Summary of worldwide U deposits

by deposit  characteristics and classification

Michel CUNEY

UMR G2R-CREGU- CNRS

Vandoeuvre les NANCY

FRANCE

* NOt for commercial uses

THE URANIUM ORE MINERALS

Lindgren defines an ore mineral as "a mineral which may be used for the extraction of one or more metals." A uranium ore mineral is therefore a mineral possessing such physical and chemical properties and occurring in a deposit in such concentrations that it may be used for the profitable extraction of uranium, either alone or together with one or more other metals. There are only a few of the many uranium minerals that meet these qualifications and still fewer in which uranium is the major constituent. Pitchblende and uraninite contain theoretically up to 85 per cent uranium but actually between 50 and 80 per cent; carnotite, torbernite, tyuyamunite, autunite, uranophane, and brannerite, 45 to 60 per cent. In other minerals, uranium is an important but relatively minor constituent the minerals, davidite, samarskite, and euxenite, for example, contain only 1 to 18 per cent. The majority of uranium-bearing minerals, however, contain uranium in small or trace amounts as an accessory to other major constituents.

The uranium content of a mineral does not of itself, however, determine whether it is a uranium ore mineral. If the uranium is present in a mineral in such complex combinations with other elements that it is too costly to extract, or if the mineral does not occur in sufficient quantities to make extraction worthwhile, that mineral is not a uranium ore mineral. Thus, the definition for an ore mineral, like that for an ore deposit, is dependent upon economics and time upon the value of uranium and the results of future exploration and metallurgical progress. A uranium mineral that is not an ore mineral today may be one tomorrow.

Most of the uranium minerals in pegmatites and placers are refractory; that is, the uranium is present in combinations which are extremely difficult to break down chemically in order to recover the uranium. These minerals also usually occur scattered sparsely throughout the deposit so that recovery difficult and expensive. Therefore, even though some of the individual minerals may contain up to 50 per cent uranium, they are not ore minerals.

The fact that only a few of the numerous uranium minerals qualify as uranium ore minerals and form uranium ore deposits, whereas uranium in small amounts is widely spread throughout the rocks of the earth's crust, adds greatly to the problem of uranium exploration. The uranium prospector gets many "nibbles" but few "bites," and to avoid disillusionment and frustration, as well as waste of time, effort, and money, he must know his business well. This is one of the most important factors in searching for uranium, as it is for other metals-the ability to judge the importance of what is found and whether to discard it or follow it up. In this respect, it is of first importance to become familiar with the uranium ore minerals.

PRIMARY URANIUM ORE MINERALS

Primary uranium minerals have been found most commonly in veins or pegmatites, although in recent years extensive, flat-lying deposits of pitchblende in sedimentary rocks have also been discovered. The refractory primary uranium minerals are also found in placers.

The primary uranium minerals are generally black or dark brown, noticeably heavy, and often have a shiny or pitch-like luster. When they are exposed to weathering at or near the surface, they are sometimes altered to form the bright-colored secondary uranium minerals. At the present time, there are only three known primary uranium ore minerals, and the most important of these, uraninite and pitchblende, are really varieties of the same mineral.

Uraninite (combined UO2and UO3; 50-85 percent U308)1. Uraninite is a naturally occurring uranium oxide with cubic or octahedral crystal form. It has a specific gravity of 8-10.5 (iron = 7.85), a grayish-black color sometimes with a greenish cast and a hardness2 of 5-6, about the same as steel. Its streak3 is black. Its most widespread occurrence is in pegmatites 4, in which it is found in small amounts, throughout the world. However, it is also an important constituent of nearly all important primary deposits, occurring closely associated with its massive variety, pitchblende.

Uraninite is the principal uranium-bearing mineral in two newly developed types of deposits that produced for the first time in 1952: the very low-grade (in uranium) Witwatersrand and Orange Free State gold-bearing conglomerates of the Union of South Africa, and the medium-grade uranium and copper-bearing carbonaceous slates at Rum Jungle, Northern Territory, Australia. In both of these deposits uraninite occurs as finely disseminated crystals, usually invisible to the naked eye. Pitchblende (combined UO2 and U03; 50-80 percent U308) Pitchblende is the massive variety of uraninite, without apparent crystal form, that occurs most abundantly in the rich primary vein deposits of uranium. It is the chief constituent of nearly all high-grade uranium ores and has provided the largest part of all uranium produced throughout the world, forming the principal product of the Shinkolobwe mine, Belgian Congo; the Eldorado mine, Great Bear Lake, Northwest Territories, Canada; and the mines at Joachimsthal, Czechoslovakia.

