Treatment of phosphate rock to recover phosphorus and uranium values

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR THE RECOVERY OF PHOSPHORUS VALUES FROM PHOSPHATE ROCK WHICH COMPRISES REACTING COMMINUTED PHOSPHATE ROCK WHICH COMPRISES REACTING COMBETWEEN ABOUT 63 AND ABOUT 70% STRENGTH SAID SULFURIC ACID BEING ADED TO THE EXTENT OF BETWEEN ABOUT 101 AND ABOUT 120% ACIDULATION OF THAT REQUIRED TO FORM MONOCALCIUM PHOSPHATE AND TO REACT WITH THE REACTABLE IMPURITIES PRESENT IN THE ROCK WHILE MIXING THE REACTION MIXTURE DURING THE ACID ADDITONM FOR A SUFFICIENT LENGTH OF TIME TO INSURE THOROUGH DISTRIBUTION OF THE ACID THROUGHOUT THE ROCK, THE ACIDULATED ROCK ADMIXTURE CONTAINING A MINOR AMOUNT OF A REAGENT SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF HYPOCHLORITES, CHLORITES, CHLORATES, PERCHLORATES, ALKALI METAL NITRATES, ALKALINE EARTH METAL NITRATES, POTASSIUM PERMANGANATE, MANGANESE DIOXIDE, HYDROGEN PERIOXIDE, AND NITRIC ACID, AGING THE ADMIXTURE FOR AT LEAST ABOUT FOURTEEN DAYS, ADMIXING AND SLURRYING THE AGENT ACIDIFIED PHOSPHATIC MATERIAL WITH A LIQUID SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF WATERAND AN AQUEOUS UNSATURATED MONOCALCIUM PHOSPHATE SOLUTION, SEPARATING UNDISSOLVED SOLIDS FROM THE RESULTANT SLURRY AND RECOVERING URANIUM AND PHOSPHATE VALUES FROM THE SEPARATED PHOSPHATIC LEACH SOLUTION.