Geology of Crownpoint Sec. 29 uranium deposit, McKinley County

Conference · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1980 · Mem. - N.M. Bur. Mines Miner. Resour.; (United States)

OSTI ID:6033945

Wentworth, D W ^[1]; Porter, D A; Jensen, H N

---

1. Conoco Inc., Albuquerque, NM

The Crownpoint Sec. 29 deposit, located in the west-central part of the Grants mineral belt, represents a relatively recent uranium discovery in the Westwater Canyon Member (Jurassic) of the Morrison Formation. This deposit, estimated as containing up to 10 million pounds of uranium oxide, occurs in four vertically separate sandstone units. The average depth of the ore mineralization is approximately 2,000 ft (610 m) below the ground surface. Present-day structure of the Crownpoint Sec. 29 area is relatively simple and consists of gentle north-northeast-dipping strata with no known faulting. This deposit is located in an east-southeast-trending Westwater Canyon depocenter, whose course is believed to have been influenced by subtle Jurassic structure, which was penecontemporaneous with sedimentation. The deposit has been delineated by drilling on 200-ft (60-m) centers, involving approximately 348 holes and is awaiting shaft sinking and mine development.

• OSTI ID: 6033945
• Report Number(s): CONF-7905120-
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Mem. - N.M. Bur. Mines Miner. Resour.; (United States) Journal Volume: 38
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

050100* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Reserves
Exploration
& Mining
050200 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Exploration-- (-1987)
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
EXPLORATION
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGY
JURASSIC PERIOD
MESOZOIC ERA
MINERAL RESOURCES
MINERALIZATION
NEW MEXICO
NORTH AMERICA
ORES
RESOURCES
ROCKS
SANDSTONES
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
SOUTHWEST REGION
URANIUM DEPOSITS
URANIUM ORES
USA