A radiochemical analysis of the valence state of uranium isotopes in minerals involves isolation of the U(IV) and
U(VI) valence forms and determination of the radioactivity of the 234U and 238U isotopes in each fraction. If the
nuclear decay of the uranium in the minerals is accompanied by a redox process, the distribution of the 234U
isotope in the U(IV) and U(VI) forms will differ from that of the 238U isotope: oxidation leads to enrichment of
the U(VI) fraction with the radiogenic 234U isotope; reduction facilitates enrichment of the U(IV) fraction with
234U. If the mineral is heated to 600–700 °C before the radiochemical analysis, then an equilibrium activity ratio
(AR) for both valences. The question arises: What are the processes that bring this about? The authors of this
research studied changes of the AR in the U(IV) and U(VI) fractions after isochronous thermal annealing.