“Center of Sciences about Earth, Metallurgy and Processing”, Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan Republic:

Z. S. Abisheva, President, e-mail: abisheva_z@mail.ru
A. N. Zagorodnyaya, Chief Researcher

E. G. Bochevskaya, Leading Researcher

“Polymetal” Company, Saint Petersburg, Russia:

V. N. Timofeev, Deputy Head of Department

“National Scientific and Technological Holding “Parasat” JSC, Astana, Republic of Kazakhstan:

L. A. Myltykbaeva, Deputy Chairman of Board

Researches on the recovery of rhenium from underground leaching solutions of (ULS) of uranium-bearing ores were begun developed intensively in recent decades. The concentration of rhenium in ULS is scanty and varies from 0.2 to 0.5 mg/dm³. The quantity of rhenium in UL solutions, entering on the recovery of uranium by sorption technology has commercial value. The main sources of raw materials for recovery of rhenium in the technology of uranium are ULS, uranium sorption filtrates (SF), anionites after desorption, the mother liquors from the precipitation of uranium from the eluates. Because of the minor content of rhenium in solutions of the ULS and SF (the main sources for rhenium recovery) for rhenium concentration as a rule a combination of processes of sorption and solvent extraction or more than one operations of sorption is generally used. The bottleneck in the technology of rhenium, which use the same anionionites and reagents, as in the technology of uranium (highly basic anion exchange resins, acidic nitratecontaining eluents) is the desorption of rhenium. Desorption of rhenium requires a large consumption of eluent (30–40 specific volumes) low average concentration of rhenium in the eluate (8–12 mg/dm³). In view of this the researches were carried out to optimize the process. The effect of temperature (20–60 ^оC), the nature of nitratecontaining reagents (HNO₃, NH₄NO₃, and their mixture) and density (1–4 mol/dm³) have been studied. The influence of these parameters was evaluated using the following criteria: the concentration of rhenium in the eluate, the amount of eluent required for maximum recovery of rhenium from the anionite, the amount of eluate, sent to the solvent extraction and concentration of rhenium in eluate. A positive effect of temperature on the rhenium content in the eluates and on the recovery of rhenium from anionite, which increased about two times, has been established. But to maximize the recovery of rhenium from the anionite it requires a large consumption of eluent used for desorption. Increasing the concentration of the reagents in the eluent, improves performance of desorption. At that desorption of rhenium runs better by acid solutions than solution of ammonium nitrate. And best rhenium desorption is achieved by using the mixture of reagents than the individual solutions of ammonium nitrate during equal content of nitrate ions. The main positive effect is achieved due to the acid concentration.

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