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=== Europe ===
{{main|Alsos Mission}}
The Alsos Mission was the Manhattan Project's [[scientific intelligence]] mission that operated in Europe. It was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel [[Boris Pash]], with [[Samuel Goudsmit]] as his scientific deputy.{{sfn|Groves|1962|pp=207–208}} In September 1944, the mission secured the corporate headquarters of Union Minière in [[Antwerp]] and seized its records.{{sfn|Groves|1962|pp=218–219}} They discovered that over {{convert|1,000|t|ST|order=flip}} tons of refined uranium had been sent to Germany, but about {{convert|150|ST|t|order=flip}} remained at Olen.{{sfn|Pash|1969|pp=82–86}} They then set out for Olen, where they located {{convert|68|ST|t|order=flip}}, but another {{convert|80|ST|t|order=flip}} were missing, having been shipped to France in 1940 ahead of the German invasion of Belgium.{{sfn|Groves|1962|pp=219–220}} Groves had
[[File:Alsos mealtime.jpg|thumb|left|Personnel of the [[Alsos Mission]] in Germany. [[Boris Pash]] is in the center, wearing a helmet.]]
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Eldorado's Port Hope refinery was located on the shores of [[Lake Ontario]] in buildings originally built in 1847 as part of a grain terminal.{{sfn|Arsenault|2008|p=45}} When production started in January 1933,{{sfn|Pochon|1937|p=362}} there were just 25 employees; this rose to 287 in 1943.{{sfn|Arsenault|2008|pp=46–47}} To cope with the increased demands of the Manhattan Project, a new building was added, and production was converted from a batch to a continuous process.{{sfn|Arsenault|2008|p=45}} Its commercial process was designed to process black oxide. Before the war, Port Hope had a capacity of {{convert|30|ST|t|order=flip}} per month. This was increased to {{convert|150|ST|t|order=flip}} per month.{{sfn|Manhattan District|1947a|pp=7.1–7.3}}
Ore arrived from Port Radium after having already undergone some gravity and water separation that increased the percentage of black oxide to 35–50%. At Port Hope, the concentrate was crushed and a magnet used to remove iron. It was then heated to {{convert|1100|F|C|order=flip}} to remove [[sulfide]]s and [[carbonate]]s by decomposition and [[arsenic]] and [[antimony]] by volatilisation. It was then re-roasted with salt ({{chem2|NaCl}}) to form uranium chloride ({{chem2|UCl4}}). This was treated with [[sulfuric acid]] ({{chem2|H2SO4}}) and sodium carbonate ({{chem2|NaCO3}}) to form sodium [[uranyl carbonate]] ({{chem2|Na4UO2(CO3)3}}), which was decomposed with sulfuric acid. [[Caustic soda]] ({{chem2|NaOH}}) was then added to create [[sodium diuranate]] (soda salt) ({{chem2|Na2U2O7}}). Boiling removed excess hydrogen sulfide ({{chem2|H2S}}), and [[ammonium hydroxide]] ({{chem2|NH4OH}}) was added to form [[ammonium diuranate]] ({{chem2|(NH4)2U2O7}}), to facilitate removal of the silver content. The ammonium diuranite was
Purity was a major problem. The Manhattan District disliked impurities, particularly [[rare earth element]]s like [[gadolinium]] because they could be [[neutron poison]]s. But higher purity required repeated ammonium hydroxide baths, which were time consuming and expensive. Rather than aiming for 99% purity, it was better to settle for 97% and let [[Mallinckrodt]] deal with the problem in [[St Louis]].{{sfn|Bothwell|1984|pp=114–115}} By 1 January 1947, Eldorado had produced approximately {{convert|1,832|ST|t|order=flip}} of black oxide from African ore at a cost of $2,528,560 ({{Inflation|US|2,528,560|1947|fmt=eq}}), the average processing cost was therefore approximately $0.69 per pound ({{Inflation|US|0.69|1947|fmt=eq}}). In addition to the African ores, Port Hope also produced {{convert|847|ST|t|order=flip}} of black oxide from Canadian ores.{{sfn|Manhattan District|1947a|pp=7.1–7.3}}
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