Exploration and application of “digital well construction” in in-situ leaching of sandstone uranium deposit

With the progress of in-situ leaching uranium mining technology in China, the pattern of natural uranium production in China has gradually changed from hard rock in the south to sandstone in the north.At present, for which sandstone uranium deposit with good conditions, the resource recovery rate of in-situ leaching uranium can reach 80%-90%, and their economy is significant.However, for which uranium deposits with complex occurrence conditions, the problems of low leaching rate, long recovery cycle and high cost are still prominent.Driven by the digital era and the new development mode of uranium mining and metallurgy, in order to improve the leaching technology of complex sandstone uranium deposits, the technical concept of “digital well construction” is put forward.This paper introduces the connotation, main methods and implementation process of “digital well construction” technology for in-situ leaching uranium, and introduces the initial exploration and application results in a uranium mine in Inner Mongolia.At the same time, it also introduces the technical difficulties in the application process.Finally, it analyses and prospects the future development trend of “digital well construction” technology.The initial research shows that “digital well construction” technology which based on a large amount of geological information and three-dimensional fine simulation can achieve multi-well planning and filter construction optimization.Compared with the traditional “real-time” well completion and single well filter construction mode, the “digital well construction” technology helps to improve resource utilization in in-situ leaching of sandstone uranium deposits.