Pitchblende is somewhat lighter than uraninite, having a specific gravity of between 6 and 9, but its other properties, with the exception of crystal form, are the same. It occurs as irregular masses often with a rounded, layered, botryoidal structure.

The principal occurrences of pitchblende are in primary (hydrothermal) vein deposits, usually of the mesothermal (medium temperature and pressure) type, in igneous and metamorphic rocks and in flat-lying bedded deposits in sedimentary rocks. Pitchblende is commonly associated with one or more of the primary ore minerals of iron, copper, cobalt, lead, silver, and bismuth; and the presence of these minerals in a mineral deposit is one indication of favorable conditions for pitchblende. It is usually accompanied also by bright colored secondary uranium minerals where subjected to weathering or other alteration. The commonly associated gangue1 minerals are quartz and other silica minerals, carbonates, fluorite, barite, and hydrocarbons. Quartz, calcite, and dolomite are usually the most abundant. Pitchblende, in vein deposits, is most likely to be deposited in existing open spaces in rock formations, rather than by replacement of the rock itself, and the richest deposits occur where large open fractures were available for filling by the mineralizing solutions. There are no important pitchblende replacement deposits like those of copper, lead, zinc, and silver, where rock formations have been substantially replaced by ore through solution of the original constituents and deposition of the ore minerals.

Deposition of pitchblende is usually accompanied by strong alteration of the wall rock along the veins. The presence of hematite (a red iron oxide mineral) extending from the pitchblende a few inches to a few feet into the wall rock is the most characteristic feature. The formation of hematite has occurred in all of the major pitchblende vein deposits and in many of the deposits of minor importance. Other alteration features often associated with pitchblende deposition are the formation of kaolin, chlorite, sericite, and silica minerals in the wall rock.1

In the recently discovered flat-lying deposits of pitchblende in sedimentary rocks, such as sandstones and conglomerates, the pitchblende is deposited between and around the grains of the rock and in available rock openings. The exact mechanics and chemistry of deposition, however, are not as well understood as they are in the case of the vein deposits. The two most important examples are the "copper-uranium" deposits in southern Utah and northern Arizona, in which pitchblende occurs with a variety of secondary uranium and copper minerals and copper and lead sulfides, and the deposits in Big Indian Wash near La Sal, Utah, in the central Colorado Plateau, where the pitchblende is associated with the vanadium mineral, vanoxite, and some secondary minerals, principally carnotite, tyuyamunite, and becquerelite.2

Pitchblende has also been found in smaller amounts disseminated in volcanic rocks in the southwestern United States, in some of the carnotite deposits of the Colorado Plateau, and in the deposits in limestone in the Grants district, New Mexico.

Davidite (rare earth-iron-titanium oxide; 7-10 percent U3O8). Davidite was not considered a significant uranium ore mineral until 1951, when additional exploration at the old Radium Hill mine near Olary, South Australia, an early producer of small quantities of radium, indicated a substantial uranium deposit. After World War II a few tons of davidite were produced from less important deposits near Tete in Mozambique (Portuguese East Africa). Davidite is a dark brown to black mineral with a glassy to submetallic luster. It has about the same hardness as pitchblende (5-6) and is somewhat lighter in weight (specific gravity, 4.5). It occurs most commonly in angular, irregular masses, sometimes with crystal outlines, but never in round, botryoidal shapes like pitchblende. When it is exposed to weathering, a thin yellow-green coating of carnotite or tyuyamunite may form on its surface. This is particularly true at Radium Hill, Australia, and it provides an easy means of tentative identification in the field.

