Mining uranium by the in-situ leach method

The Mining of uranium by in-situ leaching (ISL) of ore in sandstone deposits stat-red in the 1960s in both the United States and the former Soviet Union, including Eastern Europe. Results from these tests encouraged larger scale evaluations and the utilization of several types of leaching solutions (alkaline based in the United States and sulphuric acid based in the former Soviet Union). Today the majority of uranium production in the US and CIS countries comes from ISL mining, while in 1994, 13% of the world's uranium production was from this mining method. Deposit characteristics as well as advantages and disadvantages of the ISL method are described. Low capital and manpower requirements, together with the environmental friendliness of ISL mining, will ensure the growth of this industry especially in Central Asia, as the demand for new uranium production increases over the next decade.