Uranium Deposits in Africa: Geology and Exploration PROCEEDINGS OF A REGIONAL ADVISORY GROUP MEETING LUSAKA, 14-18 NOVEMBER 1977 tm INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, VIENNA, 1979 The cover picture shows the uranium deposits and major occurrences in Africa. URANIUM DEPOSITS IN AFRICA: GEOLOGY AND EXPLORATION The following States are Members of the International Atomic Energy Agency: AFGHANISTAN HOLY SEE PHILIPPINES ALBANIA HUNGARY POLAND ALGERIA ICELAND PORTUGAL ARGENTINA INDIA QATAR AUSTRALIA INDONESIA ROMANIA AUSTRIA IRAN SAUDI ARABIA BANGLADESH IRAQ SENEGAL BELGIUM IRELAND SIERRA LEONE BOLIVIA ISRAEL SINGAPORE BRAZIL ITALY SOUTH AFRICA BULGARIA IVORY COAST SPAIN BURMA JAMAICA SRI LANKA BYELORUSSIAN SOVIET JAPAN SUDAN SOCIALIST REPUBLIC JORDAN SWEDEN CANADA KENYA SWITZERLAND CHILE KOREA, REPUBLIC OF SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC COLOMBIA KUWAIT THAILAND COSTA RICA LEBANON TUNISIA CUBA LIBERIA TURKEY CYPRUS LIBYAN ARAB JAMAHIRIYA UGANDA CZECHOSLOVAKIA LIECHTENSTEIN UKRAINIAN SOVIET SOCIALIST DEMOCRATIC KAMPUCHEA LUXEMBOURG REPUBLIC DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S MADAGASCAR UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF KOREA MALAYSIA REPUBLICS DENMARK MALI UNITED ARAB EMIRATES DOMINICAN REPUBLIC MAURITIUS UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT ECUADOR MEXICO BRITAIN AND NORTHERN EGYPT MONACO IRELAND EL SALVADOR MONGOLIA UNITED REPUBLIC OF ETHIOPIA MOROCCO CAMEROON FINLAND NETHERLANDS UNITED REPUBLIC OF FRANCE NEW ZEALAND TANZANIA GABON NICARAGUA UNITED STATES OF AMERICA GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC NIGER URUGUAY GERMANY, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA VENEZUELA GHANA NORWAY VIET NAM GREECE PAKISTAN YUGOSLAVIA GUATEMALA PANAMA ZAIRE HAITI PARAGUAY ZAMBIA PERU The Agency's Statute was approved on 23 October 1956 by the Conference on the Statute of the IAEA held at United Nations Headquarters, New York; it entered into force on 29 July 1957. The Headquarters of the Agency are situated in Vienna. Its principal objective is "to accelerate and enlarge the contribution of atomic energy to peace, health and prosperity throughout the world". (C) IAEA, 1979 Permission to reproduce or translate the information contained in this publication may be obtained by writing to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Wagramerstrasse 5, P.O. Box 100, A-1400 Vienna, Austria. Printed by the IAEA in Austria December 1979 PANEL PROCEEDINGS SERIES URANIUM DEPOSITS IN AFRICA : GEOLOGY AND EXPLORATION PROCEEDINGS OF A REGIONAL ADVISORY GROUP MEETING ORGANIZED BY THE INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY HELD IN LUSAKA, ZAMBIA, 14-18 NOVEMBER 1977 INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY VIENNA, 1979 URANIUM DEPOSITS IN AFRICA: GEOLOGY AND EXPLORATION IAEA, VIENNA, 1979 STI/PUB/509 ISBN 92-0-041079-0 FOREWORD The most authoritative studies of world supply and demand of uranium indicate that the total cumulative requirement up to the year 2000 may be as much as 3 million tonnes. The uranium requirement beyond the year 2000 is estimated to be much greater and has been given as at least 10 million tonnes. To offset this requirement, the world estimate of uranium reserves at the end of December 1977 was 1 650 000 tonnes. There is thus an urgent requirement for an increased rate of uranium exploration in the world to try to keep up with the predicted very high growth rate for nuclear power. Basic to any exploration effort is knowledge and understanding of how uranium deposits are formed. Knowledge of the chemical, mineralogical and geological control and of the regional tectonic and geochemical distribution of uranium is required to support the exploration programmes of the future. The International Atomic Energy Agency, conscious of the importance of the study of uranium geology and exploration techniques, first sponsored a panel meeting in April 1970 to discuss uranium exploration geology. This was followed in May 1974 by a symposium on the Formation of Uranium Ore Deposits which was held in Athens, Greece. The proceedings of both these meetings were published by the Agency and have made a contribution to the knowledge of uranium geology and exploration. Continuing this effort, the Agency determined to make further studies on a regional scale. The first Regional Advisory Group Meeting on Uranium Geology was held in Lusaka, Zambia, in November 1977 to consider the geology and exploration for uranium deposits in Africa. The general uranium favour- ability of the African geological environment was well known, as some 30% of the world's Reasonably Assured Resources lay in that continent. There is little doubt that Africa will continue to play a major role in meeting the world's uranium requirements. The objective of the meeting was, therefore, to con- sider aspects of the lesser known uranium areas in Africa and to provide a good scientific background for discussion of specific geological features which may in future be found to be favourable for uranium deposits. Papers and part of the discussion at the meeting together with the meeting report are presented in the present publication. The meeting was honoured