-I
U. S "CflLOCICL SURVEY Field Library Albuquerque, New Mexico Uranium-Bearing Sandstone in the White River Badlands, Pennington County, South Dakota
By G. W. Moore and Murray Levish
Trace Elements Investigations Report 421
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
metadc30 45 S7
L______- ____ - + ,. 4.
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Geology and Mineralogy
This document consists of 24 pages/ Series A
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
URANIUM =BEARING SANDSTONE IN THE WHITE RIVER BADLANDS
PENNINGTON COUNTY, SOUTH DAKOTA
By
George W. Moore and Murray Levish
April 1954
Trace Elements Investigations Report 421
This preliminary report is dis- tributed without editorial and technical review for conformity with official standards and nomen- clature. It is not for public inspec- tion or quotation.
*This report concerns work done on behalf of the Division of Raw Materials of the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission.
When separated from Part II, handle Part I as UNCLASSIFIED.
OFFICIAL USE ONLY USGS -mTEI-421 GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY Distribution (Series A) No. of copies Ame ric an Cyanamid Company, Winchester ...... 1 Argonne National Laboratory ...... 1 Atomic Energy Commission, Washington ...... 1 Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus ...... 1 Carbide and Carbon Chemicals Company, Y-12 Area . . 1 Division of Raw Materials, Albuquerque ...... 1 Division of Raw Materials, Butte . . . . 1 Division of Raw Materials, Denver ...... 1 Division of Raw Materials, Douglas ...... 1 Division of Raw Materials, Hot Springs ...... 1 Division of Raw Materials, Ishpeming , ...... 1 Division of Raw Materials, New York ...... 6 Division of Raw Materials, Phoenix...... 1 Division of Raw Materials, Richfield...... " 1 Division of Raw Materials, Salt Lake City ...... 1 Division of Raw Materials, Washington ...... 3 Dow Chemical Company, Pittsburg. . . 1 Exploration Division, Grand Junction Operations Office . 1 Grand Junction Operations Office...... 1 Technical Information Service, Oak Ridge ...... 6
Tennessee Valley Authority, Wilson Dam . . . . . 1 U. S. Geological Survey: Alaskan Geology Branch, Washington ...... 1
Fuels Branch, Washington ...... 3 Geochemistry and Petrology Branch, Washington . . 1 Geophysics Branch, Washington ...... 1 Mineral Deposits Branch, Washington ...... 2 E. H. Bailey, Menlo Park ...... 1
K. L. Buck, Denver . 1 J. R. Cooper, Denver . . ." . 1 N. M. Denson, Denver ... . . ". 2
C. E. Dutton, Madison . . . ." ." 1
R. P. Fischer, Grand Junction . ." ." 1
L. S. Gardner, Albuquerque . .e .e 1 M. R. Klepper, Washington 1
A. H. Koschmann, Denver . . .o .s . 1 .e .0 R. A. Laurence, Knoxville . .o ." ." . 1 . e .a D. M. Lemmon, Washington . .0 .e . 1 .0 J. D. Love, Laramie. . . . . 1 ." .0 V. E. McKelvey, Menlo Park . ." . 1 . . R. G. Petersen, Plant City . ." 1
R. J. Roberts, Salt Lake City .0 1 ." Q. D. Singewald, Beltsville . 1
J. F. Smith, Jr., Denver . .0 1 A. E. Weissenborn, Spokane . 1
TEPCO, Denver ...... 0 .0. 0. .. . 2 TEPCO, RPS, Washington . . .0 . . . . 3 (Including master) 65 CONTENTS
Page
Abstract...... 5
Introduction...... 6.. 5 Stratigraphy ...... " . 9 Cretaceous rocks . ." . . .. 9 Pierre shale .0 . .s . . . 9 Tertiary rocks .0 . . ." . . . . . 10 .a Chadron formation ...... 10 . ." Brule formation ." ...... 12 Quaternary deposits ...... 12 Pediment gravel ...... 12 .e Alluvium ...... 13 .0 Structure ...... 13 Uranium occurrences . . . . 14 Origin ...... o . . . 17 Suggestions for prospecting . . 20 Literature cited ...... 22 Unpublished reports. . . . . 23
ILLUSTRATIONS
Figure 1. Index map showing location of area described in this report and its relation to other sandstone- type uranium occurrences ...... 6
