A comparative bio-oxidative leaching study of synthetic U-bearing minerals: Implications for mobility and retention (original) (raw)

Australia's Olympic Dam (OD) is the world's largest source of uranium. The three main uranium-containing minerals in the OD deposit are tetravalent and hexavalent uraninite, coffinite and brannerite. Currently, uranium is extracted from these minerals using a series of processes (grinding, acid dissolution, extraction). Of the minerals present, brannerite is clearly the most resistant to acid dissolution and a significant portion of the uranium in this mineral is not recovered using current processes. Recent increases in the price of uranium, however, have led to interest in understanding the dissolution of brannerite. In this study we have investigated the synthesis of brannerite, a titanate mineral (UTi{2}O{6}), with the scope of studying its dissolution properties. Many preparative methods such as ceramic techniques, mechano-chemical and the alkoxide/nitrate method are currently used to prepare brannerites. These techniques involve thorough grinding of mixtures of uranium...