Chapter 3. Classical method of uranium leaching from ores and reasons for incomplete recovery at dumps of State Enterprise 'VOSTOKREDMET'. 3.2. Uranium extraction from the ore and classification of its losses

Present article is devoted to uranium extraction from the ore and classification of its losses. It was found that uranium commodity balance that has decisive importance during the actual assessment of an enterprise's activity is formed on the basis of chemical sampling and weight accounting for the head grade delivered to the plant, together with the ore and produced finished product. Process balance reflects the actual process nature of uranium extraction from ore into the finished product, the basis of which is the chemical analysis of ore and hydrometallurgical redistribution products on basic operations of the manufacturing process. Technological balance enables, through an analytical approach, to identify uranium extraction by technological redistribution and, in whole, the percentage and weight outcome, uranium concentration degree and extent of process loss. Process extraction does not take into account mechanical losses and therefore, as a rule, exceeds the commodity to an extent of those losses. It was defined that sorption redistribution losses of plant's process flow diagram are uranium losses with hydrates, with slurry solution and with granule resin. Sum of these losses in ratio to uranium amount delivered for sorption defines the process extraction value of sorption redistribution. Total uranium technological extraction to finished product is defined by uranium comparing in residues released to tailings with its content in ore with a glance of increased solid volume.