2. Geology of part of the White River Badlands, Pennington County, S. Dak...... 8
3. Stratigraphic sections of rocks in the vicinity of the Hart Table uranium occurrence, Pennington County, S. Dak...... 11
4. View of the Chadron and Brule formations in the White River Badlands, S. Dak. Arrow indicates exposure of uranium-bearing sandstone channel, 15
5. Close view of mineralized sandstone channel in the Chadron formation ...... 15
6. A carnotite -bearing chalcedony vein in the Brule formation ...... 15
7. Map showing areal distribution of rocks of the White River group in the Rocky Mountain Region 21 TABLE Page Table 1. Analysis of samples collected in the White River Badlands, Pennington County, South Dakota .0.. 16 -5-
URANIUM-BEARING SANDSTONE IN THE WHITE RIVER BADLANDS, PENNINGTON COUNTY, SOUTH DAKOTA
By George W. Moore and Murray Levish
ABSTRACT
The uranium mineral uranocircite, a barium uranyl phosphate, occurs in a sandstone channel in the Chadron formation of Oligocene age in the White River Badlands, Pennington County, S. Dak. A vertical section of the basal 1-foot of the channel contains 0. 25 percent uranium. There are also small amounts of metatyuyamunite (?) in the upper part of a freshwater lime stone bed in the Chadron formation and carnotite in chalcedony veins in the overlying Brule formation, also of Oligocene age. The source of the uranium is thought to have been from volcanic ash in the Brule formation and in the overlying rocks of
Miocene age. Downward moving groundwater may have leached this uranium and redeposited it in the rocks below.
INTRODUCTION
Uranium-bearing sandstone was found on the south scarp of Hart
Table, near Scenic, Pennington County, S. Dak., by R. E. Melin,
R. C. Kepferle, and the writers on July 28, 1953 (fig. 1). The uranium minerals occur in a sandstone channel in the Chadron formation of the
White River group. Reconnaissance was undertaken because rocks of the same formation contain uranium in the Slim Buttes area, in the northwestern part of South Dakota (Gill and Moore, 1954), and overlie I I
M MONTANA
r
I "~~ '~Slim Buttes',
HT- ulett A laddin * - *I
SOUTH DAKOTA- Carlisle
BLACK
o RAPID CITY
H ILL S~ ~ * ,Iv---7 Pumpkin K * .- - SEI / SEN IC Buttes Bte ' WYOMINGWYOMl /
jDewey- = rArea of this report
EdgemontI\ - -- * Bill I I
NEBRA SKA I- 1!! FIGURE I .- INDEX MAP SHOWING LOCATION OF AREA DESCRIBED IN THIS REPORT AND ITS RELATION TO OTHER SANDSTONE-TYPE URANIUM OCCURRENCES
0 50 100 Miles I0 .010 1 .e uranium deposits in Wyoming (Love, 1952).
When occurrences of uranium were found near Scenic, an area of
12 square miles was mapped in detail (fig. 2) to provide data that might assist in interpreting the origin of the uranium and guide the search for other occurrences.
The area is located in the southwestern part of South Dakota, about 40 miles southeast of Rapid City and 3 miles southwest of Scenic,
Access is by a graded road 3 miles west from State Highway 40 at
Scenic and 2 miles south across the flat surface of Hart Table to the
south tip of the mesa. A rail shipping point is located at Scenic.
The region is characterized by a deeply dissected erosion surface of which Hart Table, Randolph Table, and Sheep Mountain Table are remnants;. Between these mesas the tributaries of the Cheyenne River and White River have cut steep-walled valleys. This is the type area for badlands topography. Vegetation is nearly absent except for a few trees along Indian Creek and grass on the mesa tops.
The area was first mapped by the Powell Survey in 1875 (Newton,
1879). It was remapped by Darton (1905) in connection with work on the water resources of the Great Plains. The stratigraphy and paleon- tology of the rocks of the White River group have been studied in detail by several workers, including Wanless (1922, 1923), Osborn (1929), and Clark (1937).
