A discovery on a planetary scale. This can be called the discovery of Uranus by scientists. The planet was discovered in 1781.

Its discovery became the reason for naming one of elements of the periodic table. Uranus metal was isolated from resin blende in 1789.

The hype around the new planet had not yet subsided, therefore, the idea of ​​​​naming the new substance lay on the surface.

At the end of the 18th century there was no concept of radioactivity. Meanwhile, this is the main property of terrestrial uranium.

Scientists who worked with him were exposed to radiation without knowing it. Who was the pioneer, and what other properties of the element are, we will tell further.

Properties of uranium

Uranium - element, discovered by Martin Klaproth. He fused resin with caustic. The fusion product was incompletely soluble.

Klaproth realized that the supposed , and are not present in the composition of the mineral. Then, the scientist dissolved the blende in .

Green hexagons fell out of the solution. The chemist exposed them to yellow blood, that is, potassium hexacyanoferrate.

A brown precipitate precipitated from the solution. Klaproth reduced this oxide linseed oil, calcined. The result was a powder.

I had to calcinate it already by mixing it with brown. Grains of new metal were found in the sintered mass.

Later it turned out that it was not pure uranium, and its dioxide. The element was obtained separately only 60 years later, in 1841. And another 55 years later, Antoine Becquerel discovered the phenomenon of radioactivity.

Radioactivity of uranium due to the ability of the element’s nucleus to capture neutrons and fragment. At the same time, impressive energy is released.

It is determined by the kinetic data of radiation and fragments. It is possible to ensure continuous fission of nuclei.

Chain reaction is launched when natural uranium is enriched with its 235th isotope. It’s not like it’s added to metal.

On the contrary, the low-radioactive and ineffective 238th nuclide, as well as the 234th, are removed from the ore.

Their mixture is called depleted, and the remaining uranium is called enriched. This is exactly what industrialists need. But we’ll talk about this in a separate chapter.

Uranus radiates, both alpha and beta with gamma rays. They were discovered by seeing the effect of metal on a photographic plate wrapped in black.

It became clear that new element emits something. While the Curies were investigating what exactly, Maria received a dose of radiation that caused the chemist to develop blood cancer, from which the woman died in 1934.

Beta radiation can destroy not only human body, but also the metal itself. What element is formed from uranium? Answer: - brevy.

Otherwise it is called protactinium. Discovered in 1913, just during the study of uranium.

The latter turns into brevium without external influences and reagents, only from beta decay.

Externally uranium – chemical element - colors with a metallic sheen.

This is what all actinides look like, to which substance 92 belongs. The group starts with number 90 and ends with number 103.

Standing at the top of the list radioactive element uranium, manifests itself as an oxidizing agent. Oxidation states can be 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th.

That is, the 92nd metal is chemically active. If you grind uranium into powder, it will spontaneously ignite in air.

IN in the usual form the substance will oxidize upon contact with oxygen, becoming covered with an iridescent film.

If you bring the temperature to 1000 degrees Celsius, chem. uranium element connect with . A metal nitride is formed. This substance is yellow in color.

Throw it into water and it will dissolve, just like pure uranium. All acids also corrode it. The element displaces hydrogen from organic elements.

Uranium also pushes it out of salt solutions, , , , . If such a solution is shaken, particles of the 92nd metal will begin to glow.

Uranium salts unstable, disintegrate in light or in the presence of organic matter.

The element is perhaps only indifferent to alkalis. The metal does not react with them.

Discovery of uranium is the discovery of a superheavy element. Its mass makes it possible to isolate the metal, or more precisely, the minerals with it, from the ore.

It is enough to crush it and pour it into water. The uranium particles will settle first. This is where metal mining begins. Details in the next chapter.

Uranium mining

Having received a heavy sediment, industrialists leach the concentrate. The goal is to convert the uranium into solution. Sulfuric acid is used.

An exception is made for tar. This mineral is not soluble in acid, therefore alkalis are used. The secret of difficulties is in the 4-valent state of uranium.

Acid leaching also does not work with,. In these minerals, the 92nd metal is also 4-valent.

This is treated with hydroxide, known as caustic soda. In other cases, oxygen purge is good. There is no need to stock up on sulfuric acid separately.

