Precision ISR

Grants Precision ISR

Environmentally Responsible Uranium Recovery

About ISR

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 (like 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.

Local Benefits

Cibola and McKinley Counties, New Mexico

Local Jobs

Creating over 200 skilled, local jobs

Clean Energy

Enabling 3,000 terawatt hours of clean, carbon-free energy, enough to power every home in New Mexico for 275 years

$400M in Revenue

Generating over $400M in state and local tax revenue

Avoids Hazards

Avoids environmental hazards associated with conventional mining

How It Works

The ISR Process

ISR wellfields simply use water plus bicarbonate (baking soda) and oxygen to extract ore from the deposit. The water with bicarbonate and oxygen is injected underground into the uranium ore zone through injection wells. The uranium is oxidized and then pumped to the surface using extraction wells. These extraction and injection wells, in combination, are called wellfields. To show that solutions are controlled and contained, monitoring wells are installed surrounding these wellfields and, additionally, in aquifers above and below.

Once extracted, the solution flows through a network of burried 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). 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.

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

During reclamation, the groundwater is restored via reverse osmosis. The surface disturbance from ISR wellfields and surface-processing facilities is also completely reclaimed, and results in a smaller environmental footprint in comparison to conventional mining.

Precision ISR

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 (ISR and horizontal wells), 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.

ISR is far more environmentally friendly than conventional mining, generating less surface disturbance, consuming far less water, and has no waste tailings. Like oil and gas, ISR uses wellfields to extract uranium from underground ore deposits without the need for open pits or underground mines which generate undesirable tailings and exposure to workers. Combining traditional ISR practices with horizontal well technology will further reduce ground disturbance and carbon emissions from the equipment used to construct the wellfields.