Journal article
Separate borehole uranium leaching technology based on geophysical exploration: A case-study of mines of Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Combinat
Разработка технологии раздельного скважинного выщелачивания урана на основе геофизических исследований в условиях рудников Навоийского горно-металлургического комбината
- Navoi State Mining Institute, Navoi, Uzbekistan
- Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Combinat, Zafarabad, Uzbekistan
https://doi.org/10.25018/0236_1493_2021_12_0_120
Highlights
- Layout: 2 production wells (screens at the top and at the bottom of the ore) and 4 injection wells (screens over its whole thickness).
- Monitoring: neutron-induced fission logging.
- Setting: highly permeable ore at NMMC in-situ leaching mines.
Keywords
- in-situ leaching
- process wells
- uranium
- uranium recovery completeness
Summary
The article reports test results for separate, interval-by-interval uranium leaching where the ore is highly permeable. The method uses injection and production wells: production wells are completed at different intervals, with the screen at the top of the mineralisation in the first well and at the bottom in the second, and four injection wells have screens covering the whole thickness of the ore body.
The key problem in controlling how completely uranium is leached is finding how much remains in mined-out ore blocks. The study uses neutron-induced fission logging at the leaching sites, which gives real-time information on the progress of leaching and on recovery, and estimates uranium reserves directly.
How to cite
Sh. Sh. Alikulov and Kh. R. Akhadov (2021). Separate borehole uranium leaching technology based on geophysical exploration: A case-study of mines of Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Combinat. Gornyi informatsionno-analiticheskii byulleten (Mining Informational and Analytical Bulletin), 2021, No. 12, pp. 120–131. https://doi.org/10.25018/0236_1493_2021_12_0_120