Preliminary study of uranium favorability of the Wilcox and Claiborne Groups (Eocene) in Texas

Technical Report · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1978

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5325408· OSTI ID:5325408

Wilbert, W. P.; Templain, C. J.

Rocks of the Wilcox and Claiborne Groups crop out in the Texas Gulf Coastal Plain and are represented by a series of sands and shales which reflect oscillation of the strandline. The Wilcox Group (lower Eocene), usually undifferentiated in Texas, consists of very fine sands and clays and abundant lignite. The Claiborne Group (middle Eocene) comprises, in ascending order, Carrizo Sand, Reklaw Formation (clay), Queen City Sand, Weches Formation (clay), Sparta Sand, Cook Mountain Formation (clay), and Yegua Formation (sand). Fluvial systems of the Wilcox and Claiborne Groups exist in east Texas and trend perpendicular to the present coastline. In central Texas, sand bodies are parallel to the present coastline and are strand-plain, barrier-bar systems. Since the time of deposition of the Queen City Sand, a significant fluvial sand buildup occurred in the area of the present Rio Grande embayment where the marine clays pinch out. Known occurrences of mineral matter in the Wilcox and Claiborne (up to the Yegua) are limited to lignite (particularly in the Wilcox), cannel coal in the upper Claiborne, and hydrocarbons throughout. No uranium mineralization is known, and no uranium is likely to be discovered in the Claiborne and Wilcox. Approximately 50 surface samples and many gamma-ray logs showed no significant anomalies. The sands are very good potential host rocks, but no uranium source was discovered. During deposition of the Wilcox and Claiborne Groups, there was no volcanism to serve as a source of uranium (as with the prolific occurrences in the younger rocks of south Texas); also, Precambrian crystalline rocks in the Llano uplift were not exposed.

• Research Organization: Bendix Field Engineering Corp., Grand Junction, CO (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: EY-76-C-13-1664
• OSTI ID: 5325408
• Report Number(s): GJBX-7(78)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

050200* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Exploration-- (-1987)
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
BITUMINOUS COAL
CANNEL COAL
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CENOZOIC ERA
CLAYS
COAL
COASTAL REGIONS
ENERGY SOURCES
EXPLORATION
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GAMMA LOGGING
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
HYDROCARBONS
LIGNITE
METAMORPHIC ROCKS
MINERALS
NORTH AMERICA
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
RADIOACTIVITY LOGGING
ROCKS
SAND
SANDSTONES
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
SHALES
TERTIARY PERIOD
TEXAS
URANIUM DEPOSITS
USA
WELL LOGGING