Characterisation on a brannerite containing mineral samples

Uranium bearing minerals that contain titanium, such as brannerite, are of particular importance in Australian mines; mines such as the Ranger Uranium Mine in the Northern Territory of Australia and also the Flinders Ranges, South Australia. An aspect of brannerite mineralogy that has not been studied in detail and may have a significant impact on the leaching of brannerite from uranium bearing ores is the type of minerals that occur in close association with brannerite mineral grains. In this study the mineralogy of two mineral samples from different parts of South Australia that contained brannerite was investigated using a range of instruments / techniques including a General Area Detector Diffraction System (GADDS) (X-Ray Diffraction analysis of whole rock samples), powder X-Ray diffraction (XRD), Environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) and Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Various thermal treatments were also used to study the mineralogy of the brannerite containing samples. The results obtained showed that the types of minerals closely associated with brannerite can vary significantly even for samples that are from a similar region.