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61-521: The Honeymoon Mine was Australia's second operating in-situ recovery uranium mine, beginning production in 2011. It is located in South Australia and is 80 kilometres (50 mi) northwest of Broken Hill, New South Wales . Honeymoon is a sandstone-hosted paleochannel deposit. Operations at Honeymoon were suspended in November 2013, following difficulties in reaching production targets, high costs and

122-626: A Bresle test . Salinization (increasing salinity, aka freshwater salinization syndrome ) and subsequent increased metal leaching is an ongoing problem throughout North America and European fresh waterways. In highway de-icing, salt has been associated with corrosion of bridge decks, motor vehicles, reinforcement bar and wire, and unprotected steel structures used in road construction. Surface runoff , vehicle spraying, and windblown salt also affect soil, roadside vegetation, and local surface water and groundwater supplies. Although evidence of environmental loading of salt has been found during peak usage,

183-432: A face-centered cubic (fcc) lattice with a two-atom basis or as two interpenetrating face centered cubic lattices. The first atom is located at each lattice point, and the second atom is located halfway between lattice points along the fcc unit cell edge. Solid sodium chloride has a melting point of 801 °C and liquid sodium chloride boils at 1465 °C. Atomic-resolution real-time video imaging allows visualization of

244-449: A criterion but is based on the properties of the uranium deposit. In-situ leaching techniques are systematically categorized based on the primary components of the leaching solution, encompassing acid leaching, alkaline leaching, neutral leaching and bioleaching. Acid leaching is applicable to low-carbonate uranium deposits, with U(VI) dissolving in acid solution while U(IV) dissolving in acid solution with oxidizing agent; Alkaline leaching

305-454: A falling uranium price. The project was placed in care and maintenance, then sold by Uranium One (a 100% subsidiary of Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation ) to Boss Resources and Wattle Mining (as of March 2018 a subsidiary of Boss) in September 2015 for a sum of A$ 9 million. Boss Resources anticipates resuming production at the mine in 2019. The Honeymoon deposit was discovered in 1972 by

366-532: A joint venture (Minad-Teton-CEC JV) between Mines Administration (a subsidiary of CSR Limited ), Carpentaria Exploration (subsidiary of Mount Isa Mines ) and Teton Exploration Drilling Co (subsidiary of United Nuclear Corporation). In 1981, Minad submitted a Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to the South Australian and Commonwealth governments, and in 1982 established a $ 3.5 million demonstration 110 t/yr in-situ leach facility. The pilot plant comprised

427-632: A major source of food spoilage. Even though more effective desiccants are available, few are safe for humans to ingest. Many microorganisms cannot live in a salty environment: water is drawn out of their cells by osmosis . For this reason salt is used to preserve some foods, such as bacon, fish, or cabbage. In many dairy industries, salt is added to cheese as a color-, fermentation-, and texture-control agent. The dairy subsector includes companies that manufacture creamery butter, condensed and evaporated milk, frozen desserts, ice cream, natural and processed cheese, and specialty dairy products. In canning, salt

488-510: A pilot leach wellfield of three 5-spot leach patterns, a liquid disposal well, monitor wells, and a processing plant designed to treat pregnant leach solution at a rate of 25 liters per second. Before the pilot wellfield and the demonstration plant were commissioned, there was a change of government in both jurisdictions, approval to mine was deferred, and the project was placed in care and maintenance in June 1983. Between 15 March 1999 and 9 August 2000,

549-461: A preservative, salt inhibits the growth of bacteria. Salt acts as a binder in sausages to form a binding gel made up of meat, fat, and moisture. Salt also acts as a flavor enhancer and as a tenderizer . It is used as a cheap and safe desiccant because of its hygroscopic properties, making salting an effective method of food preservation historically; the salt draws water out of bacteria through osmotic pressure , keeping it from reproducing,

610-454: A problem in any coating application, because trapped salts cause great problems in adhesion. Naval authorities and ship builders monitor the salt concentrations on surfaces during construction. Maximal salt concentrations on surfaces are dependent on the authority and application. The IMO regulation is mostly used and sets salt levels to a maximum of 50 mg/m soluble salts measured as sodium chloride. These measurements are done by means of

