Rare earth elements are extensively utilized in defense technology and high-tech industries, leading to a surge in global demand. However, conventional recoverable rare earth resources are limited, necessitating the development and utilization of associated rare earth resources. Taking a sandstone-type uranium deposit in Ili Basin, Xinjiang as the research subject, using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to test the content of rare earth elements and analyze their occurrence states. The differences in rare earth element occurrence under various particle sizes of uranium minerals are systematically investigated. The results show that associated rare earth element content within the Ili Basin's sandstone-type uranium deposit ranged from 85.48×10^-6 to 221.17×10^-6. The overall REE curve using average values derived from Australian Shale demonstrate a right-upper inclination trend, indicating fractionation between heavy and light rare earth elements during uranium mineralization processes. Fine ores with particle sizes <0.425 mm exhibite a higher propensity for REE occurrence. The correlation between rare elements such as Mo and Sc and rare earth elements is significant, and both have similar ore-forming environments. The mass concentration of rare earth elements in the production liquids of in-situ leaching site for uranium range from 23.92 to 26.03 mg/L, which reached the standard of recycling and use. The content of rare earth elements in the production liquid is medium rare earth elements, light rare earth elements and heavy rare earth elements from high to low. It is feasible to recover rare earth elements from sandstone uranium deposits using acid in-situ leaching process.

In-situ leaching of uranium, as a green uranium mining technology, generates massive data in production operation, which are available for the big data analysis and trend prediction to improve the reliability of technicians in making production plans. In the current prediction algorithms, the attention mechanism in the temporal prediction model based on the encoder-decoder structure has the problems of computational complexity and high memory consumption. In this paper, we proposed a depthwise separable convolutional model, in which the semantic damage caused by fixed segmentation was reduced by the dynamic sequence segmentation module, and the depthwise separable convolutional mixer module was used to reduce the model running time and capture local features as well as global features. The results show that the Mean Square Error (MSE) and Mean Absolute Error (MAE) of the depthwise separable convolutional hybrid network model are reduced by 1.04% and 4.13% respectively, compared with Patch Time Series Transformer (PatchTST), and the proposed dynamic sequence segmentation module MSE and MAE are reduced by 7.32% and 5.03% respectively, compared to the original model; in the comparative performance analysis, the training speed of this model is 59.91% faster than the Trend Seasonal Decomposition Linear (Decomposition Linear, DLinear) model. The depthwise separable convolutional model can accurately predict the future trend of sulfuric acid injection volume in the production operation of the mining area, improve the existing prediction model for in-situ leaching data by solving the problem of long running time, large running memory, poor data fitting problems, which provide a theoretical and practical reference for the decision-making of in-situ leaching production.

In order to study the influence of heterogeneous strata on blasting, the stratigraphic factors and coupling methods were analyzed, and the thickness, density and dip angle of the rock strata were numerically studied by different coupling methods. The results show that the increase of the thickness of the middle sandstone and the increase of the density of the upper and lower layers will inhibit the crack propagation, and the inclined sandstone rock layer will produce horizontal and oblique staggered cracks, and the water-coupled charge blasting can protect the blast hole and increase the effective stress of the blast stress wave, and the selection of appropriate uncoupling coefficient can increase the energy transmitted by the blasting stress wave. The blasting force of the cracker is greater, and the addition of a warhead can form an initial crack and guide further crack propagation. Designing a reasonable scheme according to the formation condition can improve the blasting and permeability efficiency.

The design of injection and extraction fluid volume is closely related to both the effective leaching range of the lixiviant and the operational cost of the well field. To facilitate economically efficient decision-making regarding injection and extraction fluid volume in the "horizontal well-vertical well" system within the in-situ leaching uranium mining domain, a simulation-based optimization decision method for the "horizontal well-vertical well" system is proposed, leveraging multi-objective optimization algorithms. The research indicate that, compared to the initial scheme of uniformly distributing injection and extraction fluid volume, the decision scheme R2 achieves an 8.84% increase in the leaching range while reducing operational costs by 51.14%. This method has identified four "key wells" in the LK mining area, emphasizing the importance of closely monitoring the flow rates of such wells during scheme decision-making and adjustments. Based on the Pareto solution set derived from the multi-objective optimization, six combinations of injection and extraction operational schemes with varying effective leaching ranges and cost-weight ratios are selected to guide decision-makers in their scheme selection.

