Geology and recognition of a relict uranium deposit in Sec. 28, T. 14 N. , R. 10 W. , Southwest Ambrosia Lake Area, McKinley County
Sandstone uranium deposits in the Morrison Formation (Jurassic) within the Ambrosia Lake district, New Mexico, can be broadly classified into four types, based on their geometry and genesis: primary (trend), redistributed fracture-controlled (stack), redistributed geochemical-cell-controlled, and relict (remnant) deposits. Combinations of these deposits can be found within individual orebodies. Many similarities exist among these types of deposits, suggesting the same mechanisms and controls for the origin of the deposits. Probably the most important distinguishing control is the position of the deposits relative to the furthest advance of a pre-Dakota geochemical cell within the Morrison strata. Redistribution of both uranium and humate material occurred as oxidizing conditions migrated through the fluvial sediments. The migration of the oxidizing ground water was largely controlled by the differences in transmissivity developed within the fluvial facies of the host rock. The Sec. 28 uranium deposit, southwest of the major deposits of the Ambrosia Lake district, is here described as a relict uranium deposit. Preservation of the Sec. 28 relict deposit probably was aided by 1) the relatively insoluble character of intermixed uranium and organic matter, 2) lower ground-water transmissivity associated with a stratigraphic pinch-out of the mineralized upper Westwater Canyon, and 3) the influence a set of bounding faults has exhibited on the ground-water flow pattern since Laramide time. Iron-redox, isopach, and sandstone/mudstone trends observed in the Morrison strata in sec. 28 allow the development of a genetic model for relict orebodies within the Ambrosia Lake district.
- Research Organization:
- Teton Exploration Drilling Co., Inc., Albuquerque, NM
- OSTI ID:
- 6135267
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-7905120-; TRN: 81-017864
- Journal Information:
- Mem. - N.M. Bur. Mines Miner. Resour.; (United States), Vol. 38; Conference: New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources conference, Albuquerque, NM, USA, 13 May 1979
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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NEW MEXICO
URANIUM DEPOSITS
URANIUM
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GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
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SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
SOUTHWEST REGION
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Exploration
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