Uranium Deposits in Magmatic and Metamorphic Rocks Proceedings of a Technical Committee Meeting Salamanca, 29 September - 3 October 1986
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URANIUM DEPOSITS IN MAGMATIC AND METAMORPHIC ROCKS PROCEEDINGS OF A TECHNICAL COMMITTEE MEETING SALAMANCA, 29 SEPTEMBER - 3 OCTOBER 1986 3 INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, VIENNA, 1989 The cover photograph shows uranophane crystals in pegmatite from the Faraday Mine, Ontario, Canada. By courtesy of Y.T. Maurice, Geological Survey of Canada. URANIUM DEPOSITS IN MAGMATIC AND METAMORPHIC ROCKS NUCLEAR SAFETY INFORMATION LIBRARY PLEASE RETURN The following States are Members of the International Atomic Energy Agency: AFGHANISTAN GUATEMALA PARAGUAY ALBANIA HAITI PERU ALGERIA HOLY SEE PHILIPPINES ARGENTINA HUNGARY POLAND AUSTRALIA ICELAND PORTUGAL AUSTRIA INDIA QATAR BANGLADESH INDONESIA ROMANIA BELGIUM IRAN, ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF SAUDI ARABIA BOLIVIA IRAQ SENEGAL BRAZIL IRELAND SIERRA LEONE BULGARIA ISRAEL SINGAPORE BURMA ITALY SOUTH AFRICA BYELORUSSIAN SOVIET JAMAICA SPAIN SOCIALIST REPUBLIC JAPAN SRI LANKA CAMEROON JORDAN SUDAN CANADA KENYA SWEDEN CHILE KOREA, REPUBLIC OF SWITZERLAND CHINA KUWAIT SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC COLOMBIA LEBANON THAILAND COSTA RICA LIBERIA TUNISIA COTE D'IVOIRE LIBYAN ARAB JAMAHIRIYA TURKEY CUBA LIECHTENSTEIN UGANDA CYPRUS LUXEMBOURG UKRAINIAN SOVIET SOCIALIST CZECHOSLOVAKIA MADAGASCAR REPUBLIC DEMOCRATIC KAMPUCHEA MALAYSIA UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE’S MALI REPUBLICS REPUBLIC OF KOREA MAURITIUS UNITED ARAB EMIRATES DENMARK MEXICO UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT DOMINICAN REPUBLIC MONACO BRITAIN AND NORTHERN ECUADOR MONGOLIA IRELAND EGYPT MOROCCO UNITED REPUBLIC OF EL SALVADOR NAMIBIA TANZANIA ETHIOPIA NETHERLANDS UNITED STATES OF AMERICA FINLAND NEW ZEALAND URUGUAY FRANCE NICARAGUA VENEZUELA GABON NIGER VIET NAM GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC NIGERIA YUGOSLAVIA GERMANY, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NORWAY ZAIRE GHANA PAKISTAN ZAMBIA GREECE PANAMA ZIMBABWE 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 Head quarters 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” . © IAEA, 1989 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 April 1989 PANEL PROCEEDINGS SERIES URANIUM DEPOSITS IN MAGMATIC AND METAMORPHIC ROCKS PROCEEDINGS OF A TECHNICAL COMMITTEE MEETING ON URANIUM DEPOSITS IN MAGMATIC AND METAMORPHIC ROCKS ORGANIZED BY THE INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY AND HELD IN SALAMANCA, 29 SEPTEMBER - 3 OCTOBER 1986 INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY VIENNA, 1989 URANIUM DEPOSITS IN MAGMATIC AND METAMORPHIC ROCKS IAEA, VIENNA, 1989 STI/PUB/767 ISBN 92-0-141089-1 ISSN 0074-1876 FOREWORD The association of uranium with certain types of magmatic and metamorphic rocks is well known. These rocks have been the sources of much of the uranium produced in the first stages of the development of the worldwide uranium industry. They have consequently been explored and studied quite extensively. In recent years interest in them has been eclipsed by the discovery of larger, lower cost deposits in other geological environments. Nonetheless, magmatic and metamorphic rocks continue to be important sources of uranium and large areas of the Earth’s crust with such rocks are prospective locations for additional discoveries. Individual deposits in these environments can be quite large and economically competitive and constitute worthwhile exploration targets. As future exploration and development could be more difficult the full importance of individual deposits may not be recognized until after many years of investigation and experience. In addition to being important host rocks, magmatic and metamorphic rocks have been of considerable interest to uranium geologists as they are considered to be important source rocks for uranium and thus can lead to deposits nearby in other environments. Furthermore, these rocks provide important information on the geochemical cycle of uranium in the Earth’s crust and mantle. Such information can lead to identification of uranium provinces and districts and to a basic understanding of processes of formation of uranium deposits. In order to gather and exchange the information on this topic that has resulted from the exploration, field studies and research work of recent years, the International Atomic Energy Agency convened a Technical Committee Meeting on Uranium Deposits in Magmatic and Metamorphic Rocks. The meeting also sought to identify topics needing additional study. The meeting was held in Salamanca, Spain, under the auspices of the University of