PRODUCTION OF COMMERCIAL URANIUM CONCENTRATE FROM EL-SELA SHEAR ZONE MINERALIZED ORE MATERIAL, SOUTH EASTERN DESERT - EGYPT, AT INSHAS PILOT PLANT UNIT

This paper is concerned with studying the different processes leading to the production of commercial
uranium concentrate (yellow cake) from the mineralized ore material of El-Sela Shear zone, South Eastern
Desert, Egypt. Uranium concentrate is produced by the treatment of about 25 tons from the study ore
material that assaying about 580 ppmU at Inshas Pilot Plant Unit.
In the present work, the studied lab-scale leaching and extraction conditions of the ore material under
consideration are shifted to the pilot plant scale. From the latter, an average leaching efficiency exceeding
82% has been achieved. On the other hand, some difficulties being arised during pilot operations such as
filtration, settling, washing and huge dilute volumes of the sulfate leach slurry, are overcome through the
flocculent addition and reputed concentrations. The pH of prepared pregnant sulfate leach liquor is then
adjusted at 1.75 and then shifted to the fixed bed ion exchange resin unit for the extraction of uranium to
obtain highly pure concentrate UO4. 2H2O. The latter would be subjected to further purification processes
to prepare nuclear fuel.