Evaluation of the One-Well Uranium Leaching Test: Restoration

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Abstract
A one-well test to evaluate reservoir properties that govern the restorability of a zone in an underground aquifer to be solution mined for uranium has been considered. The test involves injection of a relatively small volume of leach solution and subsequent production of a larger volume of fluid. Two important parameters— cation exchange capacity and an equilibrium constant—are determined by history matching the effluent composition. Two different solution techniques are used. By neglecting dispersion and reservoir heterogeneities, an analytical solution based on the method of coherence provides considerable insight into the pertinent features of the production composition history. To include complexities such as dispersion and layering, a two-dimensional finite difference computer simulation is used. A number of different approaches have been evaluated. The most reliable approach is to use laboratory tests to determine one parameter with core samples and to use production history to determine the other parameter. Measurements of both anion and cation effluent concentrations are required to implement this procedure.

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