It is enough to heat the ore with sulfide minerals to 150 degrees and direct an oxygen stream at it. This leads to the formation of acid, which washes away Uranus.

Chemical element and its application associated with pure forms of metal. To remove impurities, sorption is used.

It is carried out on ion exchange resins. Extraction with organic solvents is also suitable.

All that remains is to add alkali to the solution to precipitate ammonium uranates, dissolve them in nitric acid and subject them to.

The result will be oxides of the 92nd element. They are heated to 800 degrees and reduced with hydrogen.

The final oxide is converted to uranium fluoride, from which pure metal is obtained by calcium-thermal reduction. , as you can see, is not a simple one. Why try so hard?

Applications of uranium

The 92nd metal is the main fuel of nuclear reactors. Lean mixture is suitable for stationary, and for power plants use an enriched element.

The 235th isotope is also the basis nuclear weapons. Secondary nuclear fuel can also be obtained from metal 92.

Here it is worth asking the question, what element does uranium transform into?. From its 238th isotope, , is another radioactive, superheavy substance.

At the very 238th uranium great half life, lasts 4.5 billion years. Such long-term destruction leads to low energy intensity.

If we consider the use of uranium compounds, its oxides are useful. They are used in the glass industry.

Oxides act as dyes. Can be obtained from pale yellow to dark green. The material fluoresces in ultraviolet rays.

This property is used not only in glasses, but also in uranium glazes for. Uranium oxides in them range from 0.3 to 6%.

As a result, the background is safe and does not exceed 30 microns per hour. Photo of uranium elements, or rather, products with his participation, are very colorful. The glow of glass and dishes attracts the eye.

Uranium price

For a kilogram of unenriched uranium oxide they give about 150 dollars. Peak values ​​were observed in 2007.

Then the cost reached 300 dollars per kilo. The development of uranium ores will remain profitable even at a price of 90-100 conventional units.

Who discovered the element uranium, did not know what his reserves were in earth's crust. Now, they are counted.

Large deposits with a profitable production price will be depleted by 2030.

If new deposits are not discovered, or alternatives to the metal are not found, its cost will creep up.

How is uranium mined in Kazakhstan? aslan wrote in March 27th, 2017

The uranium industry of Kazakhstan in terms of revenues to the country's budget is perhaps second only to oil production. More than 25 thousand people work in this industry, however, due to the regime of the facilities, guests at uranium mines are extremely a rare event.

Today we will see how the Ortalyk mining enterprise, located in the Suzak district of the South Kazakhstan region, works

The work shift of employees of Ortalyk Mining Enterprise LLP begins with a mandatory medical examination

Workers at a uranium mining enterprise have their blood pressure and temperature measured and are also tested with a breathalyzer. Although, according to the doctor, alcohol is strictly prohibited at the facility, and there has not been a single case of last test was "failed"

After the medical examination - breakfast in the mine canteen

The specifics of production create additional safety requirements - employees put on work clothes in a separate locker room; going out into the shift camp and the clean area of ​​the mine is prohibited.

The shift foreman issues an order - a task that defines the content, place of work, start and end times, conditions for safe performance, necessary measures security

One of the safety measures is to wear respirators in workshops. This is due to the fact that in the production of uranium, reagents such as sulfuric acid, ammonium nitrate

Uranium mining is fully automated. In the control room you can track all the processes that occur at the facility

Uranium mining at Ortalyk, as at all other enterprises in Kazakhstan, is carried out by underground borehole leaching. This method was chosen because it is the most environmentally friendly. The radiation background in the fields does not differ from the radiation background in large cities

The principle of the underground leaching method is as follows: a 2% solution of sulfuric acid is pumped underground into uranium-bearing layers, which, interacting with rocks, dissolves uranium, then this uranium-enriched solution is pumped to the surface. Above each well there is a pump control panel

In this room on the territory of the landfill with wells there is a solution distribution unit

Employees are given glasses and hats to protect them from the incredible heat.

A solution of sulfuric acid is pumped into the wells through these pipes. Pumping wells that pump uranium out of the ground look similar.

Then the solution with uranium is sent through pipes to the workshop for processing productive solutions (sorption-regeneration cycle).

