Australian University Discovers New Method for Extracting Uranium

Mining Weekly reported that new research done by the Murdoch University in Western Australia has discovered a new technique to extract uranium from brannerite, which may result in an additional 1,000 tonnes in annual uranium exports and bring in AU$108 million.

As quoted in the market news:

The research formed part of an ongoing project at Murdoch’s School of Engineering and Information Technology, which was aimed at understanding uranium extraction. While conventional uranium extraction increased acid or alkaline to increase the rate of leaching in hard-to-extract minerals, the research found that the mineral brannerite did not respond to these methods.

“By gaining a better understanding of the chemical processes involved in leaching brannerite, we’ve found a mechanism that works under relatively mild conditions, without the need for high acid concentrations or extreme heats,” said PhD candidate Rorie Gilligan.

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