The reducing-complexing treatment for the leaching of radium from uranium mill tailings

The removal of radium from acid-leach uranium mill tailings has been difficult due to its strong retention as mixed sulfates and in adsorbed forms. In this work, the leaching action of a complexing agent (reducing the free radium cation concentration in solution) is combined with that of a reducing agent. Thus high valency metal hydroxides and basic salts (notably Fe3+) which tend to retain radium are converted to the lower valency from which …