Davidite is deposited in hydrothermal veins, presumably at a higher temperature and pressure than pitchblende. The veins have many of the characteristics of pegmatites. The associated vein minerals are ilmenite, hematite, biotite, mica, quartz, calcite, and pink feldspar. The rocks enclosing the veins at Radium Hill are largely gneisses or schists, with chloritic and sericitic alteration near the veins. At Tete, davidite veins are found in more basic1 rocks like gabbro and anorthosite. Davidite is almost never found as the "pure" mineral, but rather in complex inter-growths with ilmenite which has very similar physical properties and chemical composition. SECONDARY URANIUM ORE MINERALS

The secondary uranium minerals are by far the most spectacular in appearance of the uranium minerals. Instead of the dull black, gray, and brown colors of the primary minerals, they present an array of bright yellow, orange, green, and all of the combinations and in-between shades of those colors. Some of them also have the property of fluorescence under ultraviolet light, resulting in even more brilliant coloration. Rather than being heavy and massive, they occur as earthy or powdery materials or as fine, delicate, needle-like or platy, flake-like crystals. As a group, they are probably more beautiful than the minerals of any other element. This, of course, is an important factor in their recognition in the field, although the inexperienced prospector may often confuse them with other colorful minerals, such as malachite (copper carbonate), limonite (iron hydroxide), and sulfur, to name a few.

The secondary uranium ore minerals have represented only a small proportion of the total world uranium production to date. However, their deposits are more numerous and widespread than those of the primary ore minerals and, as a result of intensive prospecting activity, their importance is steadily increasing. The secondary minerals have two major modes of occurrence:

1. In the weathered or oxidized zones of primary deposits, where they are formed by decomposition of the primary minerals in place.

2. As irregular, flat-lying deposits in sedimentary rocks, primarily sandstones, but also conglomerates, shales, and limestones, formed by precipitation from solutions that may have carried the uranium some distance away from the original source.

The secondary uranium ore minerals also occur frequently along with a large variety of other secondary uranium minerals, mainly the uranium phosphates, carbonates, sulfates, hydrous-oxides and silicates, in what may be considered a third type of secondary mineral deposit. These have been referred to as oxidized secondary deposits or simply as oxidized deposits. Most of these deposits are probably oxidized vein deposits, the complete oxidation of the primary minerals in place making it difficult to prove the original primary character. On the other hand, they may be formed by ground-water solutions that have dissolved uranium from a broad area of slightly mineralized rocks and concentrated it by precipitation in veins and fracture zones. These deposits are numerous throughout arid and semi-arid regions, such as the western and southwestern United States, the west coast of South America, the Mediterranean area, and southern Russia, and, although a few of them have produced ore, they provide most of the troublesome traces or nibbles that often confound uranium prospectors. In some cases they have proved to be the oxidized upper portions of primary deposits from which primary ore has eventually been mined at depth.

The secondary minerals in the weathered zones of primary deposits have at some places contributed significant uranium production, particularly where weathering has been deep, as at Shinkolobwe in the Belgian Congo; at Urgeirica, Portugal; at Marysvale, Utah; and in some of the copper-uranium deposits of the southwestern United States. However, the major significance of such occurrences to the prospector is the indication of the presence of primary mineralization which, at important deposits, produces in the end the preponderance of the uranium. The flat-lying deposits in sedimentary rocks represent the most important occurrence of the secondary minerals, and the most important deposits of this type are the carnotite deposits of the Colorado Plateau area of Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico, which have been radium, vanadium, and uranium producers since 1898.

Three-quarters of the more than one hundred uranium minerals are secondary minerals, but of these only six may logically be considered ore minerals. Most of the others, many of them extremely rare, occur primarily as the weathering products in the oxidized zones of primary deposits, but some are found associated with the secondary ore minerals in deposits in sedimentary rocks. Unlike the primary uranium ore minerals, the secondary ore minerals seldom occur singly or only two to a deposit. They usually occur together in groups of several of both the ore and non-ore minerals, although, as in the case of the carnotite deposits, one mineral may be predominant. The dominant colors of the secondary uranium ore minerals are yellow and green, orange being confined primarily to the non-ore minerals.