N. M. Denson suggested the area of investigation and gave valuable assistance during all phases of the study. W. A. Braddock collected some of the samples used in evaluating the uranium occurrence, and R.12 E. R. 13 E. R.2E . 1 ...... 7 -r EXPLANATION K- - BADLANDS ATONALMONUMENT BOUNDARY
cr b :e 9.- b - T'e 4 z Tc------3 Tb mc 1W- F i a Ped ment gravel r
Tc c Tb - Kp 32 Brule formation
Tb Tc \- .Te cc o 4 O Tcst Tb- T. r. U- 3 - Kp _- 3 Chadron formation (Tc) cs.\ .\ S. with sandstone channels S. Tc \ Ts3 \ \ - (Tcs, Tcs2, Tcs3) of 1-1 ------7n -1 Q -- U) 04 T T. -- a 4 - m) S. - 4 S. a Pierre shale cc U- T.
T Tb -
Geologic contact - 5
-c- -- - p Q9 Tb' TTb
T b*
Approximate boundaries c -\'\ of sandstone channel in -c-3 the Chadron formation -K?--aO~o :Tb 01
-- F x --- 1' >\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"\\\\ L - >2????2?11 I P ' r ...... 'T T N. Sample locality
Tb
Now SOUTH DAKOTA
IC Pierre 8 oQq Rapid city " .Scenic Tc, 'N Tc INDEX MAP xx - -'P -- t - . - - \N Geology by George W. Moore and Murray Levish, 1953. Tt Base from U.S. Geological Survey Sheep Mountain Table and Heutmacher Table quadrangles.
M 1i r oR.12 in rE. R. 13 E.
b FIGURE 2.--GEOLOGY OF PART OF THE WHITE RIVER BADLANDS, PENN INGTON COUNTY, SOUTH DAKOTA
0 '/2 L~~ I Scale in miles L. R. Page provided valuable suggestions concerning the appraisal of the occurrence. The work was done on behalf of the Division of Raw
Materials of the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission.
STRATIGRAPHY
The rocks exposed in the area range in age from Cretaceous to
Pleistocene (fig. 2). The Pierre shale of late Cretaceous age crops out in the valley of Indian Creek in the western part of the area.
Unconformably overlying the Pierre shale are conglomerate, sandstone, and bentonitic claystone of the Chadron formation of Oligocene age.
The Brule formation, also of Oligocene age, is composed mostly of tuffaceous sandstone and siltstone and conformably overlies the Chadron formation. Together the Chadron and Brule formations make up the
White River group. In the area studied these formations have a com- bined thickness of about 600 feet. Lying unconformably on these rocks and cutting across all of them is a thin layer of pediment gravel of
Pleistocene age.
Cretaceous rocks
Pierre shale
The oldest rocks exposed in the mapped area are those which have been assigned to the Pierre shale of late Cretaceous age. The
Pierre shale is composed of an olive -gray to light olive -gray clay
shale. At the top of the Pierre shale directly below the unconformably overlying Chadron formation there is a light brown zone called the
"Interior formation" by Ward (1922). Wanless (1923, p. 197) has sug- gested that this zone is a weathering feature caused by oxidation prior to deposition of the White River Group. The zone is about 50 feet thick in most of the area but is absent where the basal rocks of the Chadron formation lie in a great channel cut in the Pierre shale., This channel, called the "Red River Valley" by Clark (1937), is about 70 feet deep and 8 miles wide. The channel trends east and its north wall passes about through the center of the mapped area.
