The flow sheet is a part of the preliminary economic assessment (PEA). The PEA, being undertaken by Bateman Engineering, is expected to be completed by December 2012.
The extraction incorporates several aspects including reagent consumption, compatibility with standard recovery methods and creation of an environmentally benign tailing.
The three stages in the flow sheet include beneficiation of the crushed ore using acetic acid (vinegar) to remove calcite; extraction of the commodities into a pregnant solution by an acidic ferric iron leach method; and recovery of the individual elements from the pregnant solution by conventional techniques.
U3O8 Corp president and CEO Dr Richard Spencer said that the flow sheet marks another key achievement by demonstrating how the company plans to extract the various commodities from the Berlin ore into saleable products.
"U3O8 Corp. has made huge strides in advancing the Berlin Project from exploration renching and resource estimation to development of the entire flow sheet and finalizing the upcoming PEA in just two and a half years.
"Berlin is fast becoming a company maker that we are showing could be a large deposit and low-cost uranium producer thanks to the value of a suite of recoverable by-products," Dr Spencer added.
