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Blossom is what underground uranium miners called the crystals forming on the tunnel walls. Because the ore was in contact with air inside an underground mine, and as ground water moved slowly against the mines walls, a visible crust of uranium crystals would precipitate, or blossom along those walls. Making the uranium soluble doesnt require a lot of oxygen and water because oxidization is a natural process. Adding more oxygen to the groundwater found in, and around, a uranium-mineralized orebody is the principle upon which present-day In Situ Leach (ISL) uranium mining is based.

Eons ago, the uranium was soluble and moved, on or below the surface, with the ground water. In roll front uranium deposits the uranium was transported into the area through the natural groundwater system and precipitated from solution due to some reducing environment, explained Harry Anthony, Chief Operating Officer of Uranium Energy Corp. Often, the reducing agent was something organic, such as coal, deep-seated oil and gas deposits, or hydrogen sulfide gases. In its reduced form, the uranium crystals are insoluble. It will precipitate as a coating on the existing sand grains of the sandstone, added Anthony. As more water containing uranium sweeps through this area, and encounters this reducing environment, more uranium is precipitated until there is a sufficient concentration to make it a commercial deposit.

After the geological team has delineated a companys uranium roll front deposit and determined it is of economic value, the company must turn to its ISL design engineers to complete the mining process. While it takes stellar geologists such as David Miller of Strathmore Minerals, Bill Sheriff of Energy Metals, or William Boberg of UR-Energy to accumulate large, proven uranium-mineralized holdings, as they have done in Wyoming, New Mexico, Texas or elsewhere, each must turn to their engineers to extract the uranium from those sand grains and process them to produce an economic quantity of uranium oxide, or U3O8. The overwhelming majority of ISL facilities, designed in the United States, were engineered by Harry Anthony, Doug Norris and Dennis Stover.

Trained as a mechanical engineer, Harry Anthony has been involved with more than ten ISL uranium operations from Union Carbides Palangana in 1976 to Uranium Resources Bruni, Benavides, North Platte, Kingsville Dome and Rosita ISL projects. Anthonys consulting work has taken him to ISL projects in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and the Czech Republic. Dennis Stover is best remembered for designing Smith Ranch in Wyoming, now owned by Cameco Corp. With a PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan, Dr. Stover helped develop the first commercial alkaline ISL project in south Texas for Atlantic Richfield and helped develop an additional five small ISL operations in south Texas. Also a chemical engineer by training, Doug Norriss paths have crossed with both Stover and Anthony. He helped build the Highland and Smith Ranch ISL operations in Wyoming, and designed Mestenas Alta Mesa ISL operation in south Texas.

HOW DOES ISL MINING REVERSE MOTHER NATURE?

In its natural, reduced environment, uranium exists as a solid in the +4 valence, Anthony explained. In the mining stage, we are reversing Mother Natures process by adding oxygen, oxidizing the uranium from a valence of +4 to a valence of +6. The uranium was oxidized at one time, but then reduced by Mother Nature. By drilling wells into the ore zone, circulating the water and adding oxygen to it, the uranium is made soluble again.

Is it really this simple? Yes and no. Energy Metals Chief Operating Officer Dennis Stover outlined the process, Youre simply adding, into the injection well, gaseous oxygen, just pure oxygen, but youre doing it under the water level in the well. The natural pressure, created by that column of water above the injection point, allows the oxygen to dissolve into the water so that theres no free gas being put into the well.

Stover compared the oxygen dissolved in the liquid to the carbon dioxide dissolved in a bottle of soda. The soda remains clear, dissolved in the liquid, when stationery. But when you shake it up, the gas will break out, added Stover. The pressure thats available that lets you dissolve the oxygen is determined by the amount of naturally occurring water pressure thats on the uranium deposit. Stover explained that if the deposit is 100 feet below the water table, you can dissolve a certain amount of oxygen. If the uranium deposit is 200 feet below the water table, or twice as deep, you can dissolve twice as much oxygen.

Historically, ISL mining evolved from acid leaching to leaching with sodium bicarbonate or sodium carbonate. Most people add only carbon dioxide in dissolved oxygen at this point, Stover explained. Theres a chemical relationship between carbon dioxide gas, bicarbonate, and the carbonate ion. The host rock typically contains calcium carbonate or sodium carbonate minerals. By adding the carbon dioxide, Stover said, It will lower the PH of the solution just slightly. That enhances the solubility of the naturally occurring calcium carbonate. According to Stover and the other experts, the addition of carbon dioxide is an effective replacement for the previously added bicarbonate ion.

