PlumX Metrics
Embed PlumX Metrics

Reactive Transport Modeling during Uranium In Situ Leaching (ISL): The Effects of Ore Composition on Mining Recovery

Minerals, ISSN: 2075-163X, Vol: 12, Issue: 11
2022
  • 12
    Citations
  • 0
    Usage
  • 13
    Captures
  • 2
    Mentions
  • 0
    Social Media
Metric Options:   Counts1 Year3 Year

Metrics Details

  • Citations
    12
    • Citation Indexes
      12
  • Captures
    13
  • Mentions
    2
    • Blog Mentions
      1
      • Blog
        1
    • News Mentions
      1
      • News
        1

Most Recent News

What’s New in Mining of Materials That Are Essential for Critical Systems?

Securing access to commodities is one of the top list items of industrialized countries’ agendas. With eco-sustainability issues and global changes, modern mining companies are

Article Description

Unconsolidated sandstone uranium deposits exploited by the in situ leaching (ISL) method, contain complex tetravalent and hexavalent uranium compounds, mostly as UO and UO oxides that have different dissolution rates in sulfuric acid solutions. This work investigates a reactive transport model that takes into account the dissolution of both UO and UO in sulfuric acid solution together with possible interactions with rock minerals during the ISL uranium extraction. Several empirical reaction rate constants were determined during lab experiments on uranium extraction assays, including dissolution rates of tetravalent and hexavalent uranium oxides, and the dissolution rate of rock components by sulfuric acid solution. Effects on the recovery of solution flow rates and ratios between tetravalent and hexavalent uranium compounds are also investigated. The experimental dissolution constants were then used in the proposed reactive transport model to be applied to a real case study in Kazakhstan for comparing the 16 months history matching of an exploitation block consisting of 18 well injectors and 4 producers. The obtained numerical results show good agreement with empirical data gathered during exploitation.

Bibliographic Details

Maksat B. Kurmanseiit; Madina S. Tungatarova; Aidarkhan Kaltayev; Jean Jacques Royer

MDPI AG

Earth and Planetary Sciences

Provide Feedback

Have ideas for a new metric? Would you like to see something else here?Let us know