Unconventional Uranium Resources From Phosphates

Abstract

Phosphate rock, primarily used for mineral fertilizer production, is the 4th most mined material on earth. Phosphate rock can contain elevated concentrations (70–200mg/kg) of uranium that can be recovered during mineral fertilizer production. The recovery of uranium from phosphoric acid, a liquid intermediate product in phosphate fertilizer production using solvent extraction, is a well-known process that was used on industrial scale at several locations in the 1980s before decreasing uranium prices made this practice uneconomic at the beginning of the 1990s. Uranium supply security and increased environmental awareness resulted in renewed interest in unconventional uranium recovery. This article provides an overview and an outlook on uranium recovery from phosphates.