[ RadSafe ] Metric Tonne

Tue Jul 8 13:31:58 CDT 2008

Thank you for the good explanation.

Spencer M. Fisher
Generals - Authorization Training Instructor
Nuclear Theory
1480 Bayly St.
Pickering, Ont
L1W 3T8
905-837-4274
Fax: 905-837-4270
Cell Phone: 416-508-7216 

-----Original Message-----
From: Dan W McCarn [mailto:hotgreenchile at gmail.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, July 08, 2008 11:44 AM
To: radsafe at radlab.nl
Cc: FISHER Spencer -NUCLEAR
Subject: RE: [ RadSafe ] Metric Tonne

Hi Spencer:

Yellowcake, the mine concentrate, is always represented as the weight equivalent either as pounds U3O8 or as metric Tonnes metal U.  This standardized the amount of uranium in the material, regardless of chemical form.

Yellowcake may come in several chemical forms, but is frequently converted into one of two commercial weights for sale: either as pounds U3O8 equivalent (even though it may not be an oxide) or as Kg or Tonnes U metal equivalent. This standardizes the actual amount of uranium that the customer is buying. Yellowcake is commonly produced as:

Ammonium Diuranate (ADU) - (NH4)2U2O7

Not U3O8.

This product, covered under ANSI standards, is shipped to the conversion plant to produce UO3 and eventually UF6.

So, if the yellowcake has a reported equivalent assay as Tonnes metal U, the equivalent, represented as pounds U3O8 is as follows:

Factor for U in U3O8 is 0.848

Factor for Tonnes to pounds is 2205

Factor for Tonnes U to pounds U3O8 is 2205/0.848 = 2600

My assumption about the Iraqi yellowcake is that since the weight was reported as Tonnes, the "weight equivalent" was probably expressed as metal U (usually the case for international trades).  So I multiplied the 550 Tonnes by 2600 to express the "weight equivalent" as pounds U3O8.  If the yellowcake was simply the weight of the material, and that was 550 Tonnes, then it would still have to be corrected for the equivalent U3O8 (or metal
U) in the product to understand the actual U (or U3O8) equivalent content of the material.

Dan ii

Dan W. McCarn, Geologist; 3118 Pebble Lake Drive; Sugar Land, TX 77479; USA 
Home: +1-281-903-7667; Austria-cell:  +43-676-725-6622
HotGreenChile at gmail.com   mccarn at unileoben.ac.at   UConcentrate at gmail.com

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl [mailto:radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl] On Behalf Of FISHER Spencer -NUCLEAR
Sent: Tuesday, July 08, 2008 6:34 AM
To: radsafe at radlab.nl
Subject: [ RadSafe ] Metric Tonne

If a Metric Tonne is 1000 Kg = 2205 lb. then 550 metric tonne = 1,212,750 lb.  So I do not understand the calculation below.

"an W. McCarn, Geologist; 3118 Pebble Lake Drive; Sugar Land, TX 77479; USA 
HotGreenChile at gmail.com   mccarn at unileoben.ac.at
UConcentrate at gmail.com

By my calculation, the 550 metric tonnes U amounts to 1,430,000 lbs U3O8 having a commercial value of $107,250,000 at $75 / lb U3O8.  As memory serves, I think that most of this material came from byproduct phosphoric acid production from the marine phosphorites in Iraq similar to those in Israel and Syria. "

Dan ii

Spencer M. Fisher
Generals - Authorization Training Instructor
Nuclear Theory
1480 Bayly St.
Pickering, Ont
L1W 3T8
905-837-4274
Fax: 905-837-4270
Cell Phone: 416-508-7216 

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