Metal value recovery from phosphate rock

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR THE RECOVERY OF URANIUM VALUES FROM FLORIDA PHOSPHATE ROCK WHICH COMPRISES ACIDULATING SAID ROCK IN COMMINUTED CONDITION SUCH THAT AT LEAST 50% PASSES A 200 MESH SCREEN WITH AQUEOUS SULFURIC ACID OF BETWEEN ABOUT 60 AND ABOUT 70% STRENGT, SAID ACIDULATED ROCK MIXTURE CONTAINING AT LEAST ONE ADDED REAGENT CAPABLE OF ACTING AS AN OXIDIZING AGENT FOR CONVERSION OF TETRAVALENT URANIUM TO HEXAVALENT URANIUM UNDER THE PREVAILING REACTION CONDITIONS, SAID SULFURIC ACID BEING USED TO THE EXTENT OF BETWEEN ABOUT 101 AND ABOUT 120% ACIDULATION OF THE CONSTITUENTS OF THE ROCK CAPABLE OF REACTING WITH THE SULFURIC ACID AND TO FORM MONOCALCIUM PHOSPHATE, AGITATING THE MIXTURE DURING THE ACIDULATION, AGING THE REACTED MIXTURE FOR BETWEEN ABOUT 14 AND ABOUT 30 DAYS, ADMIXING A LIQUID SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF WATER AND AN UNSATURATED AQUEOUS MONOCALCIUM PHOSPHATE SOLUTION WITH THE AGED ACIDIFIED PHOSPHATIC MATERIAL, SLURRYING THE SAME, SEPARATING UNDISSOLVED SOLIDS FROM THE PHOSPHATIC LIQUID, CONTACTING THE PHOSPHATIC LIQUID WITH A BASIC ANION EXCHANGE RESIN, OPERATING ON THE CHLORIDE CYCLE, TO SORB THE URANIUM VALUES, ELUTING THE LOADED RESIN WITH DILUTE AQUEOUS HYDROCHLORIC ACID AND RECOVERING THE URANIUM VALUES FROM THE ELUATE.