The document summarizes the research and development status of mud type sandstone uranium ore resources in Inner Mongolia. It describes the regional geology, deposit geology, ore body geology, extraction technology used, and problems encountered. The uranium deposit is located in a basin and contains high clay mineral and carbonate uranium ore. The extraction process involves alkaline leaching, resin adsorption, and produces yellowcake. However, issues include high mining costs due to soft ore, high reagent consumption, difficulty in solid-liquid separation, and high production costs. Cooperation with international partners is needed to address these challenges.

1. Research and development status quo
of mud type sandstone uranium ore
resources in Inner Mongolia
Liu Zhongchen Zhang Jianguo
Beijing Research Institute of Chemical Engineering
and Metallurgy, CNNC, Beijing 101149

2. Contents
1 General Information
2 Regional geology
3 Deposit geology
4 Ore body geology
5 Extraction technology
6 Problems
7 Intercommunion

3. 1 General Information
Inner Mongolia basin has some advantage conditions to form
Geological sandstone uranium deposit, It got attention by geologist
conditions
Through decades hard work, a large type of sandstone uranium
ore has been found by Chinese uranium geologicians in Inner
Achievement
Mongolia. The ore body exist layer characteristic, ore body
special type and change characters as well as scale, uranium
grade, ore body thickness, lithology, mineral and chemical
composition, uranium exist form has been found out.

4. 2 Regional geology
The basin is developed from west of Tianshan- Inner Mongolia- Xhingan
Variscan fold axis, it is a Miocene epoch inland basin. A basin is located at
closure line between Siberian paleo-plate and Sino-Korean paleo-plate. It is
in central Asia-Mongolia paleo-ocean closured zone in Paleozoic period. It
is constructed with proterozoic group and Paleozoic erathem metamorphic
rock series as well as Variscan west-Yanshan period basic rock and
intermediate acidic rock erosion. The main body tectonic line is from east to
west. The Miocene epoch sedimentary inland basin is formed by overlap of
Jurassic-Eogene Cretaceous period splited valley basin and Upper
Cretaceous as well as Cenozoic basin.

5. 2 Regional geology
 Uranium deposit is located at erenzhuoer sub-depression of Wulanchabu
down-warping north of the Inner Mongolia basin. The basin is consisted of 6
secondary folds of Chuanjing down-warping, Wulanchabu down-warping, Manite
down-warping, Tenggeer down-warping, wunite down-warping, and sunite central
hunch ,and the tectonite is divided into 53 sub-depression as well as 22 sub- heave
hunch.
 Lithology is consisted of quartzite, sericite quartz schist, migmatite, flat slate,
limestone, and sandstone etc.. Magmatogene rock is developed in a big area. It is
mainly gray, gray white biotite granite, granodiorite, potash granite, flesh red color
and buff middle small size granite.

6. 3 Deposit geology
Uranium deposit is located at central faulted zone nek area of erenzhuoer sub-depression. Upper
cretaceous tectonic layer is located at the sub-depression centre. Lower cretaceous tectonic layer
sedimentary faulted zone is developed from north to east.
Upper cretaceous tectonic layer faulted zone is not developed, stratum is slanted to centre from
around depression, it basically shows semi-steep pot bottom shape.
 Permian system floor plate has a character of higher level of south west and lower of north east.
South west elevation level is 880.00 ～ 900.00m, and south west elevation level is 840.00 ～
860.00m. Permian system lower part has a character of south west thin and north east thick. The
thickness of south west part is under 35.00m, and the thickness of north east part is about 60.00 ～
72.00m. The thickness strata of lower part with dark mud stone in Permian system and multilayer
with thicker uranium body is mainly produced at north east depression area.
Nuheting uranium deposit north east depression part is sedimentary centre of Permian system, it
is the best place of formation sedimentary uranium deposit.

7. 4 Ore body geology
The ore body has central lower and around higher character which
basically reflect paleo- topographic features in lake spread period and
main mineralization period.
 Single uranium ore body thickness in the all deposit area is 0.40 ～
7.67m, and average thickness is 1.30m.
Single uranium ore body grade among of all the engineering works is
0.0301% ～ 0.3143% and average is 0.0703%.
Single uranium ore body grade among of industrial level is 0.0501%
～ 0.3143% and average is 0.0841%.