671-581: A second series of leach trials was conducted. In May 2000, another EIS was produced by Southern Cross Resources (the Australian subsidiary of SXR Uranium One Inc). A mining licence was issued in 2001 and miscellaneous purposes licences were issued in 2002 and 2008. Construction of the Honeymoon mine commenced in late 2009 and was completed in 2011. Production from 2011 to 2013 was 312 tonnes of uranium. In November 2013 Uranium One announced "continuing difficulties in

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732-421: Is deicing of roadways in sub-freezing weather. In addition to the many familiar domestic uses of salt, more dominant applications of the approximately 250 million tonnes per year production (2008 data) include chemicals and de-icing. Salt is used, directly or indirectly, in the production of many chemicals, which consume most of the world's production. It is the starting point for the chloralkali process ,

793-399: Is added to animal hides to inhibit microbial activity on the underside of the hides and to attract moisture back into the hides. In rubber manufacture, salt is used to make buna , neoprene , and white rubber types. Salt brine and sulfuric acid are used to coagulate an emulsified latex made from chlorinated butadiene . Salt also is added to secure the soil and to provide firmness to

854-467: Is added to food, either by the food producer or by the consumer, as a flavor enhancer, preservative, binder, fermentation -control additive, texture-control agent, and color developer. The salt consumption in the food industry is subdivided, in descending order of consumption, into other food processing, meat packers, canning , baking, dairy, and grain mill products. Salt is added to promote color development in bacon, ham and other processed meat products. As

915-477: Is also used a seasoning agent, e.g. in potato chips, pretzels , and cat and dog food. Sodium chloride is used in veterinary medicine as emesis -causing agent. It is given as warm saturated solution. Emesis can also be caused by pharyngeal placement of small amount of plain salt or salt crystals. For watering plants to use sodium chloride ( NaCl ) as a fertilizer, moderate concentration is used to avoid potential toxicity: 1–3 grams (0.035–0.106 oz) per liter

976-527: Is an ionic compound with the chemical formula NaCl , representing a 1:1 ratio of sodium and chlorine ions. It is transparent or translucent, brittle, hygroscopic , and occurs as the mineral halite . In its edible form, it is commonly used as a condiment and food preservative . Large quantities of sodium chloride are used in many industrial processes, and it is a major source of sodium and chlorine compounds used as feedstocks for further chemical syntheses . Another major application of sodium chloride

1037-590: Is considering the need to update the environmental protection standards for uranium mining because current regulations, promulgated in response to the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978, do not address the relatively recent process of in-situ leaching (ISL) of uranium from underground ore bodies. In a February, 2012 letter the EPA states, "Because the ISL process affects groundwater quality,

1098-416: Is effective for high-carbonate uranium deposits but unsuitable for high-pyrite deposits, with U(VI) dissolving in alkaline solution while U(IV) dissolving in alkaline solution with oxidizing agent; Neutral leaching, including CO2-O2 leaching and weak acid leaching, is widely applicable; and Bioleaching is also widely applicable, especially ideal for pyrite-rich uranium deposits. ISL of uranium ores started in

1159-482: Is found in the Earth's crust as the mineral halite (rock salt), and a tiny amount exists as suspended sea salt particles in the atmosphere. These particles are the dominant cloud condensation nuclei far out at sea, which allow the formation of clouds in otherwise non-polluted air . Salt is currently mass-produced by evaporation of seawater or brine from brine wells and salt lakes . Mining of rock salt

1220-578: Is generally safe and effective for most plants. Sodium chloride is used together with water as one of the primary solutions for intravenous therapy . Nasal spray often contains a saline solution. Sodium chloride is also available as an oral tablet, and is taken to treat low sodium levels. Sodium chloride is the principal extinguishing agent in dry-powder fire extinguishers that are used on combustible metal fires, for metals such as magnesium, zirconium, titanium, and lithium (Class D extinguishers). The salt forms an oxygen-excluding crust that smothers

