Uranium: from ore to concentrate

The trend over the past 50 years, since large scale uranium mining and commercial uranium extraction began, has been an increase in cost efficiency, an increase in both worker safety and environmental safety, and an increase in the number of technical options available to the mining engineer and metallurgist. Any mining company's decision to follow a certain mining method or ore processing route is affected by a number of site-specific factors which include not only the geology of the deposit but also its size and location, availability of equipment and manpower, past processing experience of similar deposits, and cost. This paper will review step-by-step the range of mining methods and extraction processes currently in use at western and eastern uranium production centres, culminating in an easy to use reference table. (Author)