With this mining method, about 15 tons of sulfuric acid per hour are used at Ortalyk

In uranium production, all processes are automated, but manual control is also possible

This workshop receives a uranium solution - commercial uranium desorbate

The solution reacts with ammonium carbonate salt to obtain a concentrate of natural uranium - “yellow cake”

Checking the pressure filter readings

Yellowcake or natural uranium concentrate is the final product of the enterprise, which is packaged in special containers. Actually, uranium in this compound is about 45-50%. This year it is planned to extract 2,000 tons of uranium. The field itself is designed for 25 years of operation.

Submersible pumps require virtually no repairs; they last about 30 thousand operating hours. However, it is necessary to constantly inspect and, if necessary, change the impellers.

In parallel with the direct extraction of uranium, the laboratory conducts research that allows for the most efficient development of the deposit.

According to accepted standards, no more than 3 milligrams of uranium per liter should remain in the solution sent back to the subsurface after processing, but according to sample results, losses did not exceed 1.2 milligrams.

After graduation work shift Employees are required to have their radiation dose checked

When we went to the enterprise, we expected that the uranium workers' camp would look like in the old days good times- trailers in which workers live. However, the rotational camp at Ortalyk looks completely different - it’s modern complex buildings that have everything a person needs to relax after work.

After dinner, many workers spend time playing table tennis.

The rotational camp also has its own mini-football field

Explored Russian reserves uranium is estimated at 615 thousand tons, and inferred resources are 830 thousand tons (2005). Unfortunately, many of them are located in hard-to-reach regions. The largest among them is the Elkon deposit in the south of Yakutia, its reserves are estimated at 344 thousand tons. About 150 thousand tons are the reserves of another deposit, known as the Streltsovskoe ore field in the Chita region. 70 thousand tons
As of 1999, the state balance of uranium reserves in Russia took into account the reserves of 16 deposits, of which 15 are concentrated in one area - Streltsovsky in Transbaikalia (Chita region) and are suitable for the mining method.

The open (career) method is not currently used in Russia. The mining method is used at uranium deposits in the Chita region. In-situ leaching technology is more widely used. Mined uranium-containing ores and solutions are processed to produce uranium concentrates on site. The resulting product is sent for further processing to Chepetsk Mechanical Plant OJSC.

In Russia uranium ore was produced by the TVEL Corporation, which includes three subsidiaries: the Priargun Mining and Chemical Association in the city of Krasnokamensk, Chita Region (3 thousand tons/year), JSC Dalur in the Kurgan Region and JSC Khiagda in Buryatia (capacity of each 1 thousand tons). tons of uranium per year).

The Argunskoye, Zherlovoe and Beryozovoye uranium deposits were discovered in the Chita region. Reserves: category C2 - 3.05 million tons of ore and 3481 tons of uranium with an average uranium content in ore of 0.114%, the predicted uranium resources of the Gornoye deposit in category C1 are 394 thousand tons of ore and 1087 tons of uranium, in category C2 - 1.77 million tons of ore and 4226 tons of uranium. The predicted resources of the P1 category deposit are 4800 tons of uranium. Reserves of the Olovskoye deposit in category B+C1 amount to 14.61 million tons of ore and 11,898 tons of uranium.

Located in the Chita region (Transbaikalia), the Streltsovskoye ore field includes more than a dozen uranium (and molybdenum) deposits suitable for mine and quarry mining methods. Of these, the largest - Streltsovskoye and Tulendevskoye - have reserves of 60 and 35 thousand tons, respectively. Currently, mining is carried out using the shaft method at five deposits using two mines, which provides 93% of Russian uranium production (2005). So, near the city of Krasnokamensk (460 km southeast of Chita), 93% of Russian uranium is mined. Extraction is carried out by the mine method (previously the quarry method was also used) by the Priargunsky Production Mining and Chemical Association (PPMCU).

The rest of Russia's uranium is mined by underground leaching by JSC Dalur and JSC Khiagda, located in the Kurgan region and Buryatia, respectively. The resulting uranium concentrate and uranium-containing ores are processed at the Chepetsk Mechanical Plant.

