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Paleovalley‐related Uranium: Case‐studies from Australia and China
Author(s) -
HOU Baohong,
MICHAELSEN Bernd H,
LI Ziying,
KEELING John L,
FABRIS Adrian J
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
acta geologica sinica ‐ english edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.444
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1755-6724
pISSN - 1000-9515
DOI - 10.1111/1755-6724.12381_9
Subject(s) - beijing , geological survey , china , chinese academy of sciences , uranium , geology , library science , geography , archaeology , paleontology , materials science , metallurgy , computer science
The term ‘paleovalley-related’ implies more than just uranium hosted within a paleovalley. This style of uranium mineralisation can be defined as any diagenetic/ epigenetic concentration of uranium minerals occurring in fluvial, alluvial, lacustrine, and estuarine sediments. Cenozoic paleovalleys of Australia, and Mesozoic paleovalleys of China host the greatest number of uranium deposits and include the largest and highest grade deposits of this type. Uranium exploration and mining in Australia and China are significant and increasingly important sectors of each country’s respective mineral industry. Here we focus on similarities in the geology of paleovalleyrelated uranium mineralising systems, which can be used to refine common approaches to exploration. Paleovalleyrelated uranium resources are developed as sandstonehosted and surficial deposits within paleovalley-fills, either incised into crystalline bedrock, or into sedimentary cover that often is of similar age to strata that host the mineralisation (Figs. 2, & 3). With respect to SinoAustralian examples, paleovalley-related uranium occurs mostly around the margins of Mesozoic and Cenozoic basins; often the mineralisation is hosted within sands contained within paleovalleys developed upon, or proximal to, Precambrian crystalline rock that contains primary uranium mineralisation (Hou et al., 2007; Li et al., 2008).