Factors influencing in-situ leaching of uranium mining in a sandstone deposit in Shihongtan, Northwest China

The Shihongtan uranium deposit in northwest China is a sandstone-type deposit suitable for alkaline in-situ leaching exploitation of uranium. Alkaline leaching tends to result in CaCO3 precipitation there by affecting the porosity of the ore-bearing aquifer. CaCO3 deposits can also block pumping and injection holes if the formulation parameters of the leaching solution are not well controlled. However, controlling these parameters to operate the in-situ leaching process is challenging. Our study demonstrates that the dissolved uranium concentration in the leaching solution increases as HCO3 concentration increases. Therefore, the most suitable HCO3 concentration to use as leaching solution is defined by the boundary value of the HCO3 concentration that controls CaCO3 dissolution-precipitation. That is, the dissolution and precipitation of calcite is closely related to pH, Ca2+ and HCO3 concentration. The pH and Ca2+ concentration are the main factors limiting HCO3 concentration in the leaching solution. The higher the pH and Ca2+ concentration, the lower the boundary value of HCO3 concentration, and therefore the more unfavorable to in-situ leaching of uranium.