The goal is to get the uranium out of the sandstone and soluble. Were accelerating Mother Nature and making the uranium soluble again, said Doug Norris, engineering manager for Uranium Energy. When its soluble, we can just pump it out of the ground. But it is dissolved in the water like salt in sea water. You cant see it, but its there.

MINING THE URANIUM

ISL mining and processing the uranium is a very simple process. Its a water treatment plant with hundreds of water wells. There are two types of wells: injection and production. The water plus reagent (oxygen, carbon dioxide) is injected into the ground via water wells. Outside the United States, where environmental regulations may be less restrictive, an ISLs aquifer may be bombarded with harsh acid leaching. On Harry Anthonys engineering services website, he describes the process he observed in the Czech Republic, Over 4,100,000 tons of H2SO4 (sulfuric acid), 270,000 tons of HNO3 (nitric acid), 100,000 tons of NH3 (ammonia), and 25,000 tons of HF (hydrofloric acid) were consumed by the mine.

It would be nearly impossible to get an ISL project permitted in the United States using these chemicals to leach the uranium. The water quality division, within a states Department of Environmental Quality (DQE), demands restoration to background, which is about where the groundwater was before ISL mining began. The less things you add, the less you have to reclaim at the end of the process, Doug Norris pointed out. The more stuff you add trying to get it out of the ground, the more you have to clean up.

Dennis Stover explained how the fluids presently used came about, Historically, most ISL operations had a great deal of difficulty with plugging or fouling of their injection wells due to the precipitation of excessive amounts of salts. He pointed out that the chemistry miners were using in conventional milling operations didnt work in ISL mining. Because they had very high concentrated salt solutions, they were trying to accelerate everything, Stover told us. When you take those concentrated solutions and put them underground, Mother Nature is not always happy. Other salts that were present in the rock would dissolve, solutions would become supersaturated and they would precipitate out. The wells would plug up.

Norris explained that sometimes you have to add a carbonate source, such as carbon dioxide to stabilize the dissolved uranium as uranyl dicarbonate. Norris said, The uranium is in a solid state in the ore, as Mother Nature left it. We oxidize it and turn it into uranyl dicarbonate. What goes to the processing plant is called lixiviate, the dissolved uranium in its ionic form. According to Anthony, Today, most ISL mining operates at neutral pH, and the uranium is complexed as a dicarbonate.

Water is circulated through the injection wells with the expressed purpose of separating the uranium coating the sandstone. Each time you circulate the water through the orebody, you are capturing some of the uranium. Each pass through is called a pore volume. Its like filling up a bucket of sand with water, explained Anthony. Once you have the bucket full of sand, you can still pour in water. The amount of water you can pour in until you just bring it up to the top of the sand is termed a pore volume. Pore volume is the interspatial volume.

In Anthonys models for operating an economic ISL plant, he calculates 20 pore volumes (PV). Porosity, or the spaces in between the sand particles, where the water can travel (permeability), helps determine how much uranium can be recovered. It takes about 20 PV to 30PV to recover the highest percentage, said David Miller, who was Cogemas chief ISL geologist in the United States, before becoming President of Strathmore Minerals. But, as the price of uranium keeps going higher, it may be economic to recover a higher percentage of the orebody. Maybe 40PV to 50PV will be possible with the direction the prices are moving. Of course, your average processed grade will go down. A few years ago, you would want to shut wells off at 15 parts per million (ppm), but now you might want to run them at 10ppm. At $50/pound uranium, you may be able to run at 7 or 8ppm.

Typically, an ISL operation should recover about 70 percent of the uranium in the ore, under the 20PV to 30PV scenario. However, in the case of the Czech Republics Diamo project, once Europes largest uranium mining operation, only 55 percent was recovered. Clearly, the more uranium recovered with the least number of pore volumes, the lower the operating costs. Trying to recover more uranium is only possible if you have the plant capacity. Because of the rising price of uranium, we would expect more companies to attempt to recover a higher percentage of uranium. Miller warns, however, You will not make your production quota if your plant is sized at a certain gallons per minutes at a certain grade to meet your annual production. If you lower the average grade and fail to increase your flow rate, your annual production will decrease.

