MONTANA N7 4Qea
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
E 12, p( /F- o77 (r 2) Sf(jji PGJ/F-077(82) National Uranium Resource Evaluation 6 BOZEMAN QUADRANGLE 41 MONTANA n7 4QeA/ University of Montana Missoula, Montana and Montana State University Bozeman, Montana E2T oFi Issue Date August 1982 SATESO9 PREPARED FOR THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy Grand Junction Area Office, Colorado rmetadc957781 Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed in this report, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference therein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. This report is a result of work performed by the University of Montana and Montana State University, through a Bendix Field Engineering Corporation subcontract, as part of the National Uranium Resource Evaluation. NURE was a program of the U.S. Department of Energy's Grand Junction, Colorado, Office to acquire and compile geologic and other information with which to assess the magnitude and distribution of uranium resources and to determine areas favorable for the occurrence of uranium in the United States. Available from: Technical Library Bendix Field Engineering Corporation P.O. Box 1569 Grand Junction, CO 81502-1569 Telephone: (303) 242-8621, Ext. 278 Price per Microfiche Copy: $7.00 NATIONAL URANIUM RESOURCE EVALUATION BOZEMAN QUADRANGLE MONTANA Ian M. Lange Robert W. Fields David M. Fountain Johnnie N. Moore Anthony I. Qamar Arnold J. Silverman Graham R. Thompson Department of Geology University of Montana Missoula, Montana 59812 Robert A. Chadwick Stephan G. Custer Donald L. Smith Department of Earth Sciences Montana State University Bozeman, Montana 59717 Work performed under Bendix Field Engineering Corporation, Grand Junction Operations, Subcontract No. and Bendix Contract No. DE-ACO7-76GJ01664 August 1982 PREPARED FOR THE U . S . DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY GRAND JUNCTION AREA OFFICE GRAND JUNCTION, COLORADO 81502 CONTENTS Page Abstract . 1 Introduction . 3 Purpose and scope . 3 Acknowledgments . 3 Procedures... 3 Geologic setting . .............. 4 Environments favorable for uranium deposits. 21 Summary . 21 Tertiary basins . ... 22 Introduction . 22 Geologic description of units associated with the favorable environment. 22 Lithologies, sedimentary structures, and alteration. 23 Permeability . 24 Precipitants . 24 Uranium sources for the Tertiary basins.. ..... 24 Observed and inferred uranium minerals . 25 Volume and extent of Tertiary sediments. 25 Culture and land status . 25 Cretaceous Sandstones . 27 Introduction . 27 Crazy Mountains Basin--Livingston area . 28 Madison Range--Gallatin Canyon . 30 Gardiner area . .......... .. .. 31 Northern Tobacco Root Mountains. 32 East Mount Doherty region. 32 iii CONTENTS (continued) Page Environments unfavorable for uranium deposits.. ............. 33 Summary . ................ 33 Crazy Mountains intrusive rocks . 33 Beartooth-Absaroka-Gallatin volcanic province . ....... 34 Tobacco Root batholith. ." . ." 34 ." ." ." Three Forks Basin intrusives. 34 Norris area rhyolite plugs. 34 Elkhorn Mountain Volcanics. .0 .0 .0 .0 .0 ." .0 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0 ." .0 34 Yellowstone Park rhyolites. ." ." ." ." ." ." ." ." ." ." . ." ." . 38 ." Basalts . 38 Fluvial sands . 38 Beach sands . .".". 38 Marine limestones . ." ." ." . ." . ." . ." 39 ." ." ." ." ." ." Marine black shales . ." ." . ." . ." ." ." 39 ." ." ." Phosphorites..... 39 Morrison and Kootenai Formation sandstones. .0 .0 ." .0 .0 .0 ." . ." 41 Precambrian quartzofeldspathic gneisses ." . 41 ." ." ." ." Precambrian supracrustal rocks. ." . 43 Precambrian granites, Boulder River area. 43 Stillwater Complex. ." 44 . ." . ." Unevaluated environments . ." . ." 44 ." . ." . ." Metasedimentary rocks . ." 44 Madison Range sills . ." . 44 Southern Gravelly Range Cretaceous rocks. 44 Horseshoe Hills Cretaceous rocks. ... 45 iv ILLUSTRATIONS Page Figure 1. Quadrangle location map. ." ." ." ." ." ." .e 5 2. Stratigraphic column. 1 . ." ." ." 6 2a. Precambrian crystalline rocks of the Bozeman 1 x 20 sheet, central Beartooth plateau . ." ." ." 17 2b. Precambrian crystalline rocks of the Bozeman 1 x 20 sheet, in the transition area. ." ." ." 18- 2c. Precambrian crystalline rocks of the Bozeman 1 x 20 Root--Spanish Peaks area . ." ." . 19 3. Tertiary Stratigraphic column. ." ." . ." ." . ." 20 4. Flathead Formation fence diagram . ." ." ." . ." 40 . ." 5. Phosphoria Formation fence diagram . ." ." ." ." . 42 Table 1. Sizes, depths, and volume Tertiary basins. 