Tertiary rocks
Chadron formation
The Chadron formation of Oligocene age is the lower formation of the White River group and in the area studied rests unconformably on the Pierre shale. The Chadron formation ranges in thickness from
70 to 140 feet and may be divided into two principal lithologic units. The lower unit is present only in the "Red River Valley" channel and con- sists dominantly of cros3-bedded sandstone with some conglomerate and (fig.3) bentonitic claystonef. The upper unit is largely yellowish-gray benton- itic claystone, but it also contains sandstone channels and widespread but thin discontinuous beds of impure limestone. These limestone beds commonly are partly silicified. Uranium minerals occur locally in the limestone beds and sandstone channels. Four typical channels have 11
C AR BUTTE > EXPLANATION CED 0 w Q NE 29 U Z /4 sec. O cr o.o'B.4J T.43 N., R.44W. (t-( _-{-- E *1 Pediment grovel Fine -grained Siltstone Bentonitic claystone W Q sandstone -a
o.o o 00000
Conglomerate Tuffoceous sandstone Cloystone Limestone
Medium-to coarse- Tuff Clay shale grained sandstone
--
Feet SHEEP MTN. TABLE -0 SW '/4 sec 5 T.4S., R.13E
-50 3 Miles 0 E
-100 HART TABLE Vertical scale NEI/4 sec. 3, W T.3 S., R.3 E. Z W V O- C) -J w 0 F-
2 Miles
INDIAN CREEK S E /4 sec. 2, T.4 S., R.12E. 3 Miles 1 ------. Hart Table uranium occurrence
~ J 10
10 0 w 0
Ii: ac 0~
FIGURE 3.- STRATIGRAPHIC SECTIONS OF ROCKS IN THE VICINITY OF THE HART TABLE URANIUM OCCURRENCE, PENNINGTON COUNTY, SOUTH DAKOTA -12-
been indicated on the geologic map, figure 2. Other channels are present but were not mapped.
Brule formation
Overlying the Chadron formation and differentiated from it by a lithologic and color change is the Brule formation. The Brule forma- tion of Oligocene age is made up of siltstone, silty claystone, and very fine -grained sandstone. The light-brown claystone of the Brule forma- tion contrasts in color with the yellowish-gray claystone of the Chadron formation, and the siltstone of the Brule formation is a characteristic grayish orange-pink. The base at most places is marked by a limestone bed at the top of the Chadron formation.
The Brule formation has a maximum thickness of about 500 feet in the area studied and is composed of mixed detrital and volcanic material throughout. The upper 130 feet is almost entirely volcanic ash.
Quaternary deposits
Pediment gravel
The accordant upper surfaces of Hart Table, Randolph Table, and
Sheep Mountain Table are covered with a veneer of gravel and silt of probable Pleistocene age. These deposits which are 5 to 15 feet thick lie on the Missouri Plateau (Fenneman, 1931). In the mapped area the
Pleistocene deposits rest on the Brule formation but the Missouri
Plateau surface cuts progressively downward to the northwest and within a few miles the deposits rest on the Chadron formation and Pierre shale.
Alluvium
Little alluvium is present in the area but there are stream deposits along Indian Creek and its major tributaries. Alluvial deposits were not mapped.
STRUCTURE
The rocks of the White River group in the vicinity of the Hart
Table uranium occurrence dip about 30 feet to the mile to the southeast away from the Black Hills uplift. No faults have been recognized in the area.
Chalcedony veins as much as 2 inches thick are common in the mapped area. Some sandstone dikes also were found. The chalcedony veins and sandstone dikes fill nearly vertical fractures. The fractures, some of which extend over a hundred feet vertically,. are present in the
Brule formation and rarely extend into the underlying bentonitic clay- stone of the Chadron formation. Wanless (1923, p. 256) describes dikes of volcanic ash in the Brule formation near Imlay, S. Dak., the filling material of which was clearly derived from a bed of volcanic ash higher in the formation demonstrating a nearly contemporaneous origin. The chalcedony is generally believed to have been derived by leaching of silica from the volcanic ash in the Brule formation (Lawler, 1923, p. 170; Bump, 1951, p. 45). -14-
Many workers have considered that the fractures have resulted from
contraction of the deposits by desiccation (Wanless, 1923, p. 256; Bump,
1951, p. 45), but Smith (1952), noting the vertical extent of the dikes through
several beds of differing lithology, the absence of polygonal desiccation
pattern, as well as other lines of evidence, has largely discredited this
hypothesis. Lawler (1923, p. 165) plotted the directions of many of the
fracture-fillings but found no systematic orientation that might be sugges-
tive of a tectonic origin.
In the mapped area it was observed that the fractures are most
numerous where the Brule formation overlies the margins of channels
in the Chadron formation, particularly along the sides of the 70-foot
deep "Red River Valley" channel. The origin of the fractures may be
due to differential compaction along the sides of underlying channels.