Salamanca, from 29 September to 3 October 1986. It was followed by a two day field trip to uranium deposits in the Ciudad Rodrigo and Don Benito areas. The meeting was attended by 48 participants from 22 countries. Two panels were organized for discussion of the following topics: (1) ore deposit genesis and characterization and (2) exploration and resource assessment. The technical papers together with the panel reports form this publica tion. The scope and variety of the papers included and the panel reports provide a good coverage of current knowledge and thinking on uranium in magmatic and meta morphic rocks. This volume is one of a series on geology released by the IAEA in recent years covering the important types of uranium deposit and the underlying processes of uranium deposit formation. A list of these publications is included at the end of the book. The IAEA wishes to extend its appreciation to the authors, to the panel chairmen and spokesmen, and to the participants in the meeting for their contribu tions to this project. Special thanks are extended to A. Arribas of the University of Salamanca for hosting the meeting and making many arrangements and for serving as general chairman. Thanks are also extended to the university and its staff for providing the meeting facilities and supporting services, and to the Empresa Nacional de Uranio, SA (ENUSA), for welcoming the group to visit its mining operations. EDITORIAL NOTE The Proceedings have been edited by the editorial staff o f the IAEA to the extent considered necessary for the reader’s assistance. The views expressed remain, however, the responsibility o f the named authors or participants. In addition, the views are not necessarily those o f the governments o f the nominating Member States or o f the nominating organizations. Although great care has been taken to maintain the accuracy o f information contained in this publication, neither the IAEA nor its Member States assume any responsibility for consequences which may arise from its use. The use o f particular designations o f countries or territories does not imply any judge ment by the publisher, the IAEA, as to the legal status o f such countries or territories, o f their authorities and institutions or o f the delimitation o f their boundaries. The mention o f names o f specific companies or products (whether or not indicated as registered) does not imply any intention to infringe proprietary rights, nor should it be construed as an endorsement or recommendation on the part o f the IAEA. The authors are responsible for having obtained the necessary permission for the IAEA to reproduce, translate or use material from sources already protected by copyrights. Material prepared by authors who are in contractual relation with governments is copyrighted by the IAEA, as publisher, only to the extent permitted by the appropriate national regulations. CONTENTS Uranium deposits in the foothills of a granite massif in the southeastern Alps (IAEA-TC-571/1) ............................................................. 1 S.D. Simov Uranium enrichment processes in peraluminous magmatism (IAEA-TC-571/2) ........................................................................................... 11 M.H. Friedrich, M. Cuney Uraniferous granitic veins in the Svecofennian schist belt in Nummi-Pusula, southern Finland (IAEA-TC-571/3) .............................................................. 37 E. Raisanen Discussion ....................................................................................................... 43 A uranium-zirconium mineralization in Revsund granite at Bjorkr&myran, northern Sweden (IAEA-TC-571/4) .............................................................. 45 F. Kullman Discussion ....................................................................................................... 56 Microfracturing and regional stress fields: Relation with fluid chronology and hydrothermal quartz leaching (episyenitization) (IAEA-TC-571/5) ..... 57 M. Lespinasse Discussion ....................................................................................................... 76 Characteristics and regional geological environments of uranium deposits in Mesozoic volcanics in east China (IAEA-TC-571/6) ............................. 77 Shiqing Yu Discussion ....................................................................................................... 92 Uranium metallogenesis of coarse grained granite in Area H, China (IAEA-TC-571/7) ........................................................................................... 93 Jiashu Rong, Zehong Han, Yuliang Xia Uranium mineralization in some typical igneous-metamorphic environments of India (IAEA-TC-571/8) ....................................................