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

Overview of Uranium Heap Leaching Technology in China

27 Jun 2018, 11:00

20m

Vienna

ORAL Track 6. Underground and open pit uranium mining and milling Underground and Open Pit Uranium Mining and Milling

Speaker

Mr Pingru Zhong (Beijing Research Institute of Chemical Engineering and Metallurgy)

Description

With the merits of low power, reagent and water consumptions and low operational cost, heap leaching of uranium ores has become the most widely used technological process for natural uanium production in China. Of the proved uranium reserves in China, hard-rock minerals of low uanium grade take a large proportion and these reserves are mainly located in southern China and suitable for heap leaching. Study on heap leaching of uranium ores has been emphasized in the past decades in the country and some technical achievements have been made and already applied in commercial production. The present status of uranium heap leaching application in China, including the ore characteristics and technological processes for typical processing mills and some new technological developed and applied is introduced in this paper. Some existing problems in practical operation are also discussed.