Trans-Urals is a region that includes 3 deposits: Dolmatovskoye, Dobrovolskoye and Khokhlovskoye with total reserves of about 17 thousand tons. The uranium content in the ore is 0.06%. All deposits are concentrated in paleovalleys, with a depth of 350-560 m and fairly average geotechnological indicators. Extraction is carried out by Dalur CJSC (Kurgan region) with a productivity of 1000 t/year, the extraction method is borehole underground leaching.

At the Khiagdinskoye uranium deposit in Buryatia, underground borehole leaching of uranium is used. Production is carried out by JSC Khiagda. The production volume is 1.5 thousand tons of uranium concentrate per year. The predicted reserves of the deposit are estimated at 100 thousand tons, explored reserves at 40 thousand tons (the expected life of the mine is 50 years). The uranium content in 1 cubic meter of enriched ore reaches 100 mg. The cost of 1 kg of enriched ore fluctuates around 20 dollars. This is 2 times lower than at the main uranium mine in Russia in Krasnokamensk, Chita region.

The total reserves of uranium deposits in the Elkon region of Yakutia are 346 thousand tons, which makes them one of the largest in the world. Quantitatively, this exceeds all balance reserves in the country, but due to the ordinary quality of the ores, they can only become profitable if high price to uranium. Since then, a project for the development of these deposits has been prepared. The expected productivity of the mine in 2020 is 15 thousand tons of uranium per year.

The largest known potential source of uranium raw materials, the Aldan deposit, is suitable for development only by mining. According to geologists, the development of the Vitimsky uranium ore region is more promising.
Vitimsky district (Siberia) with proven reserves of 60 thousand tons with a uranium concentration of 0.054% in the ore with accompanying scandium, rare earth elements and lanthanides;). Vitimsky ore district - includes 5 deposits, the total reserves of which are estimated at 75 thousand tons. The largest are: Khiagdinskoye and Tetrakhskoye. Both objects are localized in paleovalleys, suitable for underground leaching, their peculiarity is their location in the zone permafrost under a thick (100-150 m) cover of basalts. Since in Russia this is the most difficult area for the development of deposits, production here is 100 t/year. The cost category of uranium from these objects is 34-52 dollars.

West Siberian region (Malinovskoye deposit with reserves of 200 thousand tons of uranium). West Siberian region - includes 8 small deposits suitable for the IW method, also localized in paleovalleys, with total reserves of about 10 thousand tons. The most studied of them is the Malinovskoye deposit, where a 2-well experiment on IW uranium is currently being conducted . The deposit area is somewhat easier to develop than the Vitimsky one, but until 2010 real production will be 100-150 t/year. The cost category of uranium from these objects is 13-20 dollars. US per pound U3O8. Far Eastern ore-bearing region, located in coastal zone The Sea of ​​Okhotsk has not yet been explored enough.

Promising regions include the Onega region (Karelia), where reserves of vanadium ore containing uranium, gold and platinum have been discovered. Nevskgeologiya carried out exploration of a uranium deposit (Middle Padma) in the area of ​​Lake Ladoga near the village of Salmi (Medvezhyegorsky district). Uranium ore reserves here may reach 40 thousand tons. The deposit is not being developed, mainly due to the lack of technology for processing this type of ore. By 2005, the existing deficit of uranium in Russia for its own needs amounted to 5 thousand tons per year and is constantly growing. The situation worsened with the beginning of the nuclear reform, when a decision was made to actively build new nuclear power plants in Russia in order to increase the share of nuclear energy in electricity production to 25-30%. In 2004, it produced 32,000 tons of uranium against a requirement of 9,900 tons (the rest was provided by supplies from warehouses - depletion of military uranium).

