Nuclear Fuel Cycle (2)

There are many steps nuclear fuel cycle…There first step is mining.

 

Uranium mining is the process of extraction of uranium ore from the ground. As uranium ore is mostly present at relatively low concentrations, most uranium mining is very volume-intensive, and thus tends to be undertaken as open-pit mining. 

There are 3 types of mining which are:

1.      Open cast mining

2.      Underground mining

3.      In situ leaching.

1.      Open cast mining

It’s means mining at the surface rather than underground. Coal, iron ore, and phosphates are often extracted by opencast mining. The mineral deposit is covered by soil, which must first be stripped off, usually by large machines such as walking draglines and bucket-wheel excavators.

 

2.      

      Underground mining

Underground mining is a technique used to access ores and valuable minerals in the ground by digging into the ground to extract them.

 

3.      

       In Situ Leaching

In situ leaching (ISL), also known as solution mining, or in situ recovery (ISR) in North America, involves leaving the ore where it is in the ground, and recovering the minerals from it by dissolving them and pumping the pregnant solution to the surface where the minerals can be recovered.

 

 From 3 types of mining I prefer underground mining. This is because it have their advantages compared to other type. Advantages of underground mining are:

·         It allows minerals to be extracted from deep underground

·         It doesn't create a mess like open cut or surface mining

·         Does not affect the physical environment as much as surface mining




References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fuel_cycle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_cast_mining
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_mining
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In-situ_leach