Evaluation of the acid leaching technique for recovery of U3O8 and ThO2 in niobium/tantalum slag
This study presented the recovery of uranium oxide and thorium oxide from aluminothermic slag from the metallurgical processing of columbite – a niobium/tantalum mineral with the presence of U3O8 and ThO2 – from a mining-industrial facility. The methodology consisted of sampling, comminution, and l...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Brazilian Radiation Protection Society (Sociedade Brasileira de Proteção Radiológica, SBPR)
2023-05-01
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| Series: | Brazilian Journal of Radiation Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.bjrs.org.br/revista/index.php/REVISTA/article/view/2165 |
| Summary: | This study presented the recovery of uranium oxide and thorium oxide from aluminothermic slag from the metallurgical processing of columbite – a niobium/tantalum mineral with the presence of U3O8 and ThO2 – from a mining-industrial facility. The methodology consisted of sampling, comminution, and leaching using sulfuric acid. The head sample showed contents of (1.78 + 0.14) % for U3O8 and (3.66 + 0.04) % for ThO2. The metallurgical recovery reached values above 80% for the uranium oxide and above 70% for the thorium oxide for pH < 1.5 and process time greater than eight hours.
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| ISSN: | 2319-0612 |