Metal and fluorine values recovery from mineral ore treatment

The process for isolating at least one of the primary values of Ta or Nb, at least one of the secondary values of U or Th, and at least one of Sc, Zr or Ti from highly fluorinated ore materials comprising:

• (a) contacting said materials with an aqueous, acidic digest medium containing H.sub.3 BO.sub.3 and an acid component comprising H.sub.2 SO.sub.4, HNO.sub.3 or HCl or mixtures thereof, wherein the molar ratio of the H.sub.3 BO.sub.3 to said acid component is from about 1/10 to about 1/1;
• (b) maintaining the temperature of said medium between about 55.degree. C. and about 85.degree. C.;
• (c) reacting said materials with said medium for a sufficient period to substantially solubilize the major portion of said secondary values and to leave the Ta or Nb values substantially insolubilized;
• (d) separating the solids containing the Ta or Nb values from solution to provide a digest liquor containing said secondary values;
• (e) intimately contacting said liquor with an organic phase containing a quaternary amine to transport at least major portions of said U and Th values into said organic phase from said liquor and to leave other secondary values in solution in said liquor;
• (f) separating The organic phase from said liquor to form a substantially non-radioactive raffinate containing said other secondary values;
• and
• (g) separating said other secondary values from said raffinate.

The process for separating U or Th values from values of at least one other metal selected from Ta, Nb, Sc, Zr, Ti and Mg, wherein all of said values are contained in a difficult soluble matrix of highly fluorinated feed materials selected from U or Th bearing ores or the processing products, processing intermediates, or processing residues thereof, said method comprising:

• (a) contacting said feed materials with an aqueous, acidic, digest medium containing H.sub.3 BO.sub.3 and an acid component containing one or more acids selected from H.sub.2 SO.sub.4, HNO.sub.3, HCl or mixtures thereof, wherein the molar ratio of the H.sub.3 BO.sub.3 to said acid component is from about 1/10 to about 1/1, wherein the ratio of said reaction medium in liters (L) to said feed materials (Kg) on dry basis ranges from about 1/1 to about 20/1, the total concentrations of all of said acids being sufficient to solubilize said values at commercially acceptable rates, and wherein the molar ratio of said acid component to said boric acid charged to said medium ranges from about 20 to about 0.5;
• (b) maintaining the temperature of said medium between about 55.degree. C. and about 85.degree. C.;
• (c) reacting said materials in said medium for a sufficient period to solubilize essentially all of said U and Th values;
• (d) separating any remaining solids from said medium to provide an aqueous, acidic digest liquor containing said solubilized U or Th values and any solubilized other metal values;
• (e) intimately contacting said liquor with an organic phase to transport thereinto substantially all of said U or Th values and any of said solubilized other metal values which are extracted by said organic phase from said liquor;
• and
• (f) separating said organic phase containing at least said U or Th values from said liquor containing any of said solubilized other metal values which were not extracted into said organic phase to form a substantially non-radioactive, aqueous, acidic raffinate containing said solubilized non-extracted other metal values.