Radiometric sorting of Rio Algom uranium ore

An ore sample of about 0.2 percent uranium from Quirke Mine was subjected to radiometric sorting by Ore Sorters Limited. Approximately 60 percent of the sample weight fell within the sortable size range: -150 + 25 mm. Rejects of low uranium content (< 0.01 percent) representing less than 1 percent U loss were removed at a cut-off 0.3 counts/cm2 (2 counts/in2) but only 7.6 percent of the ore, by weight, was discarded. At 0.8-0.9 counts/cm2 (5-6 counts/in2) a significant amount of rejects was removed (> 25 percent) but the uranium loss was unacceptably high (7.7 percent). Continuation of the testwork to improve the results is proposed by trying to extend the sortable size range and to reduce the amount of fines during crushing