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Uranium is collected via mining. As with other types of hard rock mining there are several methods of extraction. The main methods of mining are open pit mining and in situ leaching (ISL).

Open pit

In open pit mining, overburden is removed by drilling and blasting to expose the ore body which is mined by blasting and excavation via loaders and dump trucks. Workers spend much time in enclosed cabins thus limiting exposure. Water is extensively used to suppress airborne dust levels.

Underground uranium mining

If the uranium is too far below the surface for open pit mining, an underground mine might be used with tunnels and shafts dug to access and remove uranium ore. There is less waste material removed from underground mines than open pit mines, however this type of mining exposes underground workers to the highest levels of radon gas.

Heap leaching

Waste rock is produced during open pit mining when overburden is removed, and during underground mining when driving tunnels through non-ore zones. In some cases uranium has been removed from this low-grade ore by heap leaching. This may be done if the uranium contents is too low for the ore to be economically processed in a uranium mill. The leaching liquid (often sulfuric acid) is introduced on the top of the pile and percolates down until it reaches a liner below the pile, where it is caught and pumped to a processing plant. Due to the potential for extreme damage to the surrounding environment, this practice is no longer in use.

In-situ leaching

In-situ leaching (ISL), sometimes referred to as in-situ recovery (ISR) or solution mining, is performed by pumping liquids (weak acid or weak alkaline depending on the calcium concentration in the ore) down through injection wells placed on one side of the deposit of uranium, through the deposit, and up through recovery wells on the opposing side of the deposit - recovering ore by leaching. ISL is also used on other types of metal extraction such as copper. ISL is often cost-effective because it avoids excavation costs, and may be implemented more quickly than conventional mining. However, it is not suitable to all uranium deposits, as the host rock must be permeable to the liquids (as is often the case in sandstone).

Recovery from seawater

The uranium concentration of sea water is low, approximately 3.3 mg per cubic meter of seawater (3.3 ppb). But the quantity of this resource is gigantic and some scientists believe this resource is practically limitless with respect to world-wide demand. That is to say, if even a portion of the uranium in seawater could be used the entire world's nuclear power generation fuel could be provided over a long time period. Some anti-nuclear proponents claim this statistic is exaggerated. Although research and development for recovery of this low-concentration element by inorganic adsorbents such as titanium oxide compounds, has occurred since the 1960s in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Japan, this research was halted due to low recovery efficiency.

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Related Questions

What is the percentage of uranium-235?

Uranium-235 is an isotope of uranium making up about 0.72% of natural uranium.


What percentage of mined uranium is 235?

Approx. 0,7 % uranium 235 in natural uranium.


What is uranium 235 when added to natural uranium?

When uranium-235 is added to natural uranium, it increases the overall percentage of uranium-235 in the mixture. This can make the uranium more suitable for use in nuclear reactors or weapons, as uranium-235 is more fissile (more easily split by neutrons) than uranium-238.


An isotope of uranium using nuclide notation?

The chemical symbol of uranium is U.


What is the atomic number of uranium and how many neutrons does the isotope uranium-235 have?

The atomic number of uranium is 92. The number of neutrons of the isotope uranium-235 is 143.


How many electrons ar in uranium-235?

Uranium 235 (and also all the isotopes of uranium) has 92 electrons.


What element has 235 mass number?

Uranium-235 is the element with a mass number of 235. It is a radioactive isotope of uranium that is used in nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons.


Are there different types of uranium?

Uranium is a chemical element with three natural isotopes (234, 235, 238). The natural uranium has cca. 0,72 % uranium-235; uranium with a concentration of uranium-235 under 0,72 % is called depleted uranium; uranium with a concentration of uranium -235 above 0,72 % is called enriched uranium. Uranium in nuclear power and research reactors is used as metal, aloys, uranium dioxide, uranium carbides, uranium silicides, etc.


Are uranium 235 and uranium 238 said to be radioactive molecules since they have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons?

No, Uranium-235 and uranium-238 are radioactive, natural isotopes (not molecules, but atoms) of the one and the same element: uranium.Both with 92 protons and 235-92 = 143 neutrons in U-235 but 146 neutrons in U-238.


How is the structure of an atom or uranium 235 dfferent to the structure of an atom of uranium 238?

The main difference between uranium-235 and uranium-238 is their atomic masses. Uranium-235 has 235 atomic mass units (AMU) while uranium-238 has 238 AMU. This difference in mass is due to the number of neutrons in the nucleus of each isotope.


Uranium -235 and uranium -238 are different of uranium?

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Would Carbon-14 or Uranium-235 be better to date a fossil from the Precambrian time?

uranium-235 dates older objects so uranium-235 would be your answer