| URI operated and Urangesellschaft, a German mining company, financed a pilot ISL operation in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming.
Located approximately 65 miles NE of Casper, this remote site was constructed in the fall of 1981 and operated throughout the winter and spring of 1982
before being placed in restoration. The purpose of the project was two fold. One, to show the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
that an ore body situated in an drinking quality aquifer
could be restored using reverse osmosis technology, and two, to determine the leachability of the ore under typical mining
conditions.
A five-spot pattern was drilled with the associated monitoring wells 800 feet from the recovery plant. At the peak of uranium grade (28% recovery) the project was placed in the restoration phase using reverse osmosis technology. The mine water was restored to levels better than what was present prior to mining using this technology. The project was never developed due to declining market conditions and the limited amount of mineral resources present. |
Click on image to enlarge URI's North Platte Pilot 1982 |