The in-situ leaching of uranium is influenced by deposit conditions, leaching environments, and various other factors, resulting in a low utilization rate for certain resources. To facilitate the rational development of these resources, a device for preparing leaching agents was designed to enhance the leaching process by increasing the concentration of sulfuric acid in areas where the resources is difficult to leach. The results show that the relative deviation in concentration remains below 1.5%, allowing for precise and stable preparation of acid either regionally or at individual boreholes. By using a 15~20 g/L sulfuric acid solution as a leaching agent, the unit uranium leaching rate of the refractory leaching uranium resources can be increased from 24.8% to 53.7%. The amount of sulfuric acid used and the increase in residual acid are only 11.1% of those used for strengthening leaching results in the entire mining area. This device achieves the leaching of the refractory leaching uranium resources with low consumption of sulfuric acid and has little impact on subsequent hydrometallurgical processes.

For a multi-layer sandstone-type uranium ore in an in-situ leaching uranium mine in Inner Mongolia, four experimental methods of layered injection and layered extraction, layered injection and mixed extraction, mixed injection and layered extraction, mixed injection and mixed extraction were designed. The amount of injected liquid, leaching situation, advantages and disadvantages of each schemes were analyzed. The feasibility of single well layered injection was explored, and the key technology of single well layered extraction was solved. The results show that the layered injection and layered extraction method has the fastest increase in uranium concentration of the leachate, the best leaching effect, and lower construction cost, which has good application and promotion prospects.

In order to improve the efficiency of uranium extraction by the moving bed adsorption tower, Fluent and Edem software were used to simulate the process of uranium extraction by the moving bed adsorption tower. By adjusting the inlet flow rate, and observing the movement of resin particles, the distribution state and the settling of saturated resin in the moving bed adsorption tower, the optimal inlet flow rate was analyzed and obtained. The accuracy of the simulation results was verified by building an experimental platform, and the comparative analysis of the experimental data with the numerical simulation results confirmed the consistency of the two conclusions, thus verifying the accuracy and applicability of the model. The results show that the optimal inlet flow rate is 4 m³/h. At this flow rate, the extraction efficiency of uranium ions is maximized, which provides an important design parameter for the future design of moving bed adsorption tower.

Uranium conversion production mainly includes fluorination, hydrofluorination, and electrolytic fluorine production processes. Among which the electrolytic fluorine production process and fluorination process are the main factors affecting production capacity and continuous and stable operation. Based on the analysis of the principle and current situation of electrolytic fluorine production, the influences of hydrogen fluoride feeding, carbon plate operation and maintenance, electrolyte operation parameters, etc. on the operation of electrolytic fluorine production process were studied. The key points of control of a small amount of continuous hydrogen fluoride feeding and carbon plate current stability were analyzed. Measures such as optimization of hydrogen fluoride feeding mode, depolarization treatment process, carbon plate current monitoring, and regular electrolyte replacement were adopted. The operation of electrolytic fluorine production process is more stable and efficient.

This article studies the pretreatment methods of solutions with high iron content, high nitrate content, and low uranium content. The results show that under the pretreatment conditions of using 4% TOPO cyclohexane solution as the extractant, a volume ratio of organic phase to water phase of 1:6, an extraction time of 2 minutes, an extraction temperature of 25℃, and a mixed complexing agent as the counter extractant, the extraction efficiency reached 99.0%, and the counter extraction efficiency was 99.0%. The 5-Br-PADAP colorimetric method can accurately determine the uranium content in the pretreated solution after extraction reverse extraction of high iron, high nitrate, and low uranium content solutions. The relative standard deviation of this method is less than 8.11%, the recovery rate of spiking is 96.0%~99.5%, and the detection limit of this method is 0.013 mg/L.

Traditional natural uranium storage relies on manual forklifts or cranes for unloading and storage, which suffers from drawbacks such as high labor intensity, low efficiency, high radiation exposure for personnel, high risk factors, low warehouse utilization, inefficient inventory management, and unreliable accuracy. Aiming to address these issues, an intelligent vertical storage system is designed to achieve efficient vertical storage, automatic retrieval, real-time querying, and rapid inventory.Compared to the stacker crane + shuttle scheme, the dual extended stacker crane scheme offers superior performance in inventory efficiency, network transmission, equipment reliability, maintenance methods, and shelf structure requirements. Based on this analysis of intelligent natural uranium storage processes and optimized equipment selection, a smart vertical storage solution tailored for natural uranium storage has been researched and designed.

