Records |
Author |
Min, M.; Chen, J.; Wang, J.; Wei, G.; Fayek, M. |
Title |
Mineral paragenesis and textures associated with sandstone-hosted roll-front uranium deposits, NW China |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Ore Geology Reviews |
Abbreviated Journal |
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Volume |
26 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
51-69 |
Keywords |
China, Mineralogy, Paragenesis, Sandstone-hosted roll-type uranium deposit |
Abstract |
We present a first paragenetic study of the Wuyier, Wuyisan, Wuyiyi and Shihongtan sandstone-hosted roll-front uranium deposits, northwest China. The mineralization is hosted by Lower–Middle Jurassic coarse- to medium-grained sandstones, which are dark-gray to black due to a mixture of ore minerals and carbonaceous debris. The sandstone is alluvial fan-braided river facies. Minerals associated with these deposits can be broadly categorized as detrital, authigenic, and ore-stage mineralization. Ore minerals consist of uraninite and coffinite. This is the first noted occurrence of coffinite in this type of deposit in China. Sulfide minerals associated with the uranium minerals are pyrite, marcasite, and less commonly, sphalerite and galena. The sulfide minerals are largely in textural equilibrium with the uranium minerals. However, these sulfide minerals occasionally appear to predate, as well as postdate, the uranium minerals. This implies that there are multiple generations of sulfides associated with these deposits. The ore minerals occur interstitially between fossilized wood cells in the sandstones as well as replace fossilized wood and biotite. The deposits are generally low-grade. Primary uranium minerals associated with the low-grade deposits are generally too small, ranging from 0.2 to 0.3 μm in diameter, to be observed by optical microscopy and are only observed by electron microscopy. Mineral paragenesis and textures indicate that these deposits formed under low temperature (30–50 °C) conditions. |
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0169-1368 |
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THL @ christoph.kuells @ min_mineral_2005 |
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175 |
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Author |
Rallakis, D.; Michels, R.; Cathelineau, M.; Parize, O.; Brouand, M. |
Title |
Conditions for uranium biomineralization during the formation of the Zoovch Ovoo roll-front-type uranium deposit in East Gobi Basin, Mongolia |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2021 |
Publication |
Ore Geology Reviews |
Abbreviated Journal |
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Volume |
138 |
Issue |
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Pages |
104351 |
Keywords |
Bioreduction, East Gobi Basin, Mongolia, Organic matter, Roll-front, Sulfur isotopes, Uranium |
Abstract |
The Zoovch Ovoo uranium roll-front-type deposit is hosted in the Sainshand Formation, a Late Cretaceous siliciclastic reservoir, which constitutes the upper part of the post-rift infilling of the Mesozoic East Gobi Basin in SE Mongolia. The Sainshand Formation consists of unconsolidated medium-grained sand, silt and clay intervals deposited in fluvial-lacustrine settings. The uranium deposit is confined within a 60–80 m thick siliciclastic sequence inside aquifer-driven systems. The overall system experienced shallow burial and was never subjected to temperatures higher than 40 °C. This study proposes a comprehensive metallogenic model for this uranium deposit. Sedimentological and mineralogical observations from drill core samples to the microscopic scale (optical and Scanning Electron Microscopy) together with in situ geochemistry of late-formed phases (Laser Ablation–Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry, Electron Probe Microanalysis, Fourier Transform–Infrared Spectroscopy) were considered for the reconstruction of the main stages of U trapping. In the mineralized zone, the uranium ore is expressed as Ca–enriched uraninite (UO2) and less commonly as Ca–enriched phospho-coffinite (U, P)SiO4. Trapping mechanisms include i) complexation (i.e. uranyl-carboxyl complexes), ii) adsorption on organic or clay particles) and iii) reduction by pyrite and by bacterial activity to amorphous uraninite. In all cases, the organic matter plays either the role of trap for uranium or nutrient for bacteria that can trap uranium through their metabolism. The shallow burial diagenesis conditions do not allow direct reduction of U(VI) by organic carbon. The δ34S values of the iron disulfide are very diverse, fluctuating in extreme cases between −50 to + 50‰, with an average δ34S value for framboidal pyrite at 2‰, and −20‰ for euhedral pyrite. The positive and negative values reflect close versus open fractionation systems, while bacterial sulphate reduction (BSR) is active during the whole diagenetic history of the deposit as an essential source of reduced sulfur. Therefore, using detrital organic matter as a carbon source, microorganisms play a significant role in uranium trapping, either as a direct reducing agent for uranium or pyrite formation, which will trap uranium through redox driven epigenetic processes. |
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THL @ christoph.kuells @ rallakis_conditions_2021 |
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176 |
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Author |
Min, M.; Xu, H.; Chen, J.; Fayek, M. |
Title |
Evidence of uranium biomineralization in sandstone-hosted roll-front uranium deposits, northwestern China |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Ore Geology Reviews |
Abbreviated Journal |
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Volume |
26 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
198-206 |
Keywords |
Biomineralization, China, Roll-front uranium deposit, Sandstone |
Abstract |
We show evidence that the primary uranium minerals, uraninite and coffinite, from high-grade ore samples (U3O8\textgreater0.3%) in the Wuyiyi, Wuyier, and Wuyisan sandstone-hosted roll-front uranium deposits, Xinjiang, northwestern China were biogenically precipitated and psuedomorphically replace fungi and bacteria. Uranium (VI), which was the sole electron acceptor, was likely to have been enzymically reduced. Post-mortem accumulation of uranium may have also occurred through physio-chemical interaction between uranium and negatively-charged cellular sites, and inorganic adsorption or precipitation reactions. These results suggest that microorganisms may have played a key role in formation of the sandstone- or roll-type uranium deposits, which are among the most economically significant uranium deposits in the world. |
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0169-1368 |
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THL @ christoph.kuells @ min_evidence_2005 |
Serial |
186 |
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