Press center menu
04 April 2022
New Development of VNIPIpromtechnologii to Increase Uranium Mining
VNIPIpromtechnologii, JSC (Engineering Center of ARMZ Uranium Holding Co./Rosatom Mining Division) has obtained a patent for the invention «Method for Managing Groundwater Resources during Uranium Mining by In-Situ Leaching in Slightly Water-Flooded Ore Deposits.» The patent for the invention No. 2765417 has been granted by the Federal Service for Intellectual Property. The new method for groundwater management has been developed as part of developing uranium deposits of the Khiagda ore field. The customer was Khiagda, JSC, another company managed by ARMZ Uranium Holding Co.
Andrey Kasatkin, Head of the Department for Scientific and Innovation Activities of VNIPIpromtechnologii, JSC, explained that «This method for managing groundwater resources allows to solve one of the key problems that our Company faces at the deposits of the Khiagda ore field. Some of the deposits are slightly water-flooded, and in such difficult hydrogeological conditions, uranium mining was previously impossible. We have developed a method for redistributing water volumes from already mined highly watered areas of ore deposits to slightly watered ones. The method allows for achieving the design productivity, recycling the solutions, and reclaiming waste areas while significantly reducing the environmental impact».
Under the terms of the contract, the Engineering Center transferred the rights to use the new method to Khiagda, JSC. Implementing the researcher’s development will allow Rosatom Mining Division to increase the volume of recoverable reserves from the Khiagda ore field deposits.
In total, the Khiagda ore field includes eight deposits: Khiagda, Istochnoye, Vershinnoye, Tetrakh, Dybryn, Namaru, Koretkonda, and Kolichkan. Today, work is at various stages at the Khiagda, Istochnoye, Vershinnoye, and Kolichkan deposits. Preparations are underway for the development of the Dybryn deposit.
See also
