Recovery of Uranium from Bra Uranium Deposits by Nitric Acid Leaching

Abstract Today, the rate of energy consumption is increasing tremendously. Uranium, a critical energy metal, plays a vital role in the advancement of the nuclear industry. In this investigation, the extent of uranium ore dissolution was examined under various experimental conditions, including leachant concentration, reaction temperature, and particle size. At optimal conditions (2.5 mol/L HNO 3 , 75 °C, -90 + 75 µm), approximately 92.1% dissolution rate was achieved within 120 min. The activation energy (Ea), estimated to be 19.67 kJ/mol, indicates that the reaction is a diffusion-controlled mechanism and more economical than other studies. However, the thermodynamic parameters, including ΔH, ΔG, and ΔS, respectively, were estimated. The positive value of ΔH affirms that the uranium dissolution by nitric acid solution is an endothermic process. Hence, this investigation provides a valuable reference for future studies on Bra uranium deposits (Nigeria) cum other uranium mines with similar mineralogical indices. Graphical Abstract