Uranium speciation and in situ leaching of a sandstone-type deposit from China

Mao, Shaolin; Zhang, Feng; Liu, P.; Lin, Xiaoyang; Li, Z. G.; Chen, M. S.

doi:10.1007/s10967-016-5154-1

Cited by 18 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 12 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

“…leachable uranium), and the suitability of ISL is assessed based on geological and hydrological conditions of the deposit and surrounding area. Permeability of the uranium sandstone ore is in the range of 0.09-1.6 m per day compared to the permeability of the surrounding clayformations, which is 0.01 m per day(Blaise, 2002;Ma et al, 2017). This method gives better leaching efficiencies (75-85%) and high uranium concentration in the pregnant solution (55-60 mg/L).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The current state and future directions of percolation leaching in the Chinese mining industry: Challenges and opportunities

Ilankoon

Tang

Ghorbani

et al. 2018

Minerals Engineering

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

China is one of the most rapidly growing economies in the world and this growth is underpinned by growing demand for natural resources to meet base and precious metals and energy requirements. Even though China is currently the largest producer of several mined commodities, such as gold and the rare earth elements, meeting the future demands for metal consumption will require China to either develop new mining projects or increase material imports. In terms of nuclear energy requirements the country still depends on uranium imports. To meet this growth in Chinese demand, there has been a strong interest in technologies suited for mining and processing of low grade ore bodies. Percolation leaching methods have been very effective in extracting metals from low grade ores, which could not otherwise be economically extracted. Percolation leaching techniques, such as heap leaching, dump leaching, bio-leaching and in-situ leaching have been extensively employed in the Chinese mining industry in recent decades to primarily extract gold, copper, rare earth elements and uranium. This paper discusses the application of various percolation leaching techniques in the Chinese mining industry and offers a scientific and extensive literature overview on technology developments in commercial percolation leaching operations in China. It also presents the current challenges of percolation leaching and recent technological and research developments and regulatory frameworks pertaining to the application of percolation leaching in China. The future directions of percolation leaching in the Chinese mining industry will also be presented to extract the low grade natural resources both economically and in an environmentally sustainable manner.

show abstract

“…Under near-neutral conditions, U forms soluble complexes with carbonate and phosphates. Ma et al [31] conducted an adsorption study of the U species and reported that these species are also influenced by the charge of the mineral surface, depending on the pH of the sorbate solution. Recently, Zhou et al [46] reported from ISL research from mining sites that, as the pH value decreases, the adsorbed UO 2 2+ can be replaced by protons and U concentration increases significantly in the leached solution.…”

Section: Effect Of Phmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is reported that adsorption capacity continues to increase with the rise of initial U(VI) concentration, which may be due to the presence of more U(VI) ions around Fe [70]. Laboratory experiments focusing on U chemical species have been previously done as well for the purpose of researching in situ leaching of U ore, and have reported that the recovery of leaching U is decided jointly by both U content and its activity, according to Ma et al [31]. Probably, it seems that another mechanism may be due to the presence of different U(VI) initial concentrations in the solid phase, as it is negatively correlated with U 3 O 8 recovery (Figure 10).…”

Section: Effect Of U(vi) Initial Concentrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The influential ISL parameters of U recovery can be classified into two different categories. One concerns technological factors and the other concerns natural factors where U ores are leached mostly under oxidizing conditions in order to convert U contained into minerals from a relatively insoluble tetravalent form (U(IV)) into water-soluble hexavalent U (U(VI)) [31]. Under the CO 2 + O 2 leaching condition, their partial pressure was kept constant for U dissolution.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Geochemical Characteristics and Uranium Neutral Leaching through a CO2 + O2 System—An Example from Uranium Ore of the ELZPA Ore Deposit in Pakistan

Asghar

Sun

Chen

et al. 2020

Metals

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Geochemical characterization studies and batch leaching experiments were conducted to explore the effects of a CO2 + O2 leaching system on uranium (U) recovery from ores obtained from an eastern limb of Zinda Pir Anticline ore deposit in Pakistan. The mineralogy of the ore was identified by Electron Probe Micro-analyzer (EPMA) and Scanning Electron Microscope-Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (SEM-EDS), showing that pitchblende is the main ore mineral. XRD was also used along with EPMA and SEM characterization data. Experimental results indicate that U mobility was readily facilitated in the CO2 + O2 system with Eh 284 mV and pH 6.24, and an 86% recovery rate of U3O8 was obtained. U speciation analysis implied the formation of UO2 (CO3)22− in the pregnant solution. The plausible mechanism may be attributed to the dissolved CO2 gas that forms carbonate/bicarbonate ion releasing oxidized U from the ore mineral. However, U recovery in the liquid phase was shown to decrease by higher U(VI) initial concentration, which may be due to the saturation of Fe adsorption capacity, as suggested by an increase in Fe concentration with increasing initial U(VI) concentration in the solid phase. However, further studies are needed to reveal the influencing mechanism of U(VI) initial concentration on U recovery in the solid phase. This study provides new insights on the feasibility and validity of the site application of U neutral in situ leaching.

show abstract

Uranium speciation and in situ leaching of a sandstone-type deposit from China

Cited by 18 publications

References 12 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

The current state and future directions of percolation leaching in the Chinese mining industry: Challenges and opportunities

Geochemical Characteristics and Uranium Neutral Leaching through a CO2 + O2 System—An Example from Uranium Ore of the ELZPA Ore Deposit in Pakistan

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Uranium speciation and in situ leaching of a sandstone-type deposit from China

Cited by 18 publications

References 12 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

The current state and future directions of percolation leaching in the Chinese mining industry: Challenges and opportunities

Geochemical Characteristics and Uranium Neutral Leaching through a CO2 + O2 System—An Example from Uranium Ore of the ELZPA Ore Deposit in Pakistan

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