Nitric acid treatment of leached zone material

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR RECOVERING THE MINERAL VALUES OF LEACHED ZONE MATERIAL FROM THE FLORIDA PEBBLE PHOSPHATE OVERBURDEN WHICH COMPRISES REACTING LEACHED ZONE MATERIAL WITH NITRIC ACID OF A CONCENTRATION BETWEEN ABOUT 20% AND ABOUT 70% IN AN AMOUNT BETWEEN ABOUT 30% AND ABOUT 120% OF THE AMOUNT REQUIRED TO REACT WITH ALL OF THE CONSTITUENTS CAPABLE OF REACTING WITH NITRIC ACID, SEPARATING INSOLUBLE MATERIAL FROM THE AQUEOUS SOLUTION CONSISTING PREDOMINANTLY OF ALUMINUM, PHOSPHATE, AND NITRATE COMPONENTS, SOLVENT EXTRACTING THE AQUEOUS SOLUTION WITH A TRIALKYLPHOSPHORIC ACID ESTER, SEPARATING THE URANIUM RICH SOLVENT PHASE FROM THE AQUEOUS RAFFINATE PHASE, AND INTRODUCING AMMONIUM IONS INTO THE URANIUM RICH SOLVENT PHASE TO PRECIPITATE URANIUM AS THE U3O8 OXIDE, INTRODUCING AMMONIUM IONS INTO THE AQUEOUS RAFFINATE TO PRECIPITATE ALUMINUM AND IRON COMPOUNDS, AND RECOVERING THE PRECIPITATED MATERIALS.