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PERTH (miningweekly.com) – New research by the Murdoch University, in Perth, Western Australia, has discovered a technique to extract uranium from brannerite, which could result in an additional 1 000 t, or A$108-million, in yearly uranium exports for Australia.
The research formed part of an ongoing project at Murdoch’s School of Engineering and Information Technology, which was aimed at understanding uranium extraction.
While conventional uranium extraction increased acid or alkaline to increase the rate of leaching in hard-to-extract minerals, the research found that the mineral brannerite did not respond to these methods.
“By gaining a better understanding of the chemical processes involved in leaching brannerite, we’ve found a mechanism that works under relatively mild conditions, without the need for high acid concentrations or extreme heats,” said PhD candidate Rorie Gilligan.
The university expected that the knowledge could be applied and producing results within two to three years.
A paper on the findings of the research has been published in the Science Direct journal, and has already attracted interest from China, Russia and Canada.