URANIUM OCCURRENCES
The principal concentration of uranium minerals is along the
axis of a sandstone channel (localities 3-10, fig. 2) on the south flank
of Hart Table in the NE 1/4 sec. 31, T. 3 S. , R, 13 E. This channel is
located near the top of the Chadron formation (fig. 4). The channel is
about 500 feet wide, has a maximum thickness of 7 feet, and is at least
a mile long. The uranium minerals, however, are exposed through only
a short part of its total length. The channel is composed of yellowish-
gray coarse-grained sandstone which is moderately well sorted. The basal 2 feet are very well indurated and form a prominent ledge (fig. 5). 15
SBRLE FMt
Figure 4. -- View of the Chadron and Brule formations in the White River Badlands, South Dakota. Arrow indicates exposure of uranium-bearing sandstone channel.
a~ ...v . Y' 4
Figure 5. -- Close view of part of mineralized sandstone channel in the Chadron formation.
vn ith B formatin.
-a--' 't t
Figure 6. -- A carnotite -bearing dial -e dony vein in the Brule formation.
61701 -16
The channel is directly underlain by an impermeable bed of bentonitic
claystone.
The uranium mineral has been identified by X-ray diffraction
methods as uranocircite by W. F. Outerbridge of the U. S. Geological
Survey. This yellow-green nonfluorescent barium uranyl phosphate
is associated in the rock with barite and apatite. It is disseminated
through the lower 2 feet of the sandstone channel and the most intense
mineralization has been in the basal few inches of the channel. Some
uranocircite is present in fractures in the top inch of the underlying bentonite. Analyses of these rocks are given in table 1.
Table 1. - Analysis of samples collected in the White River Badlands, Pennington County, South Dakota Equivalent Map Laboratory Type of uranium Uranium locality number Material sample (percent) (percent) 1 D-96194 Limestone Grab 0. 017 0. 023
2 D-96195 Chalcedony Grab . 007 . 008
3 D-96197 Sandstone Grab .12 .22
4 D-98838 Sandstone 28 in. channel . 006 . 005
5 D-98837 Sandstone 36 in. channel .008 .007
6 D-93407 Sandstone Grab .13 .24
7 D-98835 Sandstone 26 in. channel .014 .013
8 D-96198 Sandstone 12 in. channel. .20 .25
9 D -98836 Sandstone 29 in. channel .020 .022
10 D-98839 Sandstone 21 in. channel . 013 . 012
11 D-96199 Chalcedony Grab . 010 . 013
12 D.-96196 Chalcedony Grab . 015 . 013
Analysts: E. J. Fennelly, S. P. Furman, Wayne Mountjoy, and J. E. Wilson. Metatyuyamunite (?), a calcium uranyl vanadate, occurs at one place in a bed of freshwater limestone in the Chadron formation in the
NE 1/4 sec. 36, T. 3S. , R. 12 E. This limestone bed marks the top of the Chadron formation and is about 2 feet thick. The bed is partly replaced by chalcedony. The metatyuyamunite (?) is in the top inch of the bed.
In addition to uranium minerals in sandstone and limestone in the Chadron formation, efflorescent coatings of carnotite, potassium uranyl vanadate, occur on chalcedony veins in the Brule formation at several localities (fig. 6). These coatings are very thin and are only found on the outer surfaces of the vertical or near vertical veins.
ORIGIN
In examining the problem of the genesis of the uranium occurr- ences in the White River Badlands, three possible origins are con- sidered: Deposition of uranium minerals with the original sediments in the channel with possible later redistribution by groundwater; depo- sition from hydrothermal solutions; and deposition from groundwater solutions which have leached the uranium from overlying volcanic ash.
A penecontemporaneous origin by the concentration of uranium shortly after deposition of the enclosing rocks has been proposed for the uranium deposits of the Colorado Plateau by Fischer (1942). Sedi- ments in the sandstone channel in the White River Badlands probably were partly derived from the Black Hills 50 miles to the west where -l8-
important uranium deposits occur in the Inyan Kara group of lower
Cretaceous age (Page and Redden, 1952). Uranium derived from the
erosion of these deposits if they were present in Oligocene time, or
from deposits in the pre -Cambrian rocks of the Black Hills, could have
been localized at the time the sandstone in the channel was laid down.
