An Innovative Method for Complex Processing of Black Shale Ores to Produce Uranium, Vanadium, Molybdenum, and Rare Earth Concentrates
نویسندگان
1 Department of Metallurgy and Mineral Processing, Satbayev University, Almaty 050013, Kazakhstan
2 Department of Metallurgy and Mineral Processing, Satbayev University, Almaty 050013, Kazakhstan
3 Department of Metallurgy and Mineral Processing, Satbayev University, Almaty 050013, Kazakhstan
4 School of Physics, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 USM, Penang, Malaysia
5 Department of Metallurgy and Mineral Processing, Satbayev University, Almaty 050013, Kazakhstan
6 Faculty of Chemistry, Semnan University, Semnan, Iran
7 Department of Metallurgy and Mineral Processing, Satbayev University, Almaty 050013, Kazakhstan
8 Department of Metallurgy and Mineral Processing, Satbayev University, Almaty 050013, Kazakhstan
9 Department of Metallurgy and Mineral Processing, Satbayev University, Almaty 050013, Kazakhstan
10 Mechanical Engineering Department, Universiti Teknologi Petronas, Seri Iskandar, Perak, 32610, Malaysia
doi
10.48309/chemm.2026.535012.1988چکیده
The current study provides a new leaching method for extracting valuable metals, such as uranium, vanadium, molybdenum, and rare earth metals (REMs), from black shale ores. Initial characterization indicated that these metals are encapsulated in hard “carbon-silica shells,” presenting severe extraction challenges. A novel low-temperature sintering process is considered in this work with ammonium hydrosulfate at 350 °C for 60 minutes, much lower than the conventional process of over 800 °C. The devised treatment effectively ruptures the protective shell, converting metal constituents into soluble forms. Subsequent leaching yielded good recovery rates: uranium (93.3%), vanadium (81.7%), molybdenum (82.2%), and REMs (78.3%). Thermogravimetric analysis revealed the stepwise decomposition mechanism and emission profiles upon sintering. The leaching parameters (solid-liquid ratio, temperature, time, and solution concentration) were optimized for maximum metal recovery, along with selective sorption conditions (pH, redox potential, and duration) and desorption variables. Additionally, the cost-effective production routes for vanadium concentrate were specified as ammonium metavanadate, molybdenum concentrate as calcium molybdate and REM concentrate as carbonates, instead of depending on high-pressure or high-temperature processes. Solid residue carbon flotation enrichment was accompanied by a recovery yield of 89.0% by weight of carbon, enabling enhanced utilization of the entire resource. Altogether, the adopted approaches offer a closed-loop, energy-saving pathway to the efficient recovery of the rare and essential metals from the black shale ore.