Carnotite (K20*2UO3*V2O5*nH20; 50-55 percent U3O8). Carnotite, a potassium uranium vanadate, is the most important of the secondary uranium ore minerals, having provided possibly 90 percent of the uranium production from secondary deposits. It is a lemon-yellow mineral with an earthy luster, a yellow streak, and a specific gravity of about 4. It occurs most commonly in soft; powdery aggregates of finely crystalline material or in thin films or stains on rocks or other minerals. Its powdery nature gives the impression of even greater softness than its hardness scale rating of 2-3 would indicate. It can be easily scratched with the fingernail. Carnotite is not fluorescent.1

The most noted occurrences of carnotite are in the Colorado Plateau area of the United States, where it was first identified in 1898 and has since provided the major domestic uranium production, on the western edge of the Black Hills, South Dakota, and in the Ferghana basin, U.S.S.R. It occurs in sandstones in flat-lying, irregular, partially bedded ore bodies of from a few tons to a few hundred thousands of tons in size. In the higher-grade deposits (more than one-third of 1 per cent U3O8), the carnotite is present in sufficient quantity to color the rock a bright yellow; but in poorer deposits, particularly below 0.20 per cent U3O8, it is often difficult to distinguish it from the sandstone itself. Its color is also often masked by iron staining or by the dark-colored vanadium minerals usually associated with it. Most carnotite deposits range in grade from 0.10 per cent to 0.50 per cent U3O8.

Although carnotite is the principal mineral in the carnotite deposits, nearly twenty other secondary uranium minerals are found associated with it. The most common of these is the secondary ore mineral, tyuyamunite, described below. All of the other secondary ore minerals, torbernite, autunite, schroeckingerite, and uranophane, have also been found in carnotite deposits. The other associated secondary minerals are the rare oxides, carbonates, arsenates, vanadates, phosphates and silicates. The most common non-uranium minerals found associated with carnotite are the vanadium minerals, corvusite (hydrous-vanadium oxide), hewettite (calcium vanadium oxide), and roscoelite (vanadium mica-silicate). Minerals of the common metals, such as copper, lead, zinc, and manganese, have also been identified in carnotite deposits, as well as pitchblende and uraninite, but their occurrence in most cases is only of academic interest.

One other important association of carnotite should be mentioned, for it has an important bearing on prospecting for these deposits. An evident general affinity of uranium for certain organic materials, which has had some effect on its deposition in almost all types of deposits, is perhaps most clearly displayed in the carnotite deposits of the Colorado Plateau area. In a large number of these deposits, the carnotite is intimately associated with silicified or carbonized wood fossil wood ), and a variety of coal-like and asphaltic materials, all of which are good indicator substances for carnotite. In the Temple Mountain district, Utah, carnotite occurs in sandstones so impregnated with asphaltic material that the deposits are considered a special type and are called uraniferous asphaltite deposits. Elsewhere, fossil wood in the form of logs or accumulations of branches and twigs, locally called trash pockets, is the most common type of associated organic material.

Although occurrences of the type described represent the only ore deposits of carnotite, this mineral is one of the most widespread of the uranium minerals. It is present in varying amounts in nearly all of the other secondary uranium deposits and is the principal mineral in some of the noncommercial oxidized deposits, like those at Jean and Erie near Las Vegas, Nevada, and near San Carlos, Chihuahua, Mexico. Carnotite is found also in small amounts in the oxidized zone of any primary uranium deposit containing even trace amounts of vanadium, for example, the davidite deposits at Tete, Mozambique, and at Radium Hill, South Australia, in the fluorite deposits of the Thomas Range, Utah, and other parts of the southwestern United States, and in places as thin stains and coatings at the outcroppings of the very low-grade, uranium-bearing shale, phosphate, and lignite deposits.

Tyuyamunite (CaO*2UO3 *V2O5*nH20; 48-55 percent U3O8).Tyuyamunite is closely related to carnotite as indicated by the chemical formula, which is the same except that calcium substitutes for the potassium of carnotite. The physical properties of tyuyamunite are the same except for a slightly more greenish color than carnotite and, in some cases, a very weak yellow-green fluorescence not found in carnotite.

Tyuyamunite is found in small amounts in almost any deposit or with any occurrence of carnotite. It is, as one would suspect, more abundant where there is an appreciable amount of calcium, usually in the form of calcite or limestone. Tyuyamunite first obtained importance as an ore mineral because of its occurrence in a deposit in southeastern Turkistan, U.S.S.R., near the town of Tyuya Muyun, for which it was named. It occurs there, and at other localities in the region, associated with other secondary uranium minerals, particularly carnotite and torbernite, in fractures in limestones, dolomites, and shales. It is also an important constituent of the deposits in limestone at Grants, New Mexico, and has been identified in the deposits at Big Indian Wash, Utah.