Realizing the threat of the fuel crisis, Rosatom in 2006 established OJSC Uranium Mining Company, UGRK, designed to provide long-term and reliable uranium raw materials to old Russian nuclear power plants (taking into account the fact that their operating life has been extended to 60 years), Russian nuclear power plants under construction, and also nuclear power plants built and under construction by Russia abroad (in 2006, a sixth of the world’s nuclear power plants operated on Russian fuel). New company was created by two structures controlled by Minatom: TVEL Corporation and JSC Techsnabexport. UGRK expects to increase uranium production to 28.63 thousand tons by 2020. At the same time, production in Russia itself will amount to 18 thousand tons: at the Priargun Mining and Chemical Association 5 thousand tons, at JSC Khiagda - 2 thousand tons, CJSC Dalur - 1 thousand tons, at the Elkon deposit in Yakutia - 5 thousand tons, at a number of new fields in the Chita region and Buryatia - 2 thousand tons. Another 3 thousand tons are planned to be mined at new enterprises, for which only forecast uranium reserves are known so far. In addition, the company expects to produce about 5 thousand tons of uranium by 2020 from two already established joint ventures in Kazakhstan. The possibility of creating a joint venture for uranium mining in Ukraine and Mongolia is also being discussed. It's about about the Ukrainian Novokonstantinovskoe deposit and the Mongolian Erdes deposit. The company also expects to create two more joint ventures for uranium mining in Northern Kazakhstan - at the Semizbay and Kasachinnoye deposits. The uranium mined by joint ventures abroad will be - after enrichment at Russian separation plants, for example in the created International Center for enrichment in Angarsk - go for export.

Currently, nuclear energy is used on a fairly large scale. If in the last century radioactive materials were used mainly for the production of nuclear weapons, which have the greatest destructive force, then in our time the situation has changed. Nuclear energy at nuclear power plants is converted into electricity and used for completely peaceful purposes. Also created nuclear engines, which are used, for example, in submarines.

The main radioactive material used to produce nuclear energy is Uranus. This chemical element belongs to the actinide family. Uranium was discovered in 1789 by the German chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth while studying pitchblende, which is now also called “uranium pitch.” A new chemical element has been named after a recently discovered planet. solar system. Radioactive properties uranium were discovered only in late XIX century.

Uranium is contained in the sedimentary shell and in the granite layer. This is a rather rare chemical element: its content in the earth’s crust is 0.002%. In addition, uranium is contained in small quantities in sea ​​water(10?9 g/l). Due to its chemical activity, uranium is found only in compounds and is not found in free form on Earth.

Uranium ores are natural mineral formations containing uranium or its compounds in quantities at which its use is possible and economically feasible. Uranium ores also serve as raw materials for the production of other radioactive elements such as radium and polonium.

Nowadays, about 100 different uranium minerals are known, 12 of which are actively used in industry to produce radioactive materials. The most important minerals are uranium oxides (uranite and its varieties - pitchblende and uranium black), its silicates (coffinit), titanites (Davidite and brannerite), as well as hydrous phosphates and uranium micas.

Uranium ores are classified according to various signs. In particular, they are distinguished by educational conditions. One of the types are the so-called endogenous ores, which were deposited under the influence high temperatures and from pegmatite melts and aqueous solutions. Endogenous ores are characteristic of folded areas and activated platforms. Exogenous ores are formed in near-surface conditions and even on the Earth's surface during the process of accumulation (syngenetic ores) or as a result (epigenetic ores). They occur predominantly on the surface of young platforms. Metamorphogenic ores that arose during the redistribution of primary dispersed uranium during the metamorphism of sedimentary strata. Metamorphogenic ores are characteristic of ancient platforms.

In addition, uranium ores are divided into natural types and technological varieties. According to the nature of uranium mineralization, they are distinguished: primary uranium ores - (U 4 + content not less than 75% of total number), oxidized uranium ores (contain mainly U 6 +) and mixed uranium ores, in which U 4 + and U 6 + are found in approximately equal proportions. The technology for their processing depends on the degree of oxidation of uranium. Based on the degree of unevenness of the U content in the lump fraction of the rock (“contrast”), highly contrasting, contrasting, weakly contrasting and non-contrasting uranium ores are distinguished. This parameter determines the possibility and feasibility of enriching uranium ores.

According to the sizes of aggregates and grains of uranium minerals, they are distinguished: coarse-grained (over 25 mm in diameter), medium-grained (3–25 mm), fine-grained (0.1–3 mm), fine-grained (0.015–0.1 mm) and dispersed (less than 0.015 mm) uranium ores. The grain sizes of uranium minerals also determine the possibility of ore enrichment. According to the content of useful impurities, uranium ores are divided into: uranium, uranium-molybdenum, uranium-vanadium, uranium-cobalt-bismuth-silver and others.

