Proceedings of an Advisory Group Meeting Vienna, 26—29 November 1979 jointly organized by )AEA and NEA (OECD) Uranium Exploration Case Histories tNTERNATtONAL ATOMtC ENERGY AGENCY, V!ENNA, 1981 Cover picture: Geology of the Key Lake area (Canada) showing the location of mineralized glaciai boutders transported by an esker. The mineralized boulders were the first indication of the presence of rich uranium accumulations in the region. Improvement of the glacial geology, together with lake sediment sampling, geophysical surveys and drilling, finally led to the discovery of two orebodies containing about 75 000 t U 3 O 8 with an average grade of 3% U 3OS (from Gatzweiler et al.). LEGEND [ j Athabasca Formationx*X Mieralized Boulders Aphebian Metasediments жз=зУ Esker f +*+!*] Archean Granitoids Fault Zones I Ore Zones Airborne EM Conductors URANIUM EXPLORATION CASE HISTORIES PANEL PROCEEDINGS SERIES URANIUM EXPLORATION CASE HISTORIES PROCEEDINGS OF AN ADVISORY GROUP MEETING ON CASE HISTORIES OF URANIUM EXPLORATION JOINTLY ORGANIZED BY THE INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY AN D THE OECD NUCLEAR ENERGY AGENCY AND HELD IN VIENNA, 2 6 -2 9 NOVEM BER 1979 INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY VIENNA, 1981 URANIUM EXPLORATION CASE HISTORIES IAEA, VIENNA, 1981 STI/PUB/584 ISBN 92-0-141081-6 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 oí the Agency are situated in Vienna. !ts principal objective is "to accelerate and enlarge the contribution of atomic energy to peace, health and prosperity throughout the world". O IAEA, 1981 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 IA EA in Austria October 1981 FOREWORD In 1976 the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency and the International Atomic Energy Agency established a Joint Group o f Experts on Research and Development in Uranium Exploration Techniques. The aim o f the Group's programme was to improve the rate o f discovery o f uranium deposits and to increase our knowledge o f the size o f the uranium resource base. Several areas were identified in which existing techniques could, with international co-operation, be significantly improved and new techniques developed to assist in the discovery o f uranium deposits, and in this connection 'Uranium Exploration Case Histories' was identified by the Group as a subject o f prime importance. The Joint Group considered that although there was an adequate diffusion o f information about the methodology and retrospective scope o f each available exploration technique, the effective and final performances of each technique in different geological, topographic and climatic conditions were not well known. The Group therefore proposed to collect and systematically analyse information about general exploration practice, to indicate the degree to which each had been successful and to publicize the various approaches adopted. It was considered that the most effective way to initiate this procedure would be to hold a meeting of the senior exploration personnel from the world's mining industry who have participated in the discovery o f major or new-type uranium deposits during the past three decades. The purpose o f the meeting was to describe the methods used and the history of the discovery of these deposits. From the various organizations and companies invited to participate in the meeting, nineteen favourable responses were received. Twenty successful programmes were described in the nineteen contributions, representing a wide spectrum o f exploration methods applied in different geographical and geological conditions of the more important or promising uraniferous areas of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Greenland, France, South Africa, Sweden, United States o f America and Zambia. The OECD Nuclear Energy Agency and the International Atomic Energy Agency wish to express their gratitude to all the organizations and companies that contributed, by means o f papers prepared by their respective highly qualified personnel, to the success o f the meeting on Uranium Exploration Case Histories. Both Agencies would, at the same time, like to recognize the valuable financial contributions o f the United States Department o f Energy and the Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe o f the Federal Republic o f Germany which make possible the publication o f the present proceedings. EDÏTORÏAL NOTE 77ie papers and с?мсм5л;'о?