Abstract: Uranium reserve estimates in ore deposits can be significantly impacted by 226Ra/238U disequilibria arising from the differential mobility of uranium and radium during groundwater transport. 1D reactive transport models were developed to investigate the long-term effects of retention processes (UO2(am) precipitation, U(VI) and Ra sorption on smectite, Ra co-precipitation with barite) on the repartitioning of 238U and 226Ra during formation of roll-front type deposits. Analytical solutions to radioactive decay chains were used in complement to examine the influence of geochemical parameters, including fluid 234U/238U activity ratios and α-recoil loss, on 226Ra/238U disequilibria in uranium ores. Model results demonstrate that smectite and barite can produce 226Ra/238U ratios \textgreater1 at low uranium contents and may explain 226Ra/238U disequilibria occurring in altered rock up- and downstream of roll-front deposits. The capacity of these phases to take up Ra and generate 226Ra/238U disequilibria depends on both mineral contents and groundwater compositions, and is thus expected to be site-specific. Simulations of ore deposits that advance downstream with time demonstrate the formation of stronger 226Ra/238U disequilibria, as expected, in the downgradient side or nose of the ore, reflecting both younger mineralization ages and the presence of active uranium precipitation. Whether disequilibria are positive or negative with respect to secular equilibrium, however, depends on the 234U/238U activity ratio in the fluid from which uranium minerals precipitate. Smaller hydraulic conductivities are shown to generate a narrower range in 226Ra/238U activity ratios with distance, and may explain the occurrence of disequilibria in the limb ore that are less pronounced than those in the nose. Furthermore, the ability of α-recoil loss to decrease 226Ra/238U activity ratios at secular equilibrium may account for negative disequilibria in high grade ores. The South Tortkuduk uranium deposits (Kazakhstan) are subsequently used as a case study to identify the processes and parameters that may contribute to 226Ra/238U disequilibria at this site. Variations in multiple parameters, including clay contents, barite contents, and mineralization ages, are found to reproduce measured 226Ra/238U activity ratios in the roll-front ore. Prioritization of these parameters will necessitate field measurements targeting both groundwater fluids and the host rock. Results from this study will ultimately aid geologists in building appropriate hydrogeochemical data sets to more efficiently locate and exploit uranium ore deposits.

Abstract: Coffinite (USiO4) is a common uranium-bearing mineral of roll-front uranium deposits. This mineral can be identified by the visible near infrared (Vis-NIR) portable field spectrometers used in mining exploration. However, due to the low detection limits and associated errors, the quantification of coffinite abundance in the mineralized sandstones or sandy sediments of roll-front uranium deposits using Vis-NIR spectrometry requires a specific methodological development. In this study, the 1135 nm absorption band area is used to quantify the abundance of coffinite. This absorption feature does not interfere with NIR absorption bands of any other minerals present in natural sands or sandstones of uranium roll-front deposits. The correlation between the 1135 nm band area and coffinite content was determined from a series of spectra measured from prepared mineral mixtures. The samples were prepared with a range of weighted amounts of arenitic sands and synthetic coffinite simulating the range of uranium concentration encountered in roll-front uranium deposits. The methodology presented in this study provides the quantification of the coffinite content present in sands between 0.03 wt% to 1 wt% coffinite with a detection limit as low as 0.005 wt%. The integrated area of the 1135 nm band is positively correlated with the coffinite content of the sand in this range, showing that the method is efficient to quantify coffinite concentrations typical of roll-front uranium deposits. The regression equation defined in this study was then used as a reference to predict the amount of natural coffinite in a set of mineralized samples from the Tortkuduk uranium roll-front deposit (South Kazakhstan).

Abstract: Settlement in Israel’s Negev desert historically has been dependent on water conservation techniques. Fieldwork carried out on settlement sites constructed during the Byzantine period, when agriculture and trade flourished, revealed a variety of water installations some of which are in use today. Perennial springs in the Negev are generally small and difficult of access. Cisterns were the most common conservation devices and came in both large, enclosed and single, open forms. Cisterns were common particularly in the towns, where they were usually built as part of house foundations. Dams were discovered at several sites but proved to be inefficient and easily abandoned because of evaporation and siltation problems. Public reservoirs were part of the structure of the largest towns and were open and among the larges structures uncovered at settlement sites. Wells were distributed widely throughout the desert and were part of the only conservation system that did not depend directly on surface rainfall. A qanat system was located in the eastern Negev dating from the late settlement period before the area was abandoned at the turn of the eighth century. These various water systems raise questions about their builders and their origins, and suggests that builders originating in more humid Mediterranean environments tended to produce less adaptable installations than builders derived from the south or the east.

Abstract: This study combines historical records of 14C and 3H in the atmosphere and soil with renewal rate and groundwater lumped parameter models to predict the abundance of 14C and 3H in groundwater over time. 624 groundwater samples from numerous studies, over four decades (1978–2019), in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Mozambique were collated to compare with predicted groundwater activities of 14C and 3H within the South African Development Community (SADC) region. Spatial datasets of carbonate bearing lithology, C3/C4 vegetation, summer/winter rainfall and coastal proximity were used to apply corrections to 14C and 3H data. Corrected values of 14C and 3H were compared with the theoretical abundance of these tracers, derived from the lumped parameter models, to estimate the general mean residence times and presence of groundwater mixing between modern recharge and older groundwaters. This study found that corrected values produced varying mean residence times derived from 14C ages (∼500–28500 years) and a wide range of potentially mixed waters within each aquifer system (0–100 % of tested wells) across the study area. The largest proportions of mixed groundwater, as well as the youngest mean residence times, were found in alluvial and primary fractured rock aquifers (e.g., western coast of South Africa and southern Mozambique). The smallest proportions of mixed groundwater were predicted in deep confined clay-rich aquifers as well as layered coal bearing carbonate sequences (e.g., Orapa, Malwewe and Serowe, Botswana). Insights into the proportions of mixed groundwater and mean residence times can help assess hydrological resilience on a regional scale. Such information is pertinent in promoting socio-economic development and increased water/food security in the SADC region. By understanding the resilience of groundwater resources, robust and informed strategies for water equality and GDP growth in the SADC region can be envisioned and implemented.