By chemical composition impurities, uranium ores are divided into: silicate (consist mainly of silicate minerals), carbonate (more than 10–15% carbonate minerals), iron oxide (iron-uranium ores), sulfide (more than 8–10% sulfide minerals) and caustobiolite, consisting of mainly from organic matter.

The chemical composition of ores often determines how they are processed. Uranium is separated from silicate ores by acids, and from carbonate ores by soda solutions. Iron oxide ores are subjected to blast furnace smelting. Caustobiolite uranium ores are sometimes enriched by combustion.

As mentioned above, the content of uranium in the earth's crust is quite low. There are several deposits of uranium ores in Russia:

Zherlovoe and Argunskoye fields. They are located in the Krasnokamensky district of the Chita region. The reserves of the Zherlovoye deposit amount to 4,137 thousand tons of ore, which contain only 3,485 tons of uranium (average content 0.082%), as well as 4,137 tons of molybdenum (content 0.227%). C1 category uranium reserves at the Argun deposit amount to 13,025 thousand tons of ore, 27,957 tons of uranium (average content 0.215%) and 3,598 tons of molybdenum (average content 0.048%). Reserves in category C2 are: 7,990 thousand tons of ore, 9,481 tons of uranium (with an average content of 0.12%) and 3,191 tons of molybdenum (with an average content of 0.0489%). Approximately 93% of all Russian uranium is mined here.

5 uranium deposits ( Istochnoye, Kolichkanskoye, Dybrynskoye, Namarusskoye, Koretkondinskoye) are located on the territory of the Republic of Buryatia. The total explored reserves of the deposits amount to 17.7 thousand tons of uranium, the predicted resources are estimated at another 12.2 thousand tons.

Khiagdinskoye uranium deposit. Extraction is carried out using the method of borehole underground leaching. The explored reserves of this field in category C1+C2 are estimated at 11.3 thousand tons. The deposit is located on the territory of the Republic of Buryatia.

Radioactive materials are used not only to create nuclear weapons and fuel. For example, uranium is added in small quantities to glass to give it color. Uranium is a component of various metal alloys and is used in photography and other fields.

For uranium mining Russian Federation is in fifth place among other countries in the world. The most famous and powerful deposits are Khiagdinskoye, Kolichkanskoye, Istochnoye, Koretkondinskoye, Namarusskoye, Dobrynskoye (Republic of Buryatia), Argunskoye, Zherlovoe (Chita region). The Chita region produces 93% of all Russian uranium produced (mainly by quarry and mine methods). The situation is a little different with the deposits in Buryatia and Kurgan. Uranium ore in Russia in these regions is deposited in such a way that it allows the extraction of raw materials by leaching.

In total, deposits of 830 tons of uranium are predicted in Russia; there are about 615 tons of confirmed reserves. These are also deposits in Yakutia, Karelia and other regions. Since uranium is a strategic global raw material, the numbers may be inaccurate, since much of the data is classified and only a certain category of people has access to it.

Uranium ore mining methods

As in any mining business, there is a certain technology and methods for extracting uranium from rock. Everything also depends on which isotope is located in the lithosphere layer. Uranium ore is mined in three ways.

There are mine, quarry and leaching methods of extraction. The use of each of them depends on the composition of the isotopes and the depth of the rock. Quarry mining of uranium ore is possible in shallow deposits. The risk of radiation exposure is minimal. There are no problems with equipment - bulldozers, loaders, and dump trucks are widely used.

Mine mining is more complex. This method is used when the element occurs at a depth of up to 2 kilometers and is economically profitable. The breed must contain high concentration uranium, in order to mine it was expedient. The adit provides maximum safety, this is due to the way uranium ore is mined underground. Workers are provided with special clothing and work hours are strictly limited. The mines are equipped with elevators and enhanced ventilation.

Leaching - the third method - is the cleanest from an environmental point of view and the safety of mining company employees. A special chemical solution is pumped through a system of drilled wells. It dissolves in the formation and is saturated with uranium compounds. The solution is then pumped out and sent to processing plants. This method is more progressive, it allows you to reduce economic costs, although there is a way to use it whole line restrictions.