COPYRIGHT 2007 by StockInterview, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

James Finch contributes to StockInterview.com and other publications. StockInterviews Investing in the Great Uranium Bull Market has become the most popular book ever published for uranium mining stock investors. Visit http://www.stockinterview.com

Buying baby clothes can be so much fun with loads of choice and so many wonderful and cute outfits. When you are starting out it is so easy to get distracted from what your baby needs and start buying baby clothes just on how they look.

For a newborn the rule is easy, keep your baby clothes simple. Avoid complicated baby clothes with lots of buttons, difficult clasps and little bows. Dont buy newborn babies clothes with looks in mind, keep to comfortable and practical. Look for clothes that have been designed for ease of use, baby clothes with envelope necks that stretch and little stretch suits with easy fastenings up the legs.

With baby clothes think about comfort and warmth. All in one body suits that fasten between your babies legs are brilliant for helping keep your baby warm.

Its natural for you want your baby girl to look pretty in her clothes and buying cute little dresses is an obvious way to go but not what is best for your baby. Dresses just arent a practical item of clothing, they easily ride up your babys body leaving her cold, exposed and uncomfortable and when your baby starts to crawl, a dress will just get in the way. Keep to the rule, buy your baby clothes with comfort and practicality in mind and keep the cute dress for special occasions.

As your baby grows the type of baby clothes you buy will need to change. Body and stretch suits are fine before your baby starts to crawl but from three months you want to start thinking about little colourful romper suits (basically stretchsuits without feet) and dungarees. As your baby grows and embarks on each new stage of their life the type of baby clothes you buy need to change so that your baby is dressed in clothes fit for the job.

When you are buying baby clothes keep weather in mind. When its warm go for cool and comfortable cottons and dont forget a sun hat for when you are out and about. In cooler weather clothes made of natural fabrics will help keep your baby warm.

Your baby wont need proper shoes until his is starting to walk but making sure all-in-one suits, socks and bootees arent constricting your babys toes is very important. Regularly check that your baby always has enough room in his clothes to wriggle his toes.

For more on Baby Clothes and everything baby visit 1st-4-baby.com

When it comes to designer phones, L'Amour beauties will always come in your mind. Yes, nokia has released the ultimate mobile collection in its L'Amour family. Among all the phones in the series, the nokia 7390 is one of the most beautiful phones. The handset exudes luxury with sophistication. Its a clamshell phone and comes in two attractive colours including Bronze Black and powder Pink.

As far as phone design is concerned, the nokia 7390 with its clamshell design comes with a large QVGA colour screen display with 16 million colours. Below the screen, there are key buttons and a centrally situated 4-way navigation key and 2 soft keys. simply flip open the phone and explore lots of premium features that are hidden inside. The nokia 7390 is built on 3G technology and offers all those high-end features to suit your modern lifestyle. With 3G technology, you get impeccable connectivity and get the ultimate voice and data solutions on the move. send and receive emails or surf the net for latest news and information. In terms of features, the nokia 7390 comes equipped with a 3.0 mega-pixel camera capture life's precious moments and share with friends and family via MMS and email.

For those who are looking for music features, the nokia 7390 offers an integrated music player plus a MP4 video player. So, you can play your preferred songs or watch videos on the go. You can also tune in to your favourite FM radio station for all time hit music. Supported with up to 2GB of expandable memory card the device allows enough space for music, images and videos. Being a L'Amour family phone, the nokia 7390 has been designed to target elite consumers. And for those who love beauty and power, then this gem is all set to come in your life.

Carly charu is an expert author and the webmaster of Mobile Phone deals The website having details of Pay As You Go Phones

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As through the marriage of male and female a son is born so as through the unity of vajra and lotus clear light is born. This is said to be the secret path of Aryans secretly practiced by both the paramita path as well as by tantra path. According to Tantras of highest wisdom both are of the nature of calming and discerning (padma is calming and vajra is discerning) through which a yogi achieves the ultimate object. Both are of the nature of bliss and void (lotus is void and vajra is bliss). Equipoise of these two is real yoga; Hevajra Tantra says that this yoga of union leads one to the state of Tathata (isness). One through the union of vajra and lotus attains highest bliss and becomes Tathagata who knows how to depart from this world perfectly and how to return in this world perfectly for the resurrection of the deluded beings.