1281-987: Is near 108.7 °C (227.7 °F). The pH of a sodium chloride solution remains ≈7 due to the extremely weak basicity of the Cl ion, which is the conjugate base of the strong acid HCl. In other words, NaCl has no effect on system pH in diluted solutions where the effects of ionic strength and activity coefficients are negligible. Common salt has a 1:1 molar ratio of sodium and chlorine. In 2013, compounds of sodium and chloride of different stoichiometries have been discovered; five new compounds were predicted (e.g., Na 3 Cl, Na 2 Cl, Na 3 Cl 2 , NaCl 3 , and NaCl 7 ). The existence of some of them has been experimentally confirmed at high pressures and other conditions: cubic and orthorhombic NaCl 3 , two-dimensional metallic tetragonal Na 3 Cl and exotic hexagonal NaCl. This indicates that compounds violating chemical intuition are possible, in simple systems under non-ambient conditions. Salt

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1342-442: Is potable water or stock water (usually less than 500 ppm total dissolved solids), and while not all chemical characteristics can be returned to those pre-mining, the water must be usable for the same purposes as before. Often it needs to be treated by reverse osmosis, giving rise to a problem in disposing of the concentrated brine stream from this. The usual radiation safeguards are applied at an ISL Uranium mining operation, despite

1403-586: Is primarily added as a flavor enhancer and preservative . It also is used as a carrier for other ingredients, dehydrating agent, enzyme inhibitor and tenderizer. In baking, salt is added to control the rate of fermentation in bread dough. It also is used to strengthen the gluten (the elastic protein-water complex in certain doughs) and as a flavor enhancer, such as a topping on baked goods. The food-processing category also contains grain mill products. These products consist of milling flour and rice and manufacturing cereal breakfast food and blended or prepared flour. Salt

1464-505: Is sped up by the bacteria Thiobacillus ferrooxidans , which feeds on sulfide compounds. Copper ISL is often done by stope leaching , in which broken low-grade ore is leached in a current or former conventional underground mine. The leaching may take place in backfilled stopes or caved areas. In 1994, stope leaching of copper was reported at 16 mines in the US. At the San Manuel Mine in

1525-442: Is then filtered through resin beads. Through an ion exchange process, the resin beads attract uranium from the solution. Uranium loaded resins are then transported to a processing plant, where U 3 O 8 is separated from the resin beads and yellowcake is produced. The resin beads can then be returned to the ion exchange facility where they are reused. At the end of 2008 there were four in-situ leaching uranium mines operating in

1586-455: Is then pumped to the surface and processed. This process allows the extraction of metals and salts from an ore body without the need for conventional mining involving drill-and-blast , open-cut or underground mining . In-situ leach mining involves pumping of a lixiviant into the ore body via a borehole, which circulates through the porous rock dissolving the ore and is extracted via a second borehole . The lixiviant varies according to

1647-569: Is used to flocculate and increase the density of the drilling fluid to overcome high downwell gas pressures. Whenever a drill hits a salt formation, salt is added to the drilling fluid to saturate the solution in order to minimize the dissolution within the salt stratum. Salt is also used to increase the curing of concrete in cemented casings. In textiles and dyeing, salt is used as a brine rinse to separate organic contaminants, to promote "salting out" of dyestuff precipitates, and to blend with concentrated dyes to increase yield in dyebaths and make

1708-475: Is used to produce glass , sodium bicarbonate , and dyes , as well as a myriad of other chemicals. In the Mannheim process , sodium chloride is used for the production of sodium sulfate and hydrochloric acid . Sodium chloride is heavily used, so even relatively minor applications can consume massive quantities. In oil and gas exploration, salt is an important component of drilling fluids in well drilling. It

1769-711: The United States and the Soviet Union in the early 1960s. The first uranium ISL in the US was in the Shirley Basin in the state of Wyoming , which operated from 1961-1970 using sulfuric acid. Since 1970, all commercial-scale ISL mines in the US have used carbonate solutions. ISL mining in Australia uses acid solutions. In-situ recovery involves the extraction of uranium-bearing water (grading as low as 0.05%, or 500 ppm, U 3 O 8 ). The extracted uranium solution

1830-498: The United States , operated by Cameco , Mestena and Uranium Resources, Inc., all using sodium bicarbonate. ISL produces 90% of the uranium mined in the US. In 2010, Uranium Energy Corporation began in-situ leach operations at their Palangana project in Duval County, Texas . In July 2012 Cameco delayed development of their Kintyre project, due to challenging project economics based on $ 45.00 U 3 O 8 . One ISR reclamation project

