Горно-геологические и физико-химические показатели, определяющие успешность применения блочного подземного и кучного выщелачивания

Abstract

The success of the physico-chemical technologies’ application in the development of ore deposits, such as underground and heap leaching, depends on the petrographic and mineral composition of the ores and their host rocks, type of reagents leaching the useful component, technology of ore preparation and irrigation modes of lumpy ores. The efficiency of leaching of uranium-ore minerals is determined by the physico-chemical laws of the interaction of reagents with the ore material. In the course of the research, the relationship between the silica content in the rocks containing mineralization and their physical and mechanical properties was established. This makes it possible, knowing the type of rocks, to predict the conditions of ore preparation by drilling and blasting to obtain the optimal piece size for leaching. In addition, the influence of the ore texture on the leaching efficiency was proved experimentally. Previous researchers found that the rate of conversion of uranium to the mobile state during leaching depends on the rate of penetration of the leaching reagent into the piece, displayed by the effective diffusion coefficient (Kef). The analysis of mining and geological information made it possible to establish the relationship between the Kef and the type of host rocks through the SiO2 content and the type of uranium minerals through the uranium content. The obtained knowledge makes it possible to predict favorable conditions for the use of physico-chemical geotechnologies in the development of rock-poor uranium deposits