Uranium Mining

Most of the uranium mining that is done today is done in-situ leaching technique. This method does not involve digging at the surface nor underground. The minerals that we get from this technique is mostly soluble, e.g, potash, potassium chloride, sodium chloride, sodium sulfate and uranium oxide which can be dissolved in water.

Uranium is utilized as a coloring agent in uranium glass, creating orange-red to lemon yellow shades. It was also utilized for tinting and shading in early on photography. The 1789 unearthing of uranium in the mineral pitchblende is accredited to Martin Heinrich Klaproth, who christened the new ingredient after the planet Uranus.

When cultured, uranium is a silvery white, faintly radioactive metal, which is vaguely softer than steel, strappingly electropositive and a reduced electrical artiste. It is impressionable, squashy, and somewhat paramagnetic. Uranium metal has extremely high thickness, being in the region of 70% more crowded than lead, but to some extent less dense than gold.

The major relevance of uranium in the military quarter is in high solidity penetrations. This ammo consists of worn-out uranium (DU) coupled with 1-2% other compounds. At high collision speed, the compactness, rigidity, and flammability of the projectile facilitate annihilation of profoundly reinforced targets.

Uranium

Tank armor and the detachable armor on combat vehicles are also hard-bitten with exhausted uranium (DU) plates. The usage of DU became a litigious political-environmental subject after the usage of DU ammunitions by the US, UK and other countries during war times in the Persian Gulf and the Balkans raised queries of uranium elements left in the soil.

The main utilization of uranium in the civilian segment is to fuel marketable nuclear power plants; by the time it is entirely fissioned, one kilogram of uranium-235 can tentatively generate about 20 trillion joules of energy (20?1012 joules); as much electrical energy as 1500 tons of coal.

The process of extraction of uranium ore from the ground is uranium mining. There are several methods of extraction in case of uranium mining including solution mining, underground mining, open pit mining and heap leaching.


Solution mining


The solution mining commonly known as In-situ leaching in North America, where the Uranium is extracted is extracted without any ground disturbance. The uranium ore that lies in the ground is dissolved and pumped to the surface where the minerals can be recovered. This is done when the orebody?s aquifer is confined vertically and ideally horizontally. The groundwater with lots of oxygen content or the oxidant is circulated through the enclosed underground aquifer to dissolve the uranium ore. The leaching solution which dissolves the uranium is then pumped to the surface treatment plant. After filtration and treatment, the uranium is recovered as precipitate. The oxidant that is used in the in-situ leaching is hydrogen peroxide. Different countries use various solutions to dissolve the uranium ore.


Open pit mining


When uranium ore lies close to the surface, then it is accessed by open pit mining. In this large pit is dug and the overburden or the waste rock is removed to reach the ore. It is extracted by a series of steps such as drilling, blasting and excavation. As open pit mining is more vulnerable to radiation, workers spend much time in the enclosed cabins. The air bone dust level is minimized by the usage of water.


Underground mining


Underground mining is employed when the orebodies are on the deeper or far below the surface of the earth. The shafts and tunnels are dug to access and remove the uranium core. When compared to open pit mining, removal of wastage is reduced in underground mining. There are different methods that can be employed according to the availability of the ore. When the ore is abundantly present in the single place, then the open stoping method can be used. In this the excavated area is refilled with waste rock and cement. The shrinkage method, the miners will be working on the top of the pile to drill and blast to remove the ore. This method will leave a large hole at the end. When the ore is flat or thin, the method of room and pillar is followed. In this method the ore body is divided into blocks and ores are removed systematically leaving enough ore for roof support.


Heap leaching


Heap leaching involves the chemicals like sulphuric acid to extract the economic element from the ore that has been mined and kept on the surface. It is done only for the oxide ore deposits. In other cases, low molar sulphuric acid is used as the leaching agent that is sprayed on the ore for 30 to 90 days. The uranium will break its bonds and allow it to enter the solution. The solution is then pumped and sent for further processing.

The uranium produced by the in-situ leaching or the solution mining constitutes 57% of the world production, while the open pit mining and underground mining constitutes remaining 43% of the production.