Torbernite and Meta-torbernite (CuO*2UO3 *P2O5* nH20; 60 percent U3O8) . Torbernite and meta-torbernite are hydrous copper uranium phosphates, the only difference between the two being the number of water molecules present; their physical properties are identical. They have a bright emerald color, a pearly luster, hardness of 2-2 1/2 (about the same as the fingernail), and specific gravity of about 3.5 (a little heavier than quartz). They occur in flat, square, translucent crystals which usually fluoresce with a faint green color.

Torbernite and meta-torbernite are the most common of the secondary uranium minerals that are found associated with primary deposits where oxidation has occurred. They are common in nearly all such deposits except pegmatites, which usually do not contain the necessary copper to form them. They are most noted for their abundance in the oxidized zones at Shinkolobwe, Joachimsthal, and in the copper-uranium deposits of Utah and Arizona. They have provided a substantial uranium production from the Urgeirica mine and nearby deposits in Portugal and from Marysvale, Utah, and they occur in the oxidized zone at Rum Jungle, Northern Territory, Australia. In addition, they occur with the other secondary uranium minerals in the oxidized secondary deposits whenever copper has been present in the depositing solutions or surrounding rocks. They are associated with tyuyamunite in Turkistan and with autunite at Bukhova, Bulgaria, and at Mt. Painter, South Australia. The principal non uranium minerals associated with torbernite are the clay minerals, limonite, quartz, pyrite, and the copper sulfides and carbonates.

Elsewhere in this book these two minerals will be referred to simply as torbernite, although actually the most common of the two is probably Meta-torbernite.

Autunite and Meta-autunite (CaO*2UO3* P2O5* nH2O; 60 percent U308. Reference to the chemical formula will show that these two minerals have the same composition as torbernite, with calcium substituting for copper. Because of this similarity, they are commonly found together, the proportion of torbernite being dependent upon the amount of copper available to the uranium-bearing solutions. In some instances, where copper is completely lacking, only autunite or meta-autunite is formed. Like torbernite and meta-torbernite, autunite and meta-autunite are identical in their physical properties, the distinction being made on the basis of the number of water molecules present. Also, as in the case of torbernite, meta-autunite is probably the most common. For simplification, however, they will be referred to as autunite.

The physical properties of autunite are similar to those of torbernite, except for its color, which is predominantly lemon or sulfur-yellow, although occasionally apple-green, and its brilliant yellow to greenish-yellow fluorescence in ultraviolet light. Autunite has a hardness of 2-2 1/2, is slightly heavier than quartz (specific gravity, 3.1), has a colorless to pale yellow or green streak, and occurs in small square, rectangular, or octagonal flat, translucent crystals or as thin coatings or stains on rock or other mineral surfaces. It is seldom found in large masses but rather as small spots scattered throughout the enclosing rocks. A good autunite exposure is a brilliant sight at night under ultraviolet light, and the inexperienced prospector is apt to overestimate the grade of a deposit seen under those conditions.

Autunite is found in varying amounts in almost all deposits of the other secondary uranium minerals. It is an oxidation product of pitchblende and uraninite and most of the other primary minerals, and may also be derived from some other secondary minerals, like gummite and uranophane. As such it is an important constituent of the oxidized zones at Shinkolobwe and other important primary ore deposits and is a common secondary uranium mineral in most pegmatites. It is present in small amounts in many of the carnotite deposits of the Colorado Plateau area and in larger amounts in the tyuyaunite deposits of Turkistan.

The greatest significance of autunite to the prospector lies in the fact that it is the most common uranium mineral in the oxidized secondary deposits in igneous rocks of arid regions, both those related to primary mineralization and those of unknown origin. It is an important constituent of the oxidized ores at Urgeirica, Portugal, and at Marysvale, Utah, and the most prominent mineral in the White Signal, New Mexico, district, at Mt. Painter, South Australia, and in the numerous low-grade secondary occurrences in the Mojave Desert and at other localities in southern California and Nevada. In addition, it frequently occurs as thin stains on fracture surfaces in granite and pegmatites in the Appalachian region of the eastern United States from Stone Mountain in Georgia to New England. The associated non-uranium minerals are the same as for torbernite, except that the copper minerals may be absent.

