TY  - JOUR
AU  - Jaireth, S.
AU  - Roach, I. C.
AU  - Bastrakov, E.
AU  - Liu, S.
PY  - 2016//
TI  - Basin-related uranium mineral systems in Australia: A review of critical features
JO  - Ore Geology Reviews
SP  - 360
EP  - 394
VL  - 76
KW  - Australia’s uranium deposits
KW  - Calcrete-uranium
KW  - Sandstone-hosted uranium
KW  - Unconformity-related uranium
N2  - This paper reviews critical features of basin-related uranium mineral systems in Australia. These mineral systems include Proterozoic unconformity-related uranium systems formed predominantly from diagenetic fluids expelled from sandstones overlying the unconformity, sandstone-hosted uranium systems formed from the influx of oxidised groundwaters through sandstone aquifers, and calcrete uranium systems formed from oxidised groundwaters flowing through palaeochannel aquifers (sand and calcrete). The review uses the so-called ‘source-pathway-trap’ paradigm to summarise critical features of fertile mineral systems. However, the scheme is expanded to include information on the geological setting, age and relative timing of mineralisation, and preservation of mineral systems. The critical features are also summarised in three separate tables. These features can provide the basis to conduct mineral potential and prospectivity analysis in an area. Such analysis requires identification of mappable signatures of above-mentioned critical features in geological, geophysical and geochemical datasets. The review of fertile basin-related systems shows that these systems require the presence of at least four ingredients: a source of leachable uranium (and vanadium and potassium for calcrete-uranium deposits); suitable hydrological architecture enabling connection between the source and the sink (site of accumulation); physical and chemical sinks or traps; and a post-mineralisation setting favourable for preservation. The review also discusses factors that may control the efficiency of mineral systems, assuming that world-class deposits result from more efficient mineral systems. The review presents a brief discussion of factors which may have controlled the formation of large deposits in the Lake Frome region in South Australia, the Chu-Sarysu and Syrdarya Basins in Kazakhstan and calcrete uranium deposits in the Yilgarn region, Western Australia.
SN  - 0169-1368
UR  - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169136815300056
N1  - exported from refbase (http://www.uhydro.de/base/show.php?record=139), last updated on Fri, 26 Jan 2024 13:19:04 +0100
ID  - Jaireth_etal2016
ER  -