Laterite Leach Tests

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ANSTO Minerals Report C1206 to Lagoon Creek Resources – Westmoreland Deposits ii • Quantitative XRD indicated that quartz was the dominant gangue mineral in all ore samples. Its relative concentrations varied from 88 to 92 wt%. The minor constituents (less than 5% each) were illite, hematite, jarosite, chamosite and hydroxylapatite. Chamosite (Fe rich chlorite), an acid consuming mineral, was found in four ores, whereas hydroxylapatite was detected only in Junnagunna ore. The uranium-bearing minerals were not abundant enough to be detectable by XRD; • SEM analysis on leach residues showed other gangue minerals such as rutile/anatase (TiO2), zircon (ZrSiO4), monazite ((Ce,La,Nd,Th)PO4), florencite ((Ce,La)Al3(PO4)2(OH)6), pyrite (FeS2), galena (PbS), iron copper sulphide, copper sulphide and barite (BaSO4) were also present in the samples. <strong>Leach</strong>ing Studies The Garee lower and upper lens samples were blended to form a Garee (Redtree) composite for leaching. The compositions of the three samples leached are compared in the table below (in wt%). Sample name U3O8 (ppm) Sulphide S Total Carbon Al Ca Fe K Mg Si Junnagunna 1370 0.04 0.04 1.53 0.104 1.10 0.61 0.14 43.6 Garee (Redtree) Composite 1700 0.02 0.04 1.38 0.041 1.52 0.55 0.073 42.6 Jack Lens 929 0.02 0.01 1.05 0.033 0.75 0.44 0.018 43.6 Dilute leaching tests on pulverised ore under ideal leach conditions designed to determine the limit for extraction showed that the uranium mineralisation was very amenable to leaching, with extractions of 98.6-99% achieved for the Junnagunna and Redtree samples. Extraction from the lower grade Jack ore was 97.6%. Compared to other ores tested by ANSTO Minerals, the concentrations of ions dissolved were low, decreasing in the order Si>Al≈Ca>K>Mg. Gangue dissolution was greatest for Garee Lower lens, and lowest for Jack Lens, noting that Fe dissolution cannot be estimated because iron was added to the leach solution. The Junnagunna and Redtree samples were readily leached under conventional leaching conditions (55 wt% solids, 40 °C, pH 1.5, P80 of 250 µm and ORP of 500 mV), achieving uranium extractions of 96.5-97.5% after 24 h. As very little uranium dissolution occurred between 12 and 24 h, a 12 h leaching time would be sufficient. The rate of leaching of uranium also responded to ORP, and an ORP of 550 mV is recommended. For these conditions uranium extraction was 97% for both ores, with acid additions of only 18 and 14 kg/t for Junnagunna and Redtree, respectively. Predicted pyrolusite requirements were also low at 3.0-3.1 kg/t for both ores. Under base conditions, the extraction of uranium from the Jack ore sample was 87%, considerably less than the dilute leach result of 97%. Addition of 0.5 g/L Fe to the leach increased extraction to 91-91.5% after 24 h. Further work is recommended to identify conditions that could further increase extraction from the Jack ore. Reagent requirements for Jack ore were very low, less than half those for the Redtree composite. The optimisation tests on the Junnagunna and Redtree samples showed that:
ANSTO Minerals Report C1206 to Lagoon Creek Resources – Westmoreland Deposits iii • Varying the P80 grind sizes in the range 350 - 75 µm had negligible impact on uranium extraction and acid addition. Finer grinding resulted in faster initial uranium leaching kinetics, but a similar effect can was achieved by increasing the ORP. Grinding to a P80 of 350 µm significantly reduced the rate of uranium extraction up to about 12 h. On this basis a P80 of 250 µm would probably be selected to target a 12 h leach time. • <strong>Leach</strong> pH over the range 1.3 – 1.7 had little impact on uranium recovery for Junnagunna ore. At pH 2, extraction was reduced by 1% to ~ 96%. For the Redtree sample, the 24 h extraction increased from 92% to 98% when the leaching pH was decreased from pH 2.0 to pH 1.3. The pH also had an impact on the initial leaching rate. The optimum pH for both ores was 1.5, or perhaps slightly lower for Redtree; • Acid addition was low for both ores, ranging from 10-25 kg/t and 10-20 kg/t for Junnagunna and Redtree, respectively, for all conditions examined; • The pyrolusite requirement for both ores was ~3.0 kg/t for optimum leach conditions. Note, the use of potassium permanganate and pyrolusite as oxidants produced equivalent results; • The uranium leaching rate increased with increasing temperatures from 30°C to 50 °C. For both ores, leaching at 30 °C significantly decreased the extraction rate, and to a lesser extent, the final extraction of uranium. The initial rate of leaching was reduced at 40 °C, but extractions were quite similar to those at 50°C after 12 h. Although temperature has a significant effect on the initial extraction rate, there was also a significant relative increase in the acid addition. The optimum temperature appeared to be ~ 40 °C; • For both samples, similar final (24 h) uranium extraction results were achieved for leaching at ORP levels of 500-550 mV. Uranium extraction decreased significantly when leaching at 450 mV. Addition of 0.5 g/L ferric ion at 500 mV had a slight impact on the rate of extraction, but there was little difference after 12 h. A similar result was achieved by leaching at 550 mV, and this approach would be preferred to adding iron. For both samples, there was a significant increase in demand for oxidant to increase the ORP from 450 to 500 mV, but only a further small addition was required to achieve 550 mV. The oxidant demand for both samples was very similar for both samples. The optimum ORP is considered to be 550 mV; • For both the Junnagunna and Redtree ores, sizing of leach residues from base case conditions showed that high uranium extractions were obtained for all size fractions, with extraction decreasing slightly in the three coarsest fractions (> 150 µm). Residue grades were greatest, marginally, for the three finest fractions (< 53 µm). The limited tests carried out on the Jack ore sample showed that: • Under base conditions, the extraction of uranium from the Jack ore sample was 87%, considerably less than the dilute leach result of 97%, and significantly less than the 96-97% extraction from the other two samples under base case conditions. This result could be due to the very low ferric ion concentration (0.2 g/L) in the Jack leach liquor;
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Thickening and Vacuum Filtration Ev
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Thickener Test Summary for Laramide
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Laterite Leach Tests

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