26 2. U, Th values . 35 3. "Linear" anomaly data. 50 Plate 1. Areas favorable for uranium deposits 2. Uranium occurrences 3. Interpretation of radiometric data 4. Interpretation of data from hydrogeochemical and stream-sediment reconnaissance 5. Location geochemical samples 6. Culture 7. Drainage 8. Location well sites 9. Ground-water uranium values 10. Known and probable Tertiary 11. Fence diagram of the Cretaceous vi CONTENTS (continued) P.age Interpretation of radiometric and geochemical data . ." ." ." ." ." ." 45 Radiometric data . ... ." ." ." ." ." ." 45 HSSR evaluation . ." ." ." ." ." ." 48 Recommendations to improve evaluation. ." ." ." . ." 49 Selected bibliography. ... 51 Appendix A. Uranium occurrences in the Bozeman Quadrangle . In pocket Appendix B. Table of chemical analyses. In pocket Appendix C. Uranium-occurrence reports . In pocket Appendix D. Gravity interpretation. In pocket Appendix E. Tertiary development. .0 .In pocket Appendix F. Radiometric age of Tertiary rocks . In pocket Appendix G. Stratigraphic-structural summary. In pocket Appendix H. Uranium in ground water from wells. .. In pocket ILLUSTRATIONS (continued) Plate 12. Bouguer gravity for selected basins in Bozeman Quadrangle 13. Gravity profiles and depth sections across Tertiary basins 14. Generalized land status 15. Geology of the Bozeman Quadrangle Plates in accompanying packet ABSTRACT The Bozeman Quadrangle, Montana, was evaluated to identify and delineate areas containing environments favorable for uranium deposits. This evaluation was conducted using methods and criteria developed for the National Uranium Resource Evaluation program. General surface reconnaissance, mapping, radiometric traverses, and geochemical sampling were performed in all geologic environments within the quadrangle. Aerial radiometric and HSSR data were evaluated and followup studies of these anomalies and most of the previously known uranium occurrences were conducted. Detailed gravity profiling was done in the Tertiary Three Forks-Gallatin Basin and the Madison and Paradise Valleys. Also, selected well waters were analyzed. Eight areas are considered favorable for sandstone uranium deposits. They include the Tertiary Three Forks--Gallatin basin, the Madison and Paradise Valleys, and five areas underlain by Cretaceous fluvial and marginal-marine sandstones. Other environments within the quadrangle are considered unfavorable for uranium deposits when judged by the program criteria. A few environments were not evaluated due to inaccessiblity and/or prior knowledge of unfavorable criteria. INTRODUCTION PURPOSE AND SCOPE The Bozeman Quadrangle in south-central Montana was evaluated for geologic environments capable of containing uranium deposits to a depth of 1500 m (5,000 ft). Most rock types and geographic areas were investigated by surface traverse, and hydrogeochemical data were collected from available well sites. Each environment was categorized as favorable, unfavorable, or unevaluated for uranium deposits, based on recognition criteria provided by the Bendix Field Engineering Corporation (Mickle and Mathews, eds., 1978). Evaluation of the Bozeman Quadrangle was conducted by faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate geology students at the University of Montana and at Montana State University, under subcontract to the Bendix Field Engineering Corporation (BFEC) for the National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) program, managed by the Grand Junction Office of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The evaluation program began February 15, 1978, and ended January 31, 1980. Time spent in literature search, field work, evaluation of the data, and preparation of the final report totaled the equivalent of about 3.5 man-years. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Members of the staff of the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology and of numerous private firms, the U.S. Bureau of Mines, U.S. Geological Survey, and U.S. Forest Service are thanked for their cooperation, which allowed for the timely completion of this evaluation. We are especially indebted to Susan Vuke, Gary Weeks, and Steven Gary for their help in mapping and in geologic compilations; to the analytical laboratories of the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology, and T.S.L. of Spokane, Washington, for the excellent service and quality of sample analysis; and to Geochron Laboratories for the K/Ar age dates. PROCEDURES An examination of the surface geology, subsurface geology, and ground-water environment was the main focus of this