Marenica Energy has developed a process to concentrate uranium prior to leaching. The process is applicable to surficial uranium deposits.
Marenica says it “dramatically reduces OPEX/CAPEX compared to conventional technology. It is a patented process developed on the low-grade Marenica deposit. The process is called U-pgradeTM and may be applicable to copper, tungsten, iron ore, etc. with similar gangue characteristics to surficial uranium.
Marenica’s U-pgrade process is a major breakthrough for processing surficial uranium deposits. It is applicable to surficial uranium deposits with a particular emphasis on calcrete-hosted deposits. On ore samples from the Marenica uranium project it has been shown to deliver:
- An upgrade in uranium concentration of some 50 times at a recovery of over >70% by rejecting nearly 99% of the waste material (gangue)
- Increase the leach feed grade from 94ppm to >5,000ppm U3O8
- Internal cost estimates have indicated a potential reduction in process operating costs using U-pgrade of between 50% and 70% and a reduction in capital costs of between 30% and 50% compared to conventional heap leach technology
- Similar results in sea water, which is particularly beneficial in a dry environment such as Namibia
- Reduced social and environmental impact per pound of annual production compared to ‘conventional’ technology.
The intellectual property of U-pgrade is held by the wholly owned subsidiary Uranium Beneficiation.