A simple and highly selective non-extractive spectrophotometric method is presented for the rapid determination of uranium in low grade uranium ores using arsenazo (III). The method is based on the complex formation of uranium (VI) with Arsenazo (III) at pH 2.0 ± 0.1 which showed maximum absorption at 651 nm. Uranium concentration of 10 µg g-1 with a molar absorptivity of 4.45104 mol-1cm-1 at 296 ± 2 K obeyed Beer’s law. Interferences caused by various metallic ions, such as Mn, Fe, Zn, Mo, Cr, Cu, Co, Ni, Zr, Pb, Al and Na were effectively masked by diethylenetriaminоpenta-acetic acid (DTPA) and tartaric acid. The proposed technique has been effectively applied to the determination of low levels of uranium in uranium leach liquors. The accuracy of the current method was checked by comparison with the results obtained by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES).
