Uranium Natural Attenuation Downgradient of an in Situ Recovery Mine Inferred from a Cross-Hole Field Test

A field test was conducted at a uranium in situ recovery (solution mining) site to evaluate postmining uranium natural attenuation downgradient of an ore zone. Approximately 1 million liters of water from a previously mined ore zone was injected into an unmined ore zone that served as a proxy for a downgradient aquifer, while a well located approximately 23 m away was pumped. After 1 year of pumping, only about 39% of the injected U­(VI) was recovered, whereas essentially 100% of coinjected chloride was recovered. A geochemical/transport model was used to simultaneously match the chloride and uranium concentrations at the pumping well while also qualitatively matching aqueous 238U/235U ratios, which reflect uranium removal from solution by reduction. It was concluded that ∼50% of the injected U­(VI) was reduced to U­(IV), although the reduction capacity in the flow pathways between the injection and production wells was estimated to be nearly exhausted by the end of the test. Estimating the reduction capacity of the downgradient aquifer can inform restoration strategy and offer a useful metric for regulatory decisions concerning the adequacy of restoration. U­(VI) reduction should be effectively irreversible in these anoxic environments, which differ greatly from shallow oxic environments where U­(IV) is readily reoxidized.