Overview of energy neutral mineral processing. Source: IAEA

Primary ores such as phosphate rock, copper and rare earth elements often contain significant amounts of natural uranium and other valuable materials. Recovery of such unconventional uranium resources as a byproduct during primary processing of these ores, followed by use of the uranium to produce greenhouse gas-free power in nuclear reactors, leads to energy neutral mineral processing.

According to an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) assessment, energy neutrality is attained if the energy produced from extracted uranium is equal to or larger than the energy required for primary ore processing, uranium extraction and fuel production. The pursuit of methods for extracting unconventional ores for fuel production is crucial considering that mineral extraction currently accounts for 8% to 10% of the total global energy consumption.

Researchers evaluated the feasibility of using high-temperature gas cooled reactors (HTGRs) to drive different mineral processing applications. The use of heat and electricity from small, modular HTGRs co-located with mineral processing facilities could support energy neutral operations yielding mineral resources and uranium by-product.

The extraction of uranium during mineral processing offers additional benefits in terms of improved quality of the final product and the reduced environmental footprint of mine tailings.

Scientists from IAEA, UN Nations Economic Commission for Europe, National Atomic Energy Commission (Argentina), Tsinghua University (China), Egyptian Nuclear Materials Authority, BriVa Tech Consulting (Germany), RWTH Aachen University (Germany), Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (India), National Nuclear Energy Agency (Indonesia), Radiation Protection Department (Kuwait), Malaysian Nuclear Agency, Centre National de l’Énergie, des Sciences et des Technique Nucléaires (Morocco), Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, Philippine Nuclear Research Institute, Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology (Poland), Groupe Chimique Tunisien (Tunisia), Tanzania Atomic Energy Commission, and Universidad Simon Bolivar (Venezuela) contributed to this research, which is published in Sustainability.