8. 4 Ore body geology
Lithology of uranium deposit is mainly mud rock and powder sandstone
with little distribution of gypsum, limestone and arenaceous rudyte.
Industrial grade ore is mainly containing high clay mineral uranium ore,
next is carbonate uranium ore.
The main compositions of ore minerals are uraninite, pyrite, organic
matter, gypsum etc.. The content of FeO, TFe2O3, MnO, P2O5 has
proportionally ratio with uranium content. Other compositions such as
SiO2, Al2O3, TiO2, CaO , MgO, K2O , Na2O has no rule or no big
variation.
Most part of uranium is dispersed and adsorbed on mud rock, organic
matter and pyrite, only little exist as single mineral of pitchblende.

9. 4 Ore body geology
Ore body has clearly divided line with upper wall rock. Most case it
has obvious rock dividing line.
The upper wall rock is mainly consisted of mud arenaceous gypsum,
mud sandstone, powder sandstone and limestone etc.;
ore body has gradually transition relationship with wall rock.
Ore body and lower wall rock mostly is mud rock and powder
sandstone, and next is limestone.
CO2 content is high in ore and wall rock, but it is higher in uranium
ore than it in wall rock. It is also higher in upper part ore than it in
lower part of the ore.

10. 5 Extraction technology
The uranium deposit is belong to mud type of sandstone uranium ore. It is
rich with minerals of carbonate, organic matter and gypsum.
When the ore is contacted with water, swelling and argillitization are
occurred, which cause a lot of difficult in leaching, solid and liquid separation
and following technology process.
Because of the large content of mud and argillitization by water, it is
seriously influence of factors of mineral beneficiation process. Through
beneficiation technology condition experiment, it can not sort out uranium
mineral in direct process nor sort out carbonate in counter- beneficiation
process.
By roast process the ore, the filtration property of leached slurry is improved
greatly, but reagent and uranium content in tailing slag has no obvious decline.

11. 5 Extraction technology
Classifying grade and dump tailing mineral processing reduce ore process quantity, some
of gypsum mineral has been separated out. It is not only reduced reagent cost in alkaline
leaching process but also reduced leaching time.
By systemically technologic experiment study as well as economic comparison of acid and
alkaline leaching technology, it is put forward out alkaline leaching technology flowsheet
and process parameters. The parameters are also optimized.
Through 6 sects countercurrent resin in pulp adsorption process, and filtration tailing
slurry, uranium content in the liquid is below 5mg/L. it is technically feasible for the pulp
adsorption process. It is saved solid and liquid separation process.
Basic technology flowsheet: ore classifying grade process- alkaline leaching under heat-
resin in pulp adsorption uranium- sodium chloride solution stripping- “yellow cake” product.

12. 6 Problems
 Problem lies in mining process. Because uranium deposit is located in mud type
sandstone with poor rock physical property, it shows softness at ore body upper plate, in
ore body itself and ore body lower plate, that is three soft characters. The mining difficulty
is not only rare in uranium mining process, but is also rare in other mining process as well,
which results in higher capital cost of mining process.
 Leaching reagent cost is higher, and leaching process has great difficult. Because CO2
Content in ore is higher, by acid leaching acid consumption is 30% in the process. Also
because the rich content of gypsum minerals, alkaline consumption is higher in alkaline
leaching process. Uranium content can only decreased to 0.025% in the tailing and
leaching rate can not meet the requirement.

13. 6 Problems
 It is difficult for solid and liquid slurry separation, so it can not got clear solution.
Therefore the pulp adsorption process is employed to recovery uranium in the study.
Because no success story of this kind technology in the uranium mining and
metallurgy home and abroad, there is no experience to learn from.
According to moment technology parameters, preliminary estimated cost in
hydrometallurgy plant ( include auxiliary materials, manual work, maintenance and
depreciation charges etc.) is $80000/tU. So, the ore production cost is higher.
There is problems for treatment of the tailing. The ore body area has vulnerable
environmental condition. Local topography is flat. It has high demand for treatment
of tailing.

14. 7 Intercommunion
For the problems in uranium mining and metallurgy technology to
process the uranium ore in Inner Mongolia, it needs more advanced
technology and economic method to process this kind ore. So, it
hopes cooperation from home and abroad countries with advanced
technology and technique in uranium mining and uranium
hydrometallurgy which result in quickly developing mud type
sandstone uranium resource in Inner Mongolia.