Process of extracting both uranium and radium from uranium- containing ores

摘要

Ferric chloride leaching at temperatures in the range 47- 74. degree. C. is found to remove up to 97% of the uranium from ores occurring in the Elliot Lake area of Canada, but radium removal was found to be poor due to the formation of sulphates from the sulphides present in the ore. In processes of the invention the sulphides are initially removed by flotation, when aqueous acidic ferric chloride of relatively low concentration, e.g. 0.1 M can extract as much as 92% of the radium, giving tailings which are effectively sulphide-free and with radium levels approaching a desired maximum of 24 pCi/g. Radium may be removed by adsorption on manganese dioxide and uranium may be removed by liquid extraction with D2EHPA (DAPEX process). The ferric chloride may be recirculated for further leaching, with reduction before the uranium extraction and reoxidation afterwards. Because of the recycle, it is possible to keep chloride ion levels in the effluent below the prescribed level in Ontario, Canada of 750 ppm.