Methods of processing uraniferous ores
AssigneeCompagnie Generale des Matieres Nucleaires
InventorsMichel Gruet, Paul Lafforgue, Pierre Michel
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Abstract
Refractory uranium is crushed and impregnated with a concentrated aqueous solution of sulphuric acid to provide a mixture which retains a solid phase consistency. The impregnated mixture is disintegrated in an aqueous solution to form a thick paste or pulp. The pulp is digested for a duration not exceeding 10 hours and the uranium recovered by solid/liquid separation. The sulphuric acid content of the concentrated solution is selected for the residual acidity at the end of pulp digestion to be of from 10 g/l to 40 g/l.
Claims9
Method of processing uranium ore, particularly refractory ores, comprising the steps of:
- crushing the ore,
- impregnating the ore with a concentrated aqueous solution of sulphuric acid for a period not exceeding 30 minutes, the volume of solution per unit weight of crushed ore being selected to obtain a mixture which retains a solid phase consistency and does not reach a sticky condition,
- disintegrating the impregnated mixture with an aqueous solution into a thick paste or pulp,
- digesting the pulp for a duration not exceeding 10 hours,
- and carrying out solid/liquid separation,
- wherein the sulphuric acid content of the concentrated solution is selected for the residual acidity at the end of pulp digestion to be of from 10 g/l to 40 g/l.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.