м /¡a^e &een edited йу t/¡e ediVori'a/ sta/f о/ t/ie /nternati'ona/ Htomi'c Energy Agency to t/¡e e ffe c t consideren/ necessary /or t/¡e reader's assistance. Г/ie fiews expressed aad M e genera/ sty/e adopfed remain, /¡owe^er, t/¡e responsi^i/i'ty о/t/ie named ant/iors or participants. /n addition, t/¡e riews are noy neí?essari/y t/iose o/ t/¡e governments o/ t/¡e nominating ТИет^ег States or o/ t/¡e nom¡nat;';ig organizations. Wierepapera /;aye óeen incorporated into t/iese A*oceedings wit/iOMt resetting /?y t/ie Agency, t/n's /ias óeen done wit/i t/ie ¿now/edge o/f/;eaMt/iors and M eirgovernrneHi a:<t/ior!t/es, and t/íeir cooperarios ¡s grate/ü//y acÁ;now/edged. 77;e A-oceedings Ламе &een printed ¿y composition typing and p/ioto-o//set /it/iograp/iy. MWn'n t/ie /imitations imposed &y t/n's met/iod, et^ery e//ort /ias Z?een made to maintain a /¡ig/i editoria/ standard, in partici</ar to ac/iieve, w/ierever practica/?/e, consistency o/ units and sym¿o/s and con/brmity to t/ie .standards recommended &y competent internationa/ bodies. 77ie^seint/ieseA*oceedingso/particM/ardesigní!ti'ons o/ countries or territories does not imp/у any /Mdgement /?y t/ie pM/)/is/ier, t/ie //)Fv4, as to t/ie /ega/ states o/ S M c / i countries or territories, o/t/ieiraMt/ioriti'es and ¡rMt/tMttonj or o/ t/ie de/imitation o/ t/¡eir ¿onndaries. 77ie mention o/ speci/ic companies or o/ t/¡eir products or brand names does not imp/у any endorsement or recommendation on t/ie part o/ t/ie ^Mt/iors are t/iemse/fes responsib/e /or obtaining t/¡e necessary permission to reproduce copyrig/it materia/ /rom ot/ier .sources. CONTENTS CASE HISTORIES The Espinharas uranium occurrence, Brazil (IAEA-ÁG-250/2) ............... 2 ÆD. FMc/и, У. da Fonfe, К ДмсАгам, К ГАа/смл Discussion .......................................................... ................................. 11 The Southern Karoo uranium deposit, South Africa (IAEA-AG-25 0/15) .............................................. .................................. 15 Дои?/! И/h'can И /owí'c Energy Foard Discussion ............................................................................................. 20 Discovery o f the Sierra Pintada uranium district, Mendoza Province, Argentina (IAEA-AG-250/6) ................................................................ 23 F. /¿odn'go, A F . ßcF/мсо Discussion ............................................................................................. 54 The Westmoreland uranium deposit, Queensland, Australia (IAEA-AG-250/3) ................................................................................ 59 //. D. FMc/M, H^.F. Дс/ü'nd^ayr Discussion ............................................................................................ 71 Methodology and history o f discovery o f uranium mineralization in North-Western Province of Zambia (IAEA-AG-250/13) .................... 75 F. Afcncg/ze/ Discussion ............................................................................................ 94 Poços de Caldas and Itataia: two case histories o f uranium exploration in Brazil (IAEA-AG-250/14) ............................................. 99 J.AÍ.A Forman, /l.C. /1 Discussion ............................................................................................ 136 Exploration of the uranium reefs of Cooke Section, Radfontein Estates Gold Mining Company (Witwatersrand) Ltd, South Africa (IAEA-AG-250/16) ...................................................................... 141 B.D. 5*?ewarf Discussion ................................................. ........ ................................... 169 Discovery o f the Jabiluka uranium deposits, East Alligator River Region, Northern Territory of Australia (IAÈA-AG-250/19) ............ 171 J. C. D. К Мэ.;/?ег Exploration o f the K ey Lake uranium deposits, Saskatchewan, Canada (IAEA-AG-250/5) .................................... .................................. 195 Я. Ga?zwe;7er, Д. Д. Fan Discussion ....................................... ..................................................... 219 Midwest Lake uranium discovery, Saskatchewan, Canada (IAEA-AG-25 0/1) ................................................................................ 221 F. Rcoff Discussion ......................................................... ................................... 240 From armchair geology to a deposit in a new uranium province (IAEA-AG-250/8) ........................................ ,...................................... 243 C. FMHJrocÆ Discussion ............................................................................................ 275 Exploration o f Bernabe Montano complex o f uranium deposits, New Mexico, USA (IAEA-AG-250/9) .................................................. 279 D.Æ Porfer Discussion ...........................................................................................