Assessment of the Greenhouse Gas Footprint and Environmental Impact of CO2 and O2 in situ Uranium Leaching

Quantifying the impact of mineralogical heterogeneity on reactive transport modeling of CO2 + O2 in-situ leaching of uranium

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Multi‐Isotope Based Identification and Quantification of Oxygen Consuming Processes in Uranium Hosting Aquifers With CO₂ + O₂ In Situ Leaching

Multi‐Isotope Based Identification and Quantification of Oxygen Consuming Processes in Uranium Hosting Aquifers With CO₂ + O₂ In Situ Leaching

Assessment of the Greenhouse Gas Footprint and Environmental Impact of CO₂ and O₂ in situ Uranium Leaching