Diversification of uranium production in order to extract associated precious metals

Abstract

Work aimed at diversification of production through the extraction associated with valuable metals in the uranium mines. The peculiarity of this work is the additional processing of spent and existing blocks using the existing production infrastructure for the extraction of associated useful components. Underground leaching technology is well developed for uranium deposits. The technology of underground leaching of associated components differs only in the reagents used, hardware design, etc., but they are fundamentally similar in the method of extraction. Even if there are associated components in the uranium-bearing Sands with a content of less than 1 g/t, up to 0.1 g/t production can be profitable. In this regard, the use of ready-made infrastructure of spent blocks in the uranium field allows us to expect good economic profitability in the future.