International Symposium on Uranium Raw Material for the Nuclear Fuel Cycle: Exploration, Mining, Production, Supply and Demand, Economics and Environmental Issues (URAM-2018)

EFFECTIVE AND ENVIRONMENTALLY COMPLIANT IN SITU RECOVERY OF SEDIMENTARY HOSTED URANIUM

28 Jun 2018, 16:40

20m

Vienna

ORAL Track 7. Uranium production by the in situ leaching (ISL) process Uranium Production by the In Situ Leaching (ISL) Process

Speaker

Dr Horst Maerten (Heathgate Resources Pty Ltd)

Description

This paper reviews recent advancements in 1. Development of in-situ recovery (ISR) projects for uranium including  dedicated exploration/delineation methods and field tests for gathering determining data,  efficient lab tests and assays of core samples, including up-scaling methodology applied to (1D) column leach tests for a reliable feasibility study of (3D) field ISR, 2. Planning and optimization of ISR processing comprising  wellfield hydrology,  leaching chemistry,  monitoring and process control,  economics,  environmental compliance, 3. Post-mining measures for ISR aquifer restauration in accordance to regulatory re-quirements including  conceptual methodology (combining test procedures and model predictions) for ISR project development and permit procedure,  monitoring and optimization. The effective and environmentally compliant ISR of uranium will be demonstrated for recent ISR projects operated by Heathgate Resources in the Frome Basin, South Australia.