From major objective: The over-all aim of the study has been to obtain a thorough geologic picture of the Chattanooga shale in the area under consideration, with emphasis upon stratigraphic relationships and associated special problems from which, in turn, implications may be obtained as to the origin and age of the formation and possibly the source of the uranium. The study has not been aimed primarily at exploration for uranium and its economic aspects.

In recent months, relatively large quantities of neptunium-237 have been recovered from Hanford irradiated uranium. The over-all recovery process consisted of 1) isolation from Purex plant solutions by solvent extraction, to yield an impure neptunium nitrate solution contaminated principally with uranium, plutonium, and fission products (2) purification by anion exchange 3) precipitation of neptunium (IV) oxalate; and 4) calcination of the oxalate to yield neptunium (IV) oxide, NpO2. This paper describes the oxalate precipitation process investigations and results.