Orano Mining

ORANO mining, France (www.orano.group), core partner, will adapt its hydrometallurgical process to remove/recover uranium from MYTILINEOS IX circuit. MEAB, Germany, associate partner (meab.mx.com) will optimize the SCAVANGER solvent extraction (S-X) process from for refining the Sc concentrate. MEAB also designs the upscaling plant for MYTILINEOS.

ORANO Mining is an industrial group which processes radio-active materials from ores to spent fuel so that they can be used to support the development of society, first and foremost in the field of energy. Its branch, ORANO Mining, is active in responsible exploration, production and processing of U ores in Asia, North America and Africa. It has a central R&D Centre (CIME stands for Centre d’Innovation en Metallurgie Extractive) located in the middle of France which is strongly focused on natural U hydrometallurgy (SX, IX) at lab and pilot scales but deals also with associated metals like Th, Ra, Mo, V, Se, As, REO. It has also a very comprehensive and up-to-date analytical laboratory to support its activities in the mining sector but also for other industries often producing NORM materials and for environmental control during mine sites restoration. CIME, regulatory compliant, holds as well one unique licence to store and process large quantities of U and Th in its facilities and to eliminate safely generated waste materials according to national and international standards.

Website: www.orano.group

WHAT IS SCANDIUM?

Scandium is a chemical element with symbol Sc and atomic number 21. A silvery-white metallic d-block element, it was discovered in 1879 by spectral analysis of the minerals euxenite and gadolinite from Scandinavia.

Scandium is a rare-earth metal, used in small amounts but with drastic effects on properties of matter. It is a key component in producing high strength Aluminium alloys used in aerospace and 3D printing as well as in Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) applications.

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SCANDIUM SUPPLY

Scandium is present in most of the deposits of rare-earth and uranium compounds, but it is extracted from these ores in only a few mines worldwide. Scandium supply is limited due its scarcity and the high cost of its production, which currently takes place in Asia and Russia. Europe has no production of Scandium, but is home to many Scandium end-users and to industries having Scandium in their industrial residues. By converting waste into resources and thus developing a stable and secure EU scandium supply chain to serve the needs of EU aerospace and high tech industry, SCALE project will contribute to reduce dependency on imports of raw materials.

SCALE PROJECT

SCALE-Up demonstrates a commercialization-ready flowsheet for producing Sc-products from Bauxite Residue. Leaching and separation takes place as integrated process within the MYTILINEOS’s alumina plant, extracting from 850,000t/a of Bauxite Residue, 67t/y of crude Sc concentrate. The concetrate is refined at SCAVANGER into 22t/y of pure Sc2O3, which is then returned to MYTILINEOS’ Al smelter for production of 733t/y of Al-Sc2% master alloy.