1891-648: The EPA’s Office of Radiation and Indoor Air requested advice from the Science Advisory Board (SAB) on issues related to design and implementation of groundwater monitoring at ISL mining sites." The SAB makes recommendations concerning monitoring to characterize baseline groundwater quality prior to the start of mining operations, monitoring to detect any leachate excursions during mining, and monitoring to determine when groundwater quality has stabilized after mining operations have been completed. The SAB also reviews

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1952-462: The US state of Arizona , ISL was initially used by collecting the resultant solution underground but in 1995 this was converted to a well-to-well recovery method which was the first large scale implementation of that method. This well-to-well method has been proposed for other copper deposits in Arizona. In-situ leaching has not been used on a commercial scale for gold mining. A three-year pilot program

2013-482: The US state of Colorado to extract nahcolite ( sodium bicarbonate ). In-situ leaching is often used for deposits that are too deep, or beds that are too thin, for conventional Underground Mining . In-situ leach for uranium has expanded rapidly since the 1990s, and is now the predominant method for mining uranium, accounting for 45 percent of the uranium mined worldwide in 2012. Unlike open-pit and underground mining, in-situ leaching does not rely on burial depth as

2074-426: The advantages and disadvantages of alternative statistical techniques to determine whether post-operational groundwater quality has returned to near pre-mining conditions and whether mine operation can be predicted not to adversely impact groundwater quality after site closure acceptance. Sodium chloride Sodium chloride / ˌ s oʊ d i ə m ˈ k l ɔːr aɪ d / , commonly known as edible salt ,

2135-672: The alkaline leaching scheme, since this scheme is the only one used in Western world commercial in-situ operations. Therefore, nearly no experience exists with groundwater restoration after acid in- situ leaching, the scheme that was applied in most instances in Eastern Europe. The only Western in-situ leaching site restored after sulfuric acid leaching so far, is the small pilot scale facility Nine Mile Lake near Casper, Wyoming (USA). The results can therefore not simply be transferred to production scale facilities. The restoration scheme applied included

2196-461: The colors look sharper. One of its main roles is to provide the positive ion charge to promote the absorption of negatively charged ions of dyes. For use in the pulp and paper industry , it is used to manufacture sodium chlorate , which is then reacted with sulfuric acid and a reducing agent such as methanol to manufacture chlorine dioxide , a bleaching chemical that is widely used to bleach wood pulp . In tanning and leather treatment, salt

2257-474: The copper carbonates malachite and azurite , the oxide tenorite , and the silicate chrysocolla . Other copper minerals, such as the oxide cuprite and the sulfide chalcocite may require addition of oxidizing agents such as ferric sulfate and oxygen to the leachate before the minerals are dissolved. The ores with the highest sulfide contents, such as bornite and chalcopyrite will require more oxidants and will dissolve more slowly. Sometimes oxidation

2318-452: The efficiency can have large economic paybacks. Some applications of chlorine include PVC thermoplastics production, disinfectants, and solvents. Sodium hydroxide is extensively used in many different industries enabling production of paper, soap, and aluminium etc. Sodium chloride is used in the Solvay process to produce sodium carbonate and calcium chloride . Sodium carbonate, in turn,

2379-444: The fact that most of the orebody's radioactivity remains well underground and there is hence minimal increase in radon release and no ore dust. Employees are monitored for alpha radiation contamination and personal dosimeters are worn to measure exposure to gamma radiation. Routine monitoring of air, dust and surface contamination are undertaken. The advantages of this technology are: After termination of an in-situ leaching operation,

2440-600: The fire. Since at least medieval times, people have used salt as a cleansing agent rubbed on household surfaces. It is also used in many brands of shampoo , toothpaste, and popularly to de-ice driveways and patches of ice. Sodium chloride crystals have a transmittance of at least 90% (through 1 mm) for infrared light having wavelengths in the range 0.2– 18  μm . They were used in optical components such as windows and lenses, where few non-absorbing alternatives existed in that spectral range. While inexpensive, NaCl crystals are soft and hygroscopic – when exposed to

