Grants Precision ISR

Environmentally Responsible Uranium Recovery

At Grants Energy, we're reimagining how uranium is extracted to power the future. Our approach combines In-Situ Recovery ("ISR")—a safe, environmentally friendly method of uranium extraction—with the use of horizontal wells, a technique commonly employed in oil and gas production. By merging these two proven technologies, we can extract uranium more efficiently and with minimal environmental impact.

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The Technology

About In-Situ Recovery

In-Situ Recovery (ISR) is a proven, safe, and eco-friendly method of uranium extraction that returns the groundwater and land back to its original purpose and use once finished. ISR has been safely used around the world for over 50 years with minimal environmental impact.

Today, ISR accounts for about 60% of global uranium production. ISR is highly regulated in the United States by federal and state agencies. Operations are conducted under strict environmental standards. ISR is designed with multiple layers of protection to prevent contamination of groundwater. The groundwater solution used in ISR typically includes a mild bicarbonate (just like the baking soda found in your kitchen cabinet) and oxygen (in the air you breathe).

Utilizing ISR technology, Heathgate Resources, an affiliate of Grants Energy, has safely produced more than 40 million pounds of uranium oxide in South Australia, contributing $7.5 billion to the local economy to-date. Heathgate is a world leader in advanced ISR mining technology, committed to environmentally sustainable uranium exploration and extraction. The Grants Precision ISR project will build upon the expertise, knowledge, and diligence of the South Australian operations.

The Project

Grants Precision ISR

ISR 2.0

The Grants Project combines ISR, a widely used method of uranium extraction, with horizontal wells, a method used in oil and gas production. By successfully combining these two proven technologies, the project will extract uranium ore in a cleaner and more efficient way than ever before. Importantly, unlike oil and gas, fracking is never used in vertical or horizontal ISR wells.

By combining traditional ISR practices with horizontal well technology, we can further reduce ground disturbance and lower carbon emissions compared to current ISR operations. Horizontal ISR can lead to up to 95% fewer wells, minimizing surface disruption, and can cut CO₂ emissions, caused from well construction, by up to 90%.

How It Works

The ISR Process

In-Situ Recovery ("ISR") is a mineral extraction method that simply uses water plus bicarbonate (baking soda) and oxygen to extract ore from the deposit. This method allows us to extract uranium while avoiding conventional mining techniques, destruction and waste and minimizing groundwater use.

Extraction

The water with bicarbonate and oxygen is injected underground into the uranium ore zone through injection wells. The injection introduces the solution to the uranium bearing sandstone where the uranium is oxidized and then pumped to the surface using extraction wells. These extraction and injection wells, in combination, are called wellfields.

Monitoring and Containment

To show that solutions are controlled and contained, monitoring wells are installed surrounding these wellfields.

Processing

Once extracted, the solution flows through a network of buried surface pipes to a processing facility, where the solution moves through columns containing resin until the resin is fully loaded with uranium. The uranium is removed from the resin using a salt solution (this process of ion-exchange and regeneration is similar to a home water-softening system). After that, the uranium is then removed from the salt solution into a solid form, washed, dried and packed into secure drums for shipment. The solution with the uranium removed is then recirculated back into the injection well and the process is repeated.

Reclamation

Groundwater is restored using reverse osmosis, and surface areas are fully reclaimed, resulting in a smaller environmental footprint than conventional mining. Once operations are complete, the land can be returned to its original state and use.

A typical wellfield operates for one to three years which allows reclamation to be performed in parallel with uranium extraction as shown below:

The Facts Behind ISR

Highly regulated and safe.

ISR facilities are one of the most highly regulated and safest industries in the United States.

Leaves the surface intact.

ISR extraction is able to extract the uranium while leaving the surface intact, and when reclamation is completed, it is returned to its original state and use.

Uses less groundwater.

ISR facilities are highly monitored and uses less groundwater than conventional mining.

As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of In-Situ Recovery technology, this innovative method continues to set the standard for minimally intrusive, eco-friendly, and economically competitive mineral extraction. First commercially tested in the U.S. in 1975, ISR has proven to be a highly successful technique for uranium recovery and is now utilized in 60% of uranium projects worldwide, especially with lower-grade deposits that might not warrant conventional open pit or underground mining due to costs.