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Manhattan Project feed materials program

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Manhattan Project feed materials program

The Manhattan Project feed materials program located and procured uranium ores, and refined and processed them into feed materials for use in the Manhattan Project's isotope enrichment plants at the Clinton Engineer Works in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and its nuclear reactors at the Hanford Engineer Works in Washington state. The highly enriched uranium product of the enrichment plants and the plutonium from the reactors was used to make atomic bombs. The original goal of the feed materials program in 1942 was to acquire approximately 1,500 metric tons (1,700 short tons) of triuranium octoxide (U3O8) (black oxide). By the time of the dissolution of the Manhattan District on 1 January 1947, it had acquired about 9,100 metric tons (10,000 short tons), 68.3% of which came from the Belgian Congo, 13.2% from the Colorado Plateau, and 11.1% from Canada. An additional 7.3% came from "miscellaneous sources", which included quantities recovered from Europe by the Manhattan Project's Alsos Mission. Beyond their immediate wartime needs, the American and British governments attempted to control as much of the world's uranium deposits as possible. They created the Combined Development Trust in June 1944, with the director of the Manhattan Project, Major General Leslie R. Groves Jr. as its chairman. The Combined Development Trust procured uranium and thorium ores on international markets. A special account not subject to the usual auditing and controls was used to hold Trust monies. Between 1944 and his resignation from the Trust in 1947, Groves deposited a total of $37.5 million (equivalent to $669.83 million in 2024). In 1944, the Combined Development Trust purchased 3,440,000 pounds (1,560,000 kg) of uranium oxide ore from the Belgian Congo. The raw ore was dissolved in nitric acid to produce uranyl nitrate, which was reduced to highly pure uranium dioxide. By July 1942, Mallinckrodt was producing a ton of oxide a day, but turning this into uranium metal initially proved more difficult. A branch of the Metallurgical Laboratory was established at Iowa State College in Ames, Iowa, under Frank Spedding to investigate alternatives. This became known as the Ames Project, and the Ames process it developed to produce uranium metal became available in 1943. Uranium metal was used to fuel the nuclear reactors. Uranium tetrachloride was produced as feed for the calutrons used in the Y-12 (electromagnetic) isotope separation process, and uranium hexafluoride for the K-25 (gaseous diffusion) separation process.

Tables

Manhattan Project sourcing of uranium ore to 1 January 1947[121] · Uranium procurement › Europe
Belgian Congo
Belgian Congo
Country
Belgian Congo
Primary site
Shinkolobwe, Haut-Katanga
Mining company
Union Minière du Haut-Katanga
Ore content (% U3O8)
65
U3O8 (tons)
6,983
U contained (tons)
5,922
Cost (1947 dollars)
19,381,600
Cost ($/kgU)
3.27
Canada
Canada
Country
Canada
Primary site
Eldorado Mine, Port Radium, Northwest Territories
Mining company
Eldorado Gold Mines
Ore content (% U3O8)
1
U3O8 (tons)
1,137
U contained (tons)
964
Cost (1947 dollars)
5,082,300
Cost ($/kgU)
5.27
United States
United States
Country
United States
Primary site
Colorado Plateau
Mining company
Metals Reserve Company, United States Vanadium Corporation, Vanadium Corporation of America, Vitro Manufacturing Company
Ore content (% U3O8)
0.25
U3O8 (tons)
1,349
U contained (tons)
1,144
Cost (1947 dollars)
2,072,300
Cost ($/kgU)
1.81
Captured by Alsos Mission
Captured by Alsos Mission
Country
Captured by Alsos Mission
U3O8 (tons)
481
U contained (tons)
408
Market purchase
Market purchase
Country
Market purchase
U3O8 (tons)
270
U contained (tons)
229
Cost (1947 dollars)
1,056,130
Cost ($/kgU)
4.61
Total
Total
Country
Total
U3O8 (tons)
10,220
U contained (tons)
8,667
Cost (1947 dollars)
27,592,330
Cost ($/kgU)
3.18
Country
Primary site
Mining company
Ore content (% U3O8)
U3O8 (tons)
U contained (tons)
Cost (1947 dollars)
Cost ($/kgU)
Belgian Congo
Shinkolobwe, Haut-Katanga
Union Minière du Haut-Katanga
65
6,983
5,922
19,381,600
3.27
Canada
Eldorado Mine, Port Radium, Northwest Territories
Eldorado Gold Mines
1
1,137
964
5,082,300
5.27
United States
Colorado Plateau
Metals Reserve Company, United States Vanadium Corporation, Vanadium Corporation of America, Vitro Manufacturing Company
0.25
1,349
1,144
2,072,300
1.81
Captured by Alsos Mission
481
408
Market purchase
270
229
1,056,130
4.61
Total
10,220
8,667
27,592,330
3.18
Refined uranium compound production to 1 January 1947 (short tons)[179] · Uranium refining and processing › Uranium metal
Vitro
Vitro
Contractor
Vitro
Na2U2O7
768
Total
768
Eldorado
Eldorado
Contractor
Eldorado
U3O8
2,679
Total
2,679
Linde
Linde
Contractor
Linde
U3O8
2,428
UO3
300
UF4
2,060
Total
4,788
Mallinckrodt
Mallinckrodt
Contractor
Mallinckrodt
UO2
507
UO3
4,190
UF4
2,926
U
1,364
Total
8,987
DuPont
DuPont
Contractor
DuPont
U3O8
982
UO3
1,970
UF4
716
U
232
Total
3,900
Harshaw
Harshaw
Contractor
Harshaw
UF4
1,640
UF6
1,615
Total
3,255
Electro-Metallurgical
Electro-Metallurgical
Contractor
Electro-Metallurgical
U
1,538
Total
1,538
Iowa State
Iowa State
Contractor
Iowa State
U
972
Total
972
Metal Hydrides
Metal Hydrides
Contractor
Metal Hydrides
U
41
Total
41
Westinghouse
Westinghouse
Contractor
Westinghouse
U
69
Total
69
Total
Total
Contractor
Total
Na2U2O7
768
U3O8
6,089
UO2
507
UO3
6,460
UF4
7,342
UF6
1,615
U
4,216
Total
26,997
Contractor
Na2U2O7
U3O8
UO2
UO3
UF4
UF6
U
Total
Vitro
768
768
Eldorado
2,679
2,679
Linde
2,428
300
2,060
4,788
Mallinckrodt
507
4,190
2,926
1,364
8,987
DuPont
982
1,970
716
232
3,900
Harshaw
1,640
1,615
3,255
Electro-Metallurgical
1,538
1,538
Iowa State
972
972
Metal Hydrides
41
41
Westinghouse
69
69
Total
768
6,089
507
6,460
7,342
1,615
4,216
26,997

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