Naturally - uranium and its decay products, radium and radon, cause groundwater to become radioactive and to exceed federal and state drinking water limits - making the natural groundwater present with uranium ore suitable only for industrial purposes.

What is In-situ Recovery?

• In-situ recovery (“ISR”) is an noninvasive mining process where uranium is extracted from sandstone aquifers by reversing the natural process which deposited the uranium.
• Oxygen is added to the existing groundwater and this is used to leach the uranium from sands.
• Uranium is removed from the water by passing the water over ion exchange resin, much like in a domestic water softener.
• The loaded resin is then processed.
• Finally, the groundwater is restored consistent with its previous quality and use.