Interim report on studies of uranium, thorium, and lead migration at Key Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada

Technical Report · Tue Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1980

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5169347· OSTI ID:5169347

Curtis, D B; Gancarz, A J

The redistribution of uranium, thorium, and lead is being examined in samples representing several million cubic meters of sandstone and metamorphased sediments in the Athabasca Basin which is located in the northwest corner of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The region of study includes zones of uranium mineralization at Key Lake. Mineralization occurs at the unconformity between the Athabasca sandstone and the underlying metasediments and in fault zones within the metasediments. Lead isotopes record a radiometric age of 1300 +- 150 m.y. in samples from above and below the unconformity. This age probably reflects the time of deposition of the sandstones and an associated redistribution of uranium and/or lead in the underlying rocks. Many of the samples have been fractionated with respect to radiogenic lead and the actinide parent elements since that time. Sandstones and altered rocks from the region above the unconformity have been a transport path and are a repository for lead. In contrast, mineralized rocks are deficient in radiogenic lead and must be an important source of lead in the local geologic environment. However, the isotopic composition of lead missing from the ores is different from that found in the overlying sandstones. The two types of rocks do not appear to represent complements with respect to a source and a repository for lead.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos Scientific Lab., NM (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-36
• OSTI ID: 5169347
• Report Number(s): LA-8440-MS
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ACTINIDES
CANADA
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
DATA
DELAYED NEUTRON ANALYSIS
DRILL CORES
ELEMENTS
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
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GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
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NUMERICAL DATA
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