by the presence of His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zambia, Dr. Kenneth Kaunda, whose opening remarks underlining the importance of the subject were greatly appreciated. The Agency wishes to express its gratitude to all those who contributed papers and took part in the discussions. Special thanks are due to the General Chairman, Mr. S.M. Silangwe (Zambia), and to the Session Chairmen, Messrs. P. Diouly-Osso (Gabon), A. Holmes (Liberia), B. Touahari (Algeria) and P.V. Freeman (Zambia). Finally, sincere thanks are expressed for the excellent meeting arrangements and the warm hospitality to the participants and the Agency staff afforded by the Government of Zambia and the staff of its Geological Survey Department. EDITORIAL NOTE The papers and discussions have been edited by the editorial staff of the International Atomic Energy Agency to the extent considered necessary for the reader's assistance. The views expressed and the general style adopted remain, however, the responsibility of the named authors or participants. In addition, the views are not necessarily those of the governments of the nominating Member States or of the nominating organizations. Where papers have been incorporated into these Proceedings without resetting by the Agency, this has been done with the knowledge of the authors and their government authorities, and their cooperation is gratefully acknowledged. The Proceedings have been printed by composition typing and photo-offset lithography. Within the limitations imposed by this method, every effort has been made to maintain a high editorial standard, in particular to achieve, wherever practicable, consistency of units and symbols and conformity to the standards recommended by competent international bodies. The use in these Proceedings of particular designations of countries or territories does not imply any judgement by the publisher, the IAEA, as to the legal status of such countries or territories, of their authorities and institutions or of the delimitation of their boundaries. The mention of specific companies or of their products or brand names does not imply any endorsement or recommendation on the part of the IAEA. Authors are themselves responsible for obtaining the necessary permission to reproduce copyright material from other sources. CONTENTS I. URANIUM DEPOSITS IN AFRICA Uranium deposits in Africa (IAEA-AG-109/1 ) 3 R.H. Wilpolt, S.D. Simov Uranium mineralization in the Karoo system of Zambia (IAEA-AG-109/2) 21 N.J. Money, R.S. Prasad Metallogeny of radioactive raw materials of Madagascar (IAEA-AG-109/3) 41 C. Premoli Geology of the uranium occurrence in the Bungua area, Siavonga District, Zambia (IAEA-AG-109/4) 69 R.S. Prasad, N.J. Money, J.G. Thieme Uranium occurrences in the gneisses of the Dahomeyan Formation of northern Togo (IAEA-AG-109/5) 89 H. Joppich Uranium occurrence in the Katanga System of north-western Zambia (IAEA-AG-109/6) 97 L. Meneghel Les gisements d'uranium de la région de Franceville (Gabon) (IAEA-AG-109/7) 123 P. Diouly-Osso, R.J. Chauvet Les gisements d'uranium du Zaïre (IAEA-AG-109/8) 149 Dibobol Kitmut, Malu wa Kalenga Airborne gamma-ray spectrometry surveys in Zambia (IAEA-AG-109/9) ... 157 K. Saviaro Uranium exploration activities in Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (IAEA-AG-109/10) 181 A.A. El Maxhrouf, A.R. El Ghundi II. GENERAL PROBLEMS IN URANIUM GEOLOGY Uranium epochs (IAEA-AG-109/11 ) 191 S.D. Simov Unconformity uranium deposits (IAEA-AG-109/12) 205 R.J. Wright Sandstone-type uranium deposits (IAEA-AG-109/13) 219 R.J. Wright Répartition et possibilités de concentration de l'uranium dans les phosphates sédimentaires (IAEA-AG-109/14) 239 M. Slansky SUMMARY OF MEETING 251 CHAIRMEN OF SESSIONS AND SECRETARIAT 255 LIST OF PARTICIPANTS 257 I. URANIUM DEPOSITS IN AFRICA IAEA-AG-109/1 URANIUM DEPOSITS IN AFRICA R.H. WILPOLT, S.D. SIMOV Division of Nuclear Power and Reactors, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna Abstract URANIUM DEPOSITS IN AFRICA. Africa is not only known for its spectacular diamond, gold, copper, chromium, platinum and phosphorus deposits but also for its uranium deposits. At least two uranium provinces can be distinguished — the southern, with the equatorial sub-province; and the south Saharan province. Uranium deposits are distributed either in cratons or in mobile belts, the first of sandstone and quartz-pebble conglomerate type, while those located in mobile belts are predominantly of vein and similar (disseminated) type. Uranium deposits occur within Pre- cambrian rocks or in younger platform sediments, but close to the exposed Precambrian basement. The Proterozoic host rocks consist of sediments, metamorphics or granitoids. In contrast to Phanerozoic continental uranium-bearing sediments, those in the Precambrian are in marginal marine facies but they do contain organic material. The geology of Africa is briefly reviewed with the emphasis on those features which might control the distribution of uranium. The evolution of the African Platform is considered as a progressive reduction of its craton area which has been affected by three major Precambrian tectonic events. A short survey on the geology of known uranium deposits is made.