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    Uranium Deposits

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    Princess Lelo
    Uranium deposits form in a variety of geological settings, including unconformity contacts, iron oxide copper gold deposits, sandstone hosted deposits, intrusives, calcretes, metamorphic rocks, black shales, and coals/lignites. Significant uranium concentrations arise through mobility under oxidizing hydrothermal conditions, insolubility under reducing environments, and uranium's incompatible nature during melting. Examples of deposit types discussed include intrusive alaskite-hosted deposits like Rössing Mine, sandstone-hosted roll-front deposits, and surficial calcrete-hosted deposits.

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    Uranium Deposits

    Uploaded by

    Princess Lelo
    11 views11 pages
    Uranium deposits form in a variety of geological settings, including unconformity contacts, iron oxide copper gold deposits, sandstone hosted deposits, intrusives, calcretes, metamorphic rocks, black shales, and coals/lignites. Significant uranium concentrations arise through mobility under oxidizing hydrothermal conditions, insolubility under reducing environments, and uranium's incompatible nature during melting. Examples of deposit types discussed include intrusive alaskite-hosted deposits like Rössing Mine, sandstone-hosted roll-front deposits, and surficial calcrete-hosted deposits.

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    An in depth look and study of uranium geological deposits

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    Uranium deposits

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    Uranium deposits form in a variety of geological settings, including unconformity contacts, iron oxide copper gold deposits, sandstone hosted deposits, intrusives, calcretes, metamorphic rocks, black shales, and coals/lignites. Significant uranium concentrations arise through mobility under oxidizing hydrothermal conditions, insolubility under reducing environments, and uranium's incompatible nature during melting. Examples of deposit types discussed include intrusive alaskite-hosted deposits like Rössing Mine, sandstone-hosted roll-front deposits, and surficial calcrete-hosted deposits.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    11 views11 pages

    Uranium Deposits

    Uploaded by

    Princess Lelo
    Uranium deposits form in a variety of geological settings, including unconformity contacts, iron oxide copper gold deposits, sandstone hosted deposits, intrusives, calcretes, metamorphic rocks, black shales, and coals/lignites. Significant uranium concentrations arise through mobility under oxidizing hydrothermal conditions, insolubility under reducing environments, and uranium's incompatible nature during melting. Examples of deposit types discussed include intrusive alaskite-hosted deposits like Rössing Mine, sandstone-hosted roll-front deposits, and surficial calcrete-hosted deposits.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 11

    Uranium deposits

    Uranium mineralisation
    • Cuney (2009) describes a number of different settings in which
    uranium mineralisation will form.
    • Unconformity type *pp 210
    • IOCG deposits *pp 157 ¾ of worlds Uranium resources
    • Sandstone hosted deposits *pp 210
    • Quartz pebble conglomerates *pp 195, 257
    • Hydrothermal veins
    • Intrusives *pp 41
    • Calcretes *pp 236
    • Metamorphic deposits
    • Black shales *pp 282
    • Coal and lignites
    *Robb page numbers

    Significant U concentrations arise through mobility under oxidising conditions (hydrothermal), insolubility in reducing
    environments (Archean placer), and its highly incompatible nature in melts (intrusive).
    Overview
    Intrusive uranium deposits: Leucogranites or Alaskites

    Rössing U-Mine, Namibia


    Alaskite, Rössing U-Mine, Namibia

    Rössing U-Mine is a low grade U


    deposit hosted in leucogranite rocks
    associated with the ~500 Ma Damara
    orogen.

    Average grade: 310 ppm


    U Clarke value: 2.7 ppm

    Requires a low degree of partial


    melting (< 5%) or a significantly
    enriched protolith (i.e., >10 ppm U)
    Alaskite, Rössing U-Mine, Namibia

    Uraninite (UO2) in Alaskite

    quartz

    alkali-feldspar

    -2 mm-
    Hydrothermal uranium deposits: Sandstone-hosted and
    roll-front types

    • Uranium present in the environment as


    uranous (U4+) and uranyl (U6+) ions.
    • Uranyl ions soluble under oxidising
    conditions as oxide, carbonate,
    phosphate or fluoride complexes
    (depending on pH, ambient chemistry).
    • Uranyl complex predominantly
    destabilised by lowering the Eh of the
    system, to precipitate insoluble uranous
    minerals (e.g., uraninite, pitchblende).
    Hydrothermal uranium deposits: Sandstone-hosted and
    roll-front types

    • Tabular sandstone hosted deposits (U, V ores):


    • Ore bodies are generally stacked
    • Strong association between U and V.
    • Form at the interface between two discrete meteoric fluids (saline stagnant
    brine and an overlying U-bearing meteoric fluid).
    • Fluid temperatures < 40°C, mixing occurs within a few hundred metres of
    surface.
    • U, V from solubilisation of tuffaceous rocks, or from breakdown of Fe-Ti
    minerals.
    Hydrothermal uranium deposits: Sandstone-hosted and
    roll-front types

    • Tabular sandstone hosted deposits (U, V ores):


    • Fluid mixing and diagenesis give rise to the formation
    of V-rich clays (V(OH)3 polyhedral), reduces OH
    activity and thus pH. Decreased pH leads to super-
    saturation of CaCO3 and dolomitisation as a cement.
    • Initial pH decrease (e.g., during V-rich clay formation),
    leads to adsorption of U to quartz surface. Further
    reduction in the presence of organic matter, results in
    reaction between uraneous ion and silica to produce
    coffinite (U-silicate)
    • Organic matter is both a reductant, and provides
    nutrients for sulphate reducing bacteria which
    produce H2S to act as a reducing agent.
    Hydrothermal uranium deposits: Roll-front types
    • Roll-front deposits:
    • Meteoric waters transporting uranyl-carbonate complexes flows along a
    sandstone aquifer until it meets a reducing front where precipitation occurs.
    • Absolute position of the redox front (or ‘roll-front’) migrates downwards into
    the aquifer with time (i.e., as the reducing capacity of the up-acquifer portion
    is exhausted). Position “freezes in” once paleohydrological regime changes
    and fluid flow ceases.
    Surficial uranium deposits: calcrete hosted
    • Calcrete forms in the near-surface in arid environments where high
    evaporation rates occur (i.e., highly calcified soil).
    • Channelized flow focusses uranyl-bearing ground water flow, which
    ultimately precipitates as carnotite (K2(UO2)2(V2O8)-3H2O
    • Carnotite comprises U6+, thus no need to invoke reduction reactions.
    Evaporation forces precipitation of carbonate, destabilising uranyl-
    carbonate complex to precipitate carnotite.

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