As part of this thesis relevant aspects of mining and beneficiation of thorium rich resources in order to produce marketable concentrates and byproducts were discussed. Where it was seen as beneficial similarities to other similarly used products were drawn. Thorium rich resources are getting focused on in light of new application methods as energy source for various kinds of reactors, since Thorium is more abundant in the earth’s crust compared to Uranium and does not necessitate an enrichment in different isotopes in order to use it as an energy source.
Since the use as potential energy source is already known through the work of the IAEA, the focus of this thesis are the natural occurrences and deposits in Europe, which are grouped and for which methods of extraction and beneficiation are proposed. Aside from the technical aspects also legal and safety related aspects are listed to get an overview of the current situation in Europe.
It was found that the sole extraction of Thorium as main product would not be economically viable in any case in Europe since the Thorium grades in each resource are very low. The most potential for Thorium extraction by means of mining is shown when it is extracted as a by-product during extraction of heavy mineral sands. The boundaries of beneficiation are quickly reached due to low grades, which is the reason that a mineral extraction and beneficiation should be followed by a hydrometallurgical or wet chemistry process in further steps to increase the value of products.