The data related to mine resource reserves is extensive and subject to frequent changes. Traditional resource reserve management system typically handles singular data types, which leads to low operational efficiency among personnel and increases the risk of data loss. In response to national policies advocating for the use of three-dimensional digital methods in resource reserve management, and to address the challenges in controlling resource reserve data caused by weak informatization equipment and infrastructure, the Shitoumei No. 1 open-pit coal mine in the Santanghu mining area of Hami, Xinjiang, has actively promoted intelligent construction. The mine has implemented a three-dimensional dynamic management system for mineral resource reserves, designed using a combination of B/S and C/S architectures. This system is based on digital three-dimensional models that calculate and display dynamic changes in data during production processes in real time. The resource reserve management system operates on a logical architecture of data storage, platform services, and application services, enabling refined management across mining ledgers, data management and reporting, mining rights, exploration activities, and coal quality. Since its deployment, the system has been performing well, reducing the discrepancy rate in coal output design by 16%, achieving a 100% rate of centralized data control, and significantly enhancing the accuracy of resource reserve evaluations. The system has improved the overall efficiency of resource reserve management and advanced the informatization of open-pit coal mine reserve management within the company.

The remediation of groundwater environment in the post-mining area at in-situ leaching uranium mines has aroused widespread public concern. The long-term change of groundwater U concentration in the post-mining area is still unclear. Field investigation and numerical simulation methods were comprehensively used in this study, and a typical post-mining area of a “CO₂+O₂” in-situ leaching uranium mine in northern China was taken as the research object. On the basis of identifying the distribution characteristics of groundwater U in the post-mining area, the natural attenuation trend of U in groundwater at different times was quantitatively predicted, and the long-term change of U concentration was quantified. The results show that the concentration of U in the groundwater in the post-mining area is 0.273~5.24 mg/L, and the sampling points with U concentration lower than 2.5 mg/L accounted for 64%. The simulation results show that in the post-mining stage, the groundwater flow direction tend to the regional groundwater flow direction. When the natural attenuation process of U is not considered, U in groundwater migrate to 167 m downstream after 100 years of final mining, and the predicted migration distance is conservative. When the natural attenuation of U is considered, the migration distance of U is only 42 m after 100 years of final mining. The concentration of U in the groundwater in the mining area is reduced from the initial 2.5 mg/L to below 1.0 mg/L. Natural attenuation can reduce the migration distance and the concentration of groundwater U in the post-mining area, and the monitored natural attenuation (MNA) technology can be used as an alternative scheme for groundwater remediation at in-situ leaching uranium mines in the future.

Due to the influence of special mining technology in open-pit mines, shoveling equipment is prone to safety accidents during operation. Aiming at the problems of large inspection blind area and untimely response in the management of shoveling equipment in open-pit mine enterprises, a high slope and cross operation control scheme of shoveling equipment is proposed based on high precision positioning technology. The high slope operation control scheme combines terrain data, uses positioning technology, through on-site measurement and operation scheduling, real-time monitoring and alarm, on-site processing and record verification, real-time monitoring of the operation height of the shoveling equipment and judging whether it exceeds the safety range. The cross operation control scheme of shoveling equipment monitors the operation spacing in real time through the confirmation of operation spacing before operation, the audit of scheduling plan and the inspection of operation spacing. The proposed control scheme realizes the safe and fine management of the operation spacing and excavation height of the shoveling equipment, effectively reduces the risk of accidents in the process of open-pit mining, and improves the operation efficiency.

