How are clay and other fine particles removed from uranium leach solutions?

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Enrichment of uranium — uranium processing How uranium is enriched to make a nuclear weapon.

To remove clays and other fine ore slimes from uranium leach solutions, the industry employs a clarification process prior to further extraction steps. This separation is achieved by adding effective flocculants to the mixture, which cause the fine particles to aggregate into larger masses that can be more easily separated from the liquid.1

Commonly used flocculants for this purpose include:

Polyacrylamides1
Guar gum1
Animal glue1

Once the solution has been clarified, the uranium can be recovered from the leach liquor using methods such as ion-exchange resins or solvent extraction, depending on the specific chemistry of the leachate.2