Uranium hydrogeochemical and stream sediment reconnaissance of the Lander NTMS Quadrangle, Wyoming, including concentrations of forty-three additional elements

Technical Report · Sat Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1979

OSTI ID:5878005

Shannon, Jr, S S

Totals of 355 water and 1376 sediment samples were collected from 1441 locations at an actual density of one sample location per 13 km/sup 2/ over an 18,260-km/sup 2/ area. Water samples were collected from streams, springs, and wells; sediment samples were collected from streams, springs, and dry ponds. Water samples were analyzed for uranium and twelve additional elements. The mean uranium content of all water samples from the Lander quadrangle is 3.80 ppB. Clusters of water samples containing more than 10 ppB uranium, the arbitrary anomaly threshold chosen for this report, are associated with undivided Miocene strata of the Moonstone, White River, Bridger, Wind River, Green River, and Battle Spring formations, Cody shale, Chugwater and Phosphoria formations, and undivided Precambrian rocks. Sediment samples were analyzed for uranium, thorium, and 41 other elements. The mean uranium content of all sediment samples is 3.96 ppM. Major clusters of sediment samples containing more than 10 ppM uranium, the arbitrary anomaly threshold, are limited to areas underlain by unconsolidated Quaternary sediments; the White River, Bridger, Green River, Wasatch, and Battle Spring formations and undivided Miocene strata; the Chugwater formation of Triassic age; lower Paleozoic strata; and quartz diorite and quartz monzonite of Precambrian age. Several of these areas include samples having high U/Th ratios. The maximum uranium values both in water and in sediment samples from the Lander quadrangle were obtained from a stream at the Lost Creek uranium mine in the Great Divide Basin. The chief ore mineral is schroeckingerite, a water-soluble mineral that contains considerable sodium. Other sediment samples from this area that contain anomalous uranium values also have high sodium and chlorine contents and high uranium/thorium ratios, suggesting extraordinarily high mobility of uranium in the Great Divide Basin.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos Scientific Lab., NM (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: EY-76-C-13-1664
• OSTI ID: 5878005
• Report Number(s): GJBX-147(79); LA-7512-MS
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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