By this mechanism, however, it is difficult to explain the concentra-
tions of uranium in the chalcedony veins in the overlying Brule forma-
tion.
These veins, on the other hand, might be considered to represent
hydrothermal deposits. When they are traced downward, however, the
veins do not pass through the bentonitic claystone of the Chadron forma-
tion. They are thought to represent fractures caused by differential
compaction of the rocks prior to lithification. The chalcedony is thought
by many workers to have been derived from silica leached by ground-
water from volcanic ash in the enclosing rocks (Lawler, 1923, p. 170;
Bump, 1951, p. 45). No evidence of hydrothermal activity has been re-
ported in the entire region of the White River Badlands.
The proposed origin which seems to most satisfactorily explain
the geologic relations is a source from the overlying tuffaceous rocks
of the Brule formation, and rocks of Miocene age which have now been
removed by erosion but which are present to the southeast.
Denson and others (1950) first suggested that some uranium de-
posits may have had their source from pyroclastic debris containing
small amounts of uranium in Tertiary rocks. Since that time others have considered this type of origin for uranium-bearing sandstone deposits of Wyoming (Love, 1952), Utah (Proctor, 1953), the Colorado -19-
Plateau (Gruner, 1954), and other areas.
The rocks of the Brule formation contain on the average about
0. 001 percent uranium. Gill and Moore (1954) have shown that spring water issuing from the White River group and the Arikaree formation in the Slim Buttes area, Harding County, S. Dak. , contains about
10 to 30 times as much uranium as water from the nontuffaceous Ludlow and Hell Creek formations. The spring water also contains significant concentrations of vanadium. The average uranium content of water from 26 springs in the White River group and Arikaree formation is
41 parts per billion, whereas water from 8 springs in the Ludlow and
Hell Creek formations averages 4 parts per billion uranium. Even the last mentioned waters may have been enriched by the nearby tuffaceous rocks as the uranium content of water long distances from known sources of uranium is even lower. Judson and Osmond (1953) obt ained an average uranium content of only 0.4 parts per billion uranium from 42 well samples in Wisconsin, and the uranium content of the ocean is only about 1 part per billion (Koczy, 1950).
It is suggested that the uranium occurrences in the White River
Badlands were formed over a long period of time by the precipitation of uranium from groundwater solutions. The source of the uranium is believed to have been from volcanic ash in the rocks of upper Oligo- cene and Miocene age. Meteoric water moving downward and laterally may have leached uranium and carried it until a favorable physical and chemical environment for deposition was reached in fractures in the Brule formation and sandstone channels and limestone beds in the -20-
Chadron formation. The volcanic ash may also have been the source of the silica in the chalcedony veins and silicified limestone.
SUGGESTIONS FOR PROSPECTING
An airborne radioactivity survey of part of the White River
Badlands was conducted by the U. S. Geological Survey. This survey showed that the rocks of the White River group have a much higher radioactivity than the underlying rocks.
In addition, spring-water samples from widespread areas in these rocks contain high concentrations of uranium. A sample from sec. 13, T. 31 N., R. 70 W., Converse County, Wyoming, contains
150 parts per billion uranium (M. L. Troyer, personal communication), and a sample from sec. 21, T. 10 N., R. 60 W., Weld County, Colo., contains 12 parts per billion (H. A. Tourtelot, personal communication).
The White River group is preserved today chiefly in the states of
North and South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, and Montana
(fig. 7). Prospecting might be rewarding in these states both in the
White River group and in underlying rocks which may have derived uranium from it.
Tuffaceous rocks principally of Miocene age may also be impor- tant sources of uranium. These rocks mantle parts of the Great Plains from North Dakota to Texas. 21
.. NORTH DAKOTA
M 0 N T A N A
~.
to SOUTH DAKOTA
46 ".+* a
W Y O M I N G
i
C O L O R A D 0
I
I
I
Compiled from Federal and State survey maps FIGURE 7.- MAP SHOWING AREAL DISTRIBUTION OF ROCKS OF THE WHITE RIVER GROUP IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION 0 100 200 Mlles -22-
LITERATURE CITED
Bump, J. D. , 1951, The White River Badlands of South Dakota: Soc. Vertebrate Paleont. , Fifth Field Conf. , p. 35 -46.
