Aluminum salt assisted leaching of radioactive uranium and thorium in tantalum slag

During the tantalum ore smelting process, radioactive substances such as uranium and thorium accumulate in the slag, posing significant environmental risks if not properly treated. The traditional acid leaching method remains suboptimal for extracting these elements from tantalum slag. To address this limitation, this study employed aluminum salt as leaching aid, effectively enhancing uranium and thorium extraction efficiency. This approach offers a novel methodology for recovering uranium and thorium from refractory slag generated after tantalum ore smelting.