Capability of Uranium Heap Leaching From Gattar and El Missikat Area, Eastern Desert, Egypt: A Kinetic Approach

Abstract

Detailed studies of uranium heap leaching from different uranium mineralization resources situated in Eastern Desert of Egypt were investigated using sulfuric acid via batch experiments, followed by using the obtained optimum condition on bench scale leaching tests using small column. The previous optimum parameters were implemented on another large scale column in order to make more condition control and evaluate the time and reagents needed while transferring from small to large scale. The obtained data shows that leaching efficiency of GII mineralization attained about 78.3% with consumed acid amount about 34 kg/ton in a 44 days as leaching time, on the other hand, leaching efficiency of uranium from El-Missikat mineralization higher than GII mineralization and attained about 86.6% and the consumed as lower than G-II about 28kg/ton in a 40 days leaching time. Kinetics reaction models of column tests have been investigated to optimize the column leaching behavior. Based on the leaching results of the two mineralized occurrences, the rate of the uranium dissolution is controlled by both the chemical reaction and the diffusion reaction but diffusion reaction control was more predominate than a chemical reaction.