2501-624: The first two steps mentioned above. It turned out that a water volume of more than 20 times the pore volume of the leaching zone had to be pumped, and still several parameters did not reach background levels. Moreover, the restoration required about the same time as used for the leaching period. In USA, the Pawnee, Lamprecht, and Zamzow ISL Sites in Texas were restored using steps 1 and 2 of the above listed treatment scheme. Relaxed groundwater restoration standards have been granted at these and other sites, since

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2562-447: The formula [Na(H 2 O) 8 ] , with the Na–O distance of 250  pm . The chloride ions are also strongly solvated, each being surrounded by an average of six molecules of water. Solutions of sodium chloride have very different properties from pure water. The eutectic point is −21.12 °C (−6.02 °F) for 23.31% mass fraction of salt, and the boiling point of saturated salt solution

2623-476: The foundation on which highways are built. The salt acts to minimize the effects of shifting caused in the subsurface by changes in humidity and traffic load. Hard water contains calcium and magnesium ions that interfere with action of soap and contribute to the buildup of a scale or film of alkaline mineral deposits in household and industrial equipment and pipes. Commercial and residential water-softening units use ion-exchange resins to remove ions that cause

2684-399: The gritting vehicles despite being stockpiled prior to use. In recent years this additive has also been used in table salt. Other additives had been used in road salt to reduce the total costs. For example, in the US, a byproduct carbohydrate solution from sugar-beet processing was mixed with rock salt and adhered to road surfaces about 40% better than loose rock salt alone. Because it stayed on

2745-429: The hardness. These resins are generated and regenerated using sodium chloride. The second major application of salt is for deicing and anti-icing of roads, both in grit bins and spread by winter service vehicles . In anticipation of snowfall, roads are optimally "anti-iced" with brine (concentrated solution of salt in water), which prevents bonding between the snow-ice and the road surface. This procedure obviates

2806-673: The heavy use of salt after the snowfall. For de-icing, mixtures of brine and salt are used, sometimes with additional agents such as calcium chloride and/or magnesium chloride . The use of salt or brine becomes ineffective below −10 °C (14 °F). Salt for de-icing in the United Kingdom predominantly comes from a single mine in Winsford in Cheshire . Prior to distribution it is mixed with <100 ppm of sodium ferrocyanide as an anticaking agent , which enables rock salt to flow freely out of

2867-419: The industrial process to produce chlorine and sodium hydroxide , according to the chemical equation This electrolysis is conducted in either a mercury cell, a diaphragm cell, or a membrane cell. Each of those uses a different method to separate the chlorine from the sodium hydroxide. Other technologies are under development due to the high energy consumption of the electrolysis, whereby small improvements in

2928-471: The initial stage of crystal nucleation of sodium chloride. The Thermal conductivity of sodium chloride as a function of temperature has a maximum of 2.03 W/(cm K) at 8 K (−265.15 °C; −445.27 °F) and decreases to 0.069 at 314 K (41 °C; 106 °F). It also decreases with doping . From cold (sub-freezing) solutions, salt crystallises with water of hydration as hydrohalite (the dihydrate NaCl·2 H 2 O ). In 2023, it

2989-486: The ore deposit: for salt deposits the leachate can be fresh water into which salts can readily dissolve. For copper, acids are generally needed to enhance solubility of the ore minerals within the solution. For uranium ores, the lixiviant may be acid or sodium bicarbonate . In-situ leach is widely used to extract deposits of water-soluble salts such as potash ( sylvite and carnallite ), rock salt (halite) , sodium chloride , and sodium sulfate . It has been used in

3050-445: The production process and issues in attaining design capacity, combined with high mine operation costs." Honeymoon was shut down pending improved uranium prices and put on care and maintenance. In May 1988, total project ownership was transferred to Carpentaria's parent company, MIM Holdings , and in 1997 sold to Southern Cross Resources. Southern Cross Resources later became Uranium One Australia Pty Ltd. Uranium One Australia Pty Ltd

3111-589: The restoration criteria could not be met. A study published by the U.S. Geological Survey in 2009 found that "To date, no remediation of an ISR operation in the United States has successfully returned the aquifer to baseline conditions." Baseline conditions include commercial quantities of radioactive U 3 O 8 . Efficient in-situ recovery reduces U 3 O 8 values of the aquifer. Speaking at an EPA Region 8 workshop, on September 29, 2010, Ardyth Simmons, PhD, Los Alamos National Laboratory ( Los Alamos, NM ) on