Clark, John, 1937, The stratigraphy and paleontology of the Chadron formation in the Big Badlands of South Dakota: Carnegie Mus. Annals, v. 25, p. 263-272.
Darton, N. W. , 1905, Preliminary report on the geology and under- ground water resources of the central Great Plains: U. S. Geol. Survey, Prof. Paper 32.
Fenneman, N. M., 1931, Physiography of the western United States: New York, McGraw-Hill Book Co., p. 6l
Fischer, R. P. , 1942, Vanadium deposits of Colorado and Utah: U. S. Geol. Survey, Bull. 936-P, p. 363-394.
Gruner, J. W., 1954, The origin of the uranium deposits of the Colorado Plateau and adjacent regions: Mines Mag. , v. 44, p. 53-56.
Koczy, Gerta, 1950, Further uranium determinations on sea water sample: Akad. Wiss. Wien, math. - naturwiss. Kl., Sitzungsber., Abt. Ila, v. 158, p. 113-122.
Lawler, T. B., 1923, On the occurrence of sandstone dikes and chalcedony veins in the White River Oligocene: Am. Jour. Sci., v. 5, p. 160172.
Love, J. D., 1952, Preliminary report on uranium deposits in the Pumpkin Buttes area, Powder River Basin, Wyoming: U. S. Geol. Survey, Circ. 176.
Newton, Henry, 1879, Topographical and geological atlas of the Black Hills of Dakota: U. S. Geog, and Geol. Survey of the Rocky Mtn. Region.
Osborn, H. F. , 1929, The titanotheres of ancient Wyoming, Dakota, and Nebraska: U. S. Geol. Survey Mon. 55.
Page, L. R., and Redden, J. A., 1952, The carnotite prospects of the Craven Canyon area, Fall River County, South Dakota: U. S. Geol. Survey, Circ. 175.
Proctor, P. D. , 1953, Geology of the Silver.Reef mining district, Washington County, Utah: Utah Geol. and Mineralog. Survey, Bull. 44. Smith, K. G., 1952, Structure plan of clastic dikes: Am. Geophys. Union, Trans., v. 33, p. 892.
Wanless, H. R. , 1922, Lithology of the White River sediments: Am. Philos. Soc. , Proc. , v. 61, p. 184-203.
------1923, The stratigraphy of the White River Beds of South Dakota: Am. Philos. Soc., Proc., v. 62, p. 190-269.
Ward, Freeman, 1922, The geology of a portion of the' Badlands: S. Dak. Geol. and Nat. History Survey, Bull. 11.
UNPUBLISHED REPORTS
Denson, N. M. , Bachman, G. 0., and Zeller, H. D., 1950, Summary of new information on uraniferous lignites in the Dakotas: U. S. Geol. Survey Trace Elements Memo. Rept. 175.
Gill, J. R. , and Moore, G. W. , 1954, Carnotite -bearing sandstone in Cedar Canyon, Slim Buttes, Harding County, South Dakota: U. S. Geol. Survey Trace Elements Invs. Rept. 411.
Judson, Sheldon, and Osmond, Kenneth, 1953, The possible use of groundwater radioactivity as a prospecting tool for uranium, and the role of groundwater in the geochemistry of uranium: U. S. Atomic Energy Comm., Contract no. AT(11-1)178. OFFICIAL USE ONLY
-24.
USGS - TEI-421, Part I1
RESERVES
Reserves in the Hart Table sandstone channel are difficult to estimate from the surface exposures, but in any case they are small.
Rock with a grade of 0. 20 percent uranium and a specific gravity of
2. 0 occurs along the exposed face about 25 feet with a thickness of about 6 inches. Considering the occurrence to be equidimensional, inferred reserves may be 20 tons of rock with a grade of 0.20'percent containing 80 pounds of uranium.
OFFICIAL USE ONLY a