Flow Microbalance Simulation of Pumping and Injection Unit in In Situ Leaching Uranium Mining Area

In situ leaching (ISL) uranium mining technology is an in situ mining technology in which the chemical solution is injected into the ore-bearing strata through drilling wells, and the solution moves along the ore bed by controlling the hydraulic gradient of the flow field and reacts with the ore to form uranium-bearing solution. To reduce leaching dead angle in the process of leaching, each pumping and injection unit should achieve uniform leaching at the end of production, and appropriate pumping and injection mode should be adopted for pumping and injection wells of each unit in the mining area. In this paper, on the basis of the actual production data of a sandstone uranium mine, we established the unit flow model of ISL uranium mining area by using GMS software. The unit flow balance of 72 boreholes in the whole mining area was analyzed and optimized through the model. The concept of flow microbalance of pumping and injection unit in the mining area is put forward for the first time, and the calculation equation of supply and receive the flow of pumping and injection well is determined. The calculation and analysis process of flow microbalance of pumping and injection unit in mining area is established. The simulation results showed that the application effect of the model was good, and the correlation coefficient of the solute transport model reached 0.8.

Draft Genome Sequence of Bordetella sp. Strain FB-8, Isolated from a Former Uranium Mining Area in Germany

ABSTRACT Here, we present the draft genome sequence of Bordetella sp. strain FB-8, a mixotrophic iron-oxidizing bacterium isolated from creek sediment in the former uranium-mining district of Ronneburg, Germany. To date, iron oxidation has not been reported in Bordetella species, indicating that FB-8 may be an environmentally important Bordetella sp.

Risk assessment due to intake of trace metals through the ingestion of groundwater around proposed uranium mining areas of Nalgonda district, Telangana, India

In the context of proposed uranium mining area, it is very important to evaluate the presence of certain trace metals in groundwater around a proposed uranium mining area at Peddagattu and Seripally areas of Nalgonda district, Telangana (India). The concentrations of certain metals (Cu, Zn, Ni, Pb, Fe, Mn, Cd, Co, Sr, Ba, Cr, Cs and As) were measured in 37 groundwater locations and 10 surface water locations for seven times during 2 years around proposed uranium mining areas. The risk of the chemical toxicant [may be characterized using a hazard quotient (HQ)] is calculated by the results obtained during the study. The HQs of both groundwater (37) and surface water (10) all the considered trace metals were well below the threshold value of 1 as suggested by USEPA.

The Mineral Chemistry of Chlorites and Its Relationship with Uranium Mineralization from Huangsha Uranium Mining Area in the Middle Nanling Range, SE China

The Huangsha uranium mining area is located in the Qingzhangshan uranium-bearing complex granite of the Middle Nanling Range, Southeast China. This uranium mining area contains three uranium deposits (Liangsanzhai, Egongtang, and Shangjiao) and multiple uranium occurrences, showing favorable mineralization conditions and prospecting potential for uranium mineral resources. Chloritization is one of the most important alteration types and prospecting indicators in this mining area. This study aims to unravel the formation environment of chlorites and the relationship between chloritization and uranium mineralization, based on detailed field work and petrographic studies of the wallrock and ore samples from the Huangsha uranium mining area. An electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA) was used in this study to analyze the paragenetic association, morphology, and chemical compositions of chlorite, to classify chemical types and to calculate formation temperatures and n(Al)/n(Al + Mg + Fe) values of chlorite. The formation mechanism and the relationship with uranium mineralization of the uranium mining area are presented. Some conclusions from this study are: (1) There are five types of chlorites, including the chlorite formed by the alteration of biotite (type-I), by the metasomatism of feldspar with Fe–Mg hydrothermal fluids (type-II), chlorite vein/veinlet filling in fissures (type-III), chlorite closely associated with uranium minerals (type-IV), and chlorite transformed from clay minerals by adsorbing Mg- and Fe-components (type-V). (2) The chlorite in the Huangsha uranium mining area belongs to iron-rich chlorite and is mainly composed of chamosite, partly clinochlore, which are the products of multiple stages of hydrothermal action. The original rocks are derived from argillite, and their formation temperatures vary from 195.7 °C to 283.0 °C, with an average of 233.2 °C, suggesting they formed under a medium to low temperature conditions. (3) The chlorites were formed under reducing conditions with low oxygen fugacity and relatively high sulfur fugacity through two formation mechanisms: dissolution–precipitation and dissolution–migration–precipitation; (4) The chloritization provided the required environment for uranium mineralization, and promoted the activation, migration, and deposition of uranium.