The extraction and recovery of radium from low grade American pitchblende ores

Abstract

The pitchblende deposits of the United States are widely distributed, altho the most extensive deopsits are found in Colorado. In the past many of them yielded ore carrying high percentages of uranium oxie (U[subscript 3]O[subscript 8]), sometimes as high as 80 percent U[subscript 3]O[subscript 8]. Consequently only these were utilized and the low grade ores, which contained very high percentages of iron pyrites with correspondingly low percentages of U[subscript 3]O[subscript 8], were thrown on the dump. Since this rejected ore is much larger in amount than the rick ore, a method of recovering the wasted readium an duranium is desirable.