Process for the recovery of uranium from a saline lixiviant

A process is disclosed for the recovery of uranium from a saline alkaline lixiviant employed in a uranium leaching operation. An ion exchange resin is employed to adsorb uranium from the lixiviant. Prior to contacting the resin with the lixiviant, the pH of the lixiviant is reduced to a value of less than 7. By this technique , the resin loading in the presence of chloride ion is materially increased. The ph values for optimum resin loading capacity decrease as the salinity of the lixiviant increases. Resin loading is also enhanced by the presence of bicarbonate ion in the lixiviant