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3172-585: The road longer, the treatment did not have to be repeated several times, saving time and money. In the technical terms of physical chemistry, the minimum freezing point of a water-salt mixture is −21.12 °C (−6.02 °F) for 23.31 wt% of salt. Freezing near this concentration is however so slow that the eutectic point of −22.4 °C (−8.3 °F) can be reached with about 25 wt% of salt. Road salt ends up in fresh-water bodies and could harm aquatic plants and animals by disrupting their osmoregulation ability. The omnipresence of salt in coastal areas poses

3233-510: The spring rains and thaws usually dilute the concentrations of sodium in the area where salt was applied. A 2009 study found that approximately 70% of the road salt being applied in the Minneapolis-St Paul metro area is retained in the local watershed. Some agencies are substituting beer , molasses , and beet juice instead of road salt. Airlines utilize more glycol and sugar rather than salt-based solutions for deicing . Salt

3294-519: The subject "Establishing Baseline and Comparison to Restoration Values at Uranium In-Situ Recovery Sites" stated "These results indicated that it may be unrealistic for ISR operations to restore aquifers to the mean, because in some cases, this means that there would have to be less uranium present than there was pre-mining. Pursuing more conservative concentrations results in a considerable amount of water usage, and many of these aquifers were not suitable for drinking water before mining initiated." The EPA

3355-463: The vertices of a regular octahedron . In the language of close-packing , the larger chloride ions (167 pm in size ) are arranged in a cubic array whereas the smaller sodium ions (116 pm ) fill all the cubic gaps (octahedral voids) between them. This same basic structure is found in many other compounds and is commonly known as the NaCl structure or rock salt crystal structure. It can be represented as

3416-460: The waste slurries produced must be safely disposed, and the aquifer, contaminated from the leaching activities, must be restored. Groundwater restoration is a very tedious process that is not yet fully understood. The best results have been obtained with the following treatment scheme, consisting of a series of different steps: But, even with this treatment scheme, various problems remain unresolved: Most restoration experiments reported refer to

3477-487: The water in ambient air, they gradually cover with "frost". This limits application of NaCl to dry environments, vacuum-sealed areas, or short-term uses such as prototyping. Materials that are mechanically stronger and less sensitive to moisture, such as zinc selenide and chalcogenide glasses , more widely used than NaCl. In solid sodium chloride, each ion is surrounded by six ions of the opposite charge as expected on electrostatic grounds. The surrounding ions are located at

3538-711: Was also in operation as of 2009. Significant ISL mines are operating in Kazakhstan and Australia . Examples of in-situ uranium mines include: There are technologies for the associated extraction of rhenium from productive solutions of underground leaching of uranium ores. In-situ leaching of copper was done by the Chinese by 907 AD, and perhaps as early as 177 BC. Copper is usually leached using acid ( sulfuric acid or hydrochloric acid ), then recovered from solution by solvent extraction electrowinning (SX-EW) or by chemical precipitation. Ores most amenable to leaching include

3599-484: Was discovered that under pressure, sodium chloride can form the hydrates NaCl·8.5H 2 O and NaCl·13H 2 O. The attraction between the Na and Cl ions in the solid is so strong that only highly polar solvents like water dissolve NaCl well. When dissolved in water, the sodium chloride framework disintegrates as the Na and Cl ions become surrounded by polar water molecules. These solutions consist of metal aquo complex with

3660-399: Was purchased by Boss Resources in 2015. In-situ leach The process initially involves the drilling of boreholes into the ore deposit . Explosive or hydraulic fracturing can be used to create open pathways in the deposit for the solution to penetrate. Leaching solution is pumped into the deposit where it comes in contact with the ore. The solution bearing the dissolved ore content

3721-666: Was undertaken in the 1970s to in-situ leach gold ore at the Ajax mine in the Cripple Creek district in the US, using a chloride and iodide solution. After obtaining poor results, perhaps because of the complex telluride ore, the test was halted. According to the World Nuclear Organization: In the USA legislation requires that the water quality in the effected aquifer be restored so as to enable its pre-mining use. Usually this

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