Recovery of uranium from monazite : a fresh look at the current practice

Monazite is being processed at the Rare Earth Division of Indian Rare Earths (IRE) Ltd. at Alwaye for the past three decades. In this process, the bulk of the uranium is locked up in the final thorium hydroxide fraction which is stockpiled, and hence practically not recovered. In view of the importance of recovering uranium, the current practice followed at IRE has been re-studied. Laboratory studies have shown that by slight modification of the process steps, it is possible to recover upto 85 per cent of uranium as a byproduct of the rare earth recovery process at Alwaye itself. Recovery of uranium from the monazite hydroxide by nitric acid route has also been attempted and the data collected are presented. Process flow sheets are suggested. (author)