Uranium Hydrometallurgy Department

Uranium Hydrometallurgy Department, subdivision of Beijing Research Institute of Chemical Engineering and Metallurgy, CNNC, is the only scientific organization specializing in technological research and development of uranium extractive metallurgy in China and providing technical support for the country’s natural uranium industry.

There are a number of laboratories in the Department, with a total lab area of 1800m². The Department consists of three research units, namely, uranium ore processing, uranium concentration and purification, and uranium precipitation, drying and conversion. We are undertaking missions in the following aspects:

• Uranium ore leaching, especially heap leaching for various uranium minerals

• Bacteria heap leaching

• Heap leaching by means of activated lixiviant and surfactant aiding

• Alkaline heap leaching

• Ion exchange, including R&D of new resin and new equipment

• Solvent extraction technologies for conventional leaching and heap leaching

• Yellowcake precipitation, e.g. new technological process and equipment

• Uranium purification and conversion

Many technical breakthroughs and achievements have been approached in the past few years in the Department, mainly in the field of uranium hydrometallurgy. Some of them are listed below:

• acid curing—ferric heap leaching

• conglomerated acid heap leaching of poor permeable ores

• heap leaching with small sized ores

• serial heap leaching followed by direct uranium precipitation

• bacterial heap leaching of fluoride bearing ores

• activated heap leaching technique

• in place stope leaching of blasted ore

• percolation leaching of uranium ores

• leaching and separation of U/Mo associated minerals

• new resin for uranium recovery from high chloride-bearing leach liquor

• resin-compacted moving bed ion exchange column

• iron vitriol-hydrogen peroxide two step precipitation process

• multi-functional precipitation tank and fluidized precipitation equipment

Now we are dedicating to the new technological research and development in heap leaching, conventional hydrometallurgy and uranium purification, and fulfilling the scientific tasks from CNNC and the training of senior technical manpower. We hope to cooperate with international atomic energy organizations in various technical subjects, and contribute to the sustainable development in China’s and world natural uranium industry.

Director:  Meng Jin

, Wang Hai Feng