Only he knows the lady Prajnaparamita, only he is capable in engaging in union with her. Regarding the nature of vajra and lotus chandra Kirti says, The Bhaga is the supreme truth, about Linga it is said that, it lies therein of which intended meaning is this that Bhaga is Prajnaparamita, of which only Buddhas vajra (supreme intelligence) penetrates or in which only Buddhas vajra can eligible to dwell.

In Buddhist tantras vajra and lotus (prajna and upaya) has varied meanings, Guhyasamaja Tantra says: thought (chitta), thought derivative (chaitasikas) and nescience (avidya) are called respectively insight (prajna), while culmination, as well as void (sunya), further void (ati sunya), and great void (maha sunya) is means (upaya). Unifying these two one achieves the clear light, the inner revelation of the ultimate truth. Prajna and upaya is also termed by word vajra-yosid, when vajra dwells in the space of yosid with a mudra and recollects the svadhisthana, one enjoys great bliss.

The unity of vajra and lotus is also known in tantras by yogic term ha-tha in which ha is sun energy and tha is moon energy constantly coming in and going out through the two nadis ida and pingala. Unifying these two at the novel center brings great pleasure says yogis. It is said that hatha is the best wish granting jewel; it grants every thing desired, and seizing by force enacts even the success of the Buddha. In Hindu puranas the churning of the great ocean with the mount meru is symbolic of unity of vajra and lotus, by this churning came out various gems together with goddess of fortune Laxmi and amrita (the elixir of immortality).

The great Buddhist conception of reality taught in the heart sutra that form is emptiness, emptiness is form; emptiness is not other than form; form is not other than emptiness is ideal for both the sutra path as well as mantra path. In Buddhist tantras the ritual mantra om svabhava suddhah sarvadharmah svabhava suddho ham is nothing other than this, as it is clearly explained in vajrabhairava tantra of Yamantaka texts. One recollects the view of emptiness through the meaning of the mantra; one thinks that outer offerings as well as inner offerings lack svabhava (natural existence). Even he thinks that the mind which understands emptiness lacks true existence itself. Tantra says that in this way of thinking one perfectly sees that all things which he would generate in the sadhana is mere a play of bliss and emptiness. This understanding of reality is perfectly realized only after secret consecration in the Bhaga mandala in which secret essence of the all the Buddhas abides. In the section dwelling in the womb of the vajra lady I did shed some light on the mantrik aspect of syllable e-vam of Buddhist tantras at some length.

There I explained the unity of the e-vam as most secret, for the unity of these two syllables is what is said as great bliss. It is like unity of Linga and Yoni, as from the movement of the union of Linga and Yoni, in different junctures different kinds of bliss is experienced; so as in the different juncture of mantra recitation different kind of bliss is experienced. Hevajra tantra describes five kinds of bliss in the union of vajra and lotus -from the contact of male and female sexual organs there is the experience of hardness. The nature of hardness is Vairochana whose nature is delusion. The semen is water element because water flows; it is lord Aksobhya whose nature is wrath. From the friction of two sex organs fire arises it said to be Amitabha whose nature is passion. The semen which is placed within the female organ is of the nature of movement there arises air hence Amoghasiddhai who is of the nature of wrath.

The pleasure of passion than becomes than impassioned characteristic of which is space thus Pisunavajra arises whose nature is envy. The great consciousness which is in fact one in all the five stages of sexual experience, exists in five forms and is of the nature of five families, from it arises host of divinities.

These five kinds of joys are experienced in the sexual union because it is of the nature of creation, in the union they manifest simultaneously one by one creating joy. While in yoga of dissolution i.e. in laya yoga through dissolution of these five aggregates (five elements in Hindu tantra four in Buddhist tantras) also joy is generated. And through various stages of dissolution; finally one experiences ultimate bliss of emptiness. Abut which it is said that it comes after the joy of cessation.

>>>> from my upcoming book 'Buddhist tantra yoga'

Author is an art critic and writer of three books ' contemporizing Buddha', ' Hindu Tantra Yoga' and 'Concerning The spiritual In Art-an Indian modern art perspective'. He has been awarded with 'Lalit kala Academy Scholarship Award' for art criticism in 2005. Currently working on a book 'Buddhist tantra yoga'. He lives and works in Delhi india.