To investigate the influence of factors such as slope ratio, rainfall intensity, and protection form on the erosion characteristics of dam slopes, a full-scale artificial rainfall simulation test platform was built to simulate the runoff and sediment production processes on slopes with different slope ratios, rainfall intensities, and protection forms. The differences in runoff and sediment production on slopes under different operating conditions were analyzed. The results show that the starting time of runoff decreases with the increase of slope ratio and rainfall intensity, and is greatly affected by rainfall intensity. The trench drainage protection, due to the formation of slope runoff channels, advances the time of runoff generation. The grass planting and gravel slope protection on the slope reduce the response of the slope to rainfall to varying degrees, resulting in a significant delay in the start time of runoff generation. The rainfall intensity has the most significant impact on the runoff yield. The rainfall intensity increases from light rain to rainstorm, with the runoff yield increasing by 7.6 times, the sediment yield increasing by 18.5 times, and the time for the sediment yield to reach its peak reduced by about 75%. The ditch drainage slope protection forms a runoff channel, resulting in the maximum flow rate on the slope surface. The grass planting slope protection and gravel slope protection can significantly reduce the sediment yield on the slope surface. The grass planting slope protection improves the physical and chemical properties of the soil to a certain extent, increases the porosity of the soil, increases the infiltration rate of the slope surface, makes the runoff process smoother, and has better erosion resistance.

According to the emission of pollutants during the operation of a reduction ilmenite (associated radioactive ore) project, the individual effective doses of different exposure routes on the surrounding public were predicted, and the contribution of different exposure routes were analyzed, to provide a reference for estimating the radiation dose of the project to the public. The results show that the maximum individual effective dose of the public members was 0.09 mSv/a, and the key exposure route was radon inhalation irradiation, which contributed 80.6%.The contribution share of ingestion exposure was 17.8%, the contribution of internal exposure due to radionuclides inhalation was 1.6%. The radiation impact of the project on the surrounding public meets the relevant standard requirements. Compared with radon inhalation exposure, the contribution of ingestion and inhalation exposure is smaller, but it cannot be ignored.

The uranium purification and conversion line will produce sodium diuranate precipitation and impurity residue. In order to recover the metallic uranium and reduce the waste mass, the uranium metal was recovered from these uranium-containing precipitates by nitric acid direct leaching and calcination-nitric acid leaching method. The content of impurity ions in the leaching solution were analyzed, and the main factors affecting the leaching rate of uranium were determined. Under the optimum conditions, the leaching rates of uranium by calcination-nitric acid leaching and direct nitric acid leaching are 98.14% and 96.11% respectively, and the mass of uranium-containing precipitates can be reduced by about 85%~90%.

The in-situ leaching wastewater of uranium mining and metallurgy is characterized by large volume, acidity, and low radioactivity, etc. The evaporation ponds of some uranium mining and metallurgical enterprises cannot meet the demand of expanding production. The advantages and disadvantages of forced evaporation technology such as vacuum evaporation, three-effect evaporation and MVR(Mechanical Vapor Recompression) evaporation were compared and analyzed. It was found that, under long-term use, MVR technology has higher efficiency, lower exhaust emission, and lower energy consumption, making it relatively more suitable for in-situ leaching wastewater. Based on MVR technology, a fully integrated control forced evaporation system was designed and constructed. The heating temperature and material of the equipment were determined according to the waste liquid composition. The on-site device achieved automatic control of temperature, pressure, and liquid level, as well as continuous cyclic evaporation. The actual test shows that the evaporation capacity and efficiency coefficient of the device are positively correlated with the evaporation temperature.

To address the wastewater treatment issue in electrode uranium plating process, an evaporation concentration device suitable for the special requirements of this process has been developed, which can effectively reduce the discharge of radioactive process wastewater. The principle of this device is to vaporize the water in the waste liquid through micro-vacuum distillation, condense it back into liquid water, and then discharge it externally. The remaining concentrated water and solid in the evaporator are treated as radioactive solid waste. Considering the actual application scenarios, leak-proof foundation pits are set up to address equipment failure or emergency shower problems. The device uses neutralizing tanks to handle the acidity and alkalinity of the waste liquid, and is equipped with a detection port to ensure that the waste liquid after condensation meets the emission standards.

A pretreatment process for uranium containing waste liquid was proposed to address the issues of nanofiltration membrane blockage and ion exchange resin poisoning in the treatment of uranium containing waste liquid. On the basis of determining the optimal process parameters for chemical precipitation and organic matter decomposition in the laboratory, engineering design and verification were carried out. The results show that after pretreatment, the turbidity of the waste liquid can be reduced to 16.25 NTU (removal rate of 98.74%), and COD can be reduced to 110.25 mg/L (removal rate of 87.13%). The waste liquid after pretreatment meets the water quality requirements of nanofiltration and ion exchange resin, and the pretreatment process effectively solves the problems in the treatment of uranium containing wastewater during uranium conversion.