U/sub 3/O/sub 8/ production analysis for nonsandstone uranium deposits. Final report

Abstract

The findings of an investigation into the commercialization potential of producing U/sub 3/O/sub 8/ from non-sandstone sources are presented. A variety of these non-conventional uranium resources were initially examined to arrive at a selection of seven major resource categories for detailed analysis. The seven categories are: (1) vein-type deposits, (2) wet process phosphoric acid, (3) copper leach solutions, (4) uraniferous coal, (5) black shales, (6) extrusive rocks, and (7) intrusive igneous rocks. Detailed analyses of each resource addressed the following: characterization of the resource in terms of geologic environment and magnitude; current industry interest in production; overview of information available and research being conducted on resource; mining and milling implications of production; and production cost analysis. The results of the individual resource analyses were subsequently compared relative to each other on the basis of production cost, resource magnitude, and qualitative factors such as technical, environmental/land use, political/legal, labor, and capital requirement issues. In addition to the relative rankings, a set of commercialization criteria was employed to evaluate the potential time frames within which commercial production might be possible. In some cases, a specific occurrence within a resource category served as the basis for cost analysis. The analysis revealed findings ofmore » economically feasible resources having limited magnitude (e.g., veins, by product recovery from phosphoric acid, copper leach, and coal) and, conversely, resources of large magnitude being economically unattractive (e.g., shales, extrusive, intrusives). In addition to the economic constraint associated with these large resources, there are also numerous environmental, technical, labor, and capital generation constraints to commercial production.« less