The potential for uranium recovery at Nolans
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Date
2007-05-24
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Publisher
ALTA Metallurgical Services
Abstract
The Nolans deposit, owned by Arafura Resources, Ltd, is located near Aileron in the Northern Territory of Australia. Initial rare earth mineralisation was detected in 1995, which was confirmed by further exploration work carried out from 1999 onwards. The rare earths are predominantly concentrated as rare earth phosphates, hosted by fluorapatite and cheralite. An essential part of the mineral chemistry of apatite (Ca5(PO4)3(F,OH)), is that the calcium phosphate structure does allow some substitution by rare earths and other ions, including uranium ions. Current mineral resources at Nolans, using a 1% REE cut-off grade, are 18.6 million tonnes at 3.1% rare earth oxide, 14.0% P205 and 0.021% U308. This resource can support a 10,000 tla REO operation for at least 20 years. The concentration of uranium in Nolans is higher than is typical of phosphate rock deposits worldwide. This requires appropriate management of the radioactivity during ore processing, but also provides an opportunity for recovery of uranium as a by-product. The recovery must be
integrated into the rare earth process, which is the primary focus of the project. Furthermore, the separation of rare earths from the phosphate matrix and the recovery of phosphoric acid or other fertiliser products is also an important consideration. This paper discusses the various process options that are being considered for the development of a process for Nolans that integrates the recovery of phosphate values and uranium as by-products of rare earth processing. © The Authors
Description
Physical copy held by ANSTO Library at DDC 669.2931/5
Keywords
Rare earths, Australia, Northern Territory, Exploration, Phosphates, Ions, Uranium ores, Uranium deposits, Ore processing
Citation
Soldenhoff, K., Ho, E., & Mackowski, S., (2007). The potential for uranium recovery at Nolans. Paper presented to the ALTA 2007 Uranium Conference, Rendezvous Observation City Hotel, Perth, Australia, May-24-25, 2007.