Uranophane (CaO*2UO3*2SiO2*6H2O; 65 percent U308 Uranophane is a hydrated calcium uranium silicate containing silica in place of the phosphate of autunite. It is slightly lighter in color and somewhat heavier than autunite (specific gravity 3.85) and has a different crystalline form; it may occur as stains or coatings without apparent crystal form or as finely flbrous or radiating crystal aggregates.

The origin and occurrence of uranophane are very similar to autunite and torbernite. At least two of these three minerals are almost always found together, in proportions varying with availability of copper and phosphorus, uranophane becoming predominant where these two elements are scarce or absent. Although it has as broad a geographic occurrence as the other two, uranophane, with a few exceptions, is usually present in smaller quantities. It is an important constituent of the secondary deposits in limestone near Grants, New Mexico, where it earned its reputation as an ore mineral, and in recently discovered deposits in sandstone in southern Carbon County, Wyoming. It is also the most common secondary uranium mineral found in the noncommercial deposits in granite and pegmatites in the eastern United States. Its most noted occurrences of this type are at Stone Mountain, Georgia (granite), and at the Ruggles mine at Grafton, New Hampshire (pegmatite).

Schroeckingerite [NaCa3 (UO2) (CO3)3(SO4)F*1OH20; 30 percent U308]. Schroeckingerite is a complex hydrated sulfate, carbonate, and fluoride of calcium, sodium, and uranium. It has a yellow to greenish-yellow color with a pearly luster, a bright yellow-green fluorescence, and a paler yellow or greenish yellow streak. It is very soft (less than 1 on the hardness scale)1, easily water soluble, and is the lightest of the uranium minerals (specific gravity, 2.5). It occurs as globular coatings on rock fracture surfaces or as small rounded masses composed of aggregates of flaky crystals distributed through soft rocks or soil.

Schroeckingerite is the least important of the uranium ore minerals and barely qualifies as such. It is a significant constituent of the secondary ores at Marysvale, Utah, and probably occurs in small amounts in the oxidized zones of most of the important primary deposits. The only known occurrence in which schroeckingerite is the principal mineral is at Lost Creek near Wamsutter, Wyoming. It occurs there as small pellets distributed through clay beds at or near the ground surface over a considerable area to form a low grade uranium deposit that is presently submarginal. In this type of deposit there are no significant associated minerals.

معدن اليورانينيت 

Chemical Formula: UO2 , Uranium Oxide

• Class: Oxides and Hydroxides
• Uses: a major ore of uranium and radium, a source of helium and as a mineral specimen 

Uraninite is a highly radioactive and interesting mineral. It is the chief ore of uranium and radium, which is found in trace amounts. Helium was first discovered on the earth in samples of uraninite. Radium and helium are found in uraninite because they are the principle products of uranium's decay process. Weathered or otherwise altered uraninite produces some wonderful by-products such as the beautiful uranyl phosphate minerals like autunite and torbernite as well as uranyl silicates like sklodoskite andcuprosklodowskite. The structure is analogous to the structure of fluorite, CaF2. The structure of fluorite is highly symmetrical and forms isometric crystals such as cubes and octahedrons. Flourite also has four directions of perfect cleavage that produces octahedrons. However, in uraninite, crystals are rare and the cleavage is not usually observable.

A variety of uraninite is called pitchblende which is a combination of mostly uraninite and some other minerals. It is generally softer and less dense and usually botyroidal or earthy. Remember, this is a highly radioactive mineral and should be stored away from other minerals that are affected by radioactivity and human exposure should definitely be limited.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:

• Color is black to steel black with tints of brown.
• Luster is submetallic to pitchy and dull.
• Transparency crystals are opaque.
• Crystal System is isometric; 4/m bar 3 2/m
• Crystal Habit is typically massive botryoidal, earthy, lamellar and reniform aggregates. Well-formed individual cubic and octahedral crystals are rare.
• Cleavage is poor in four directions (octahedral), and is rarely seen.
• Fracture is conchoidal.
• Hardness is 5 - 6
• Specific Gravity is near 10 when pure but often massive specimens are closer to 7 (heavy even for metallic minerals)
• Streak is brownish black.
• Associated Minerals include cassiterite, pyrite, native silver, autunite, uranophane, uranocircite, torbernite, meta-torberniteand other uranium minerals.
• Other Characteristics: highly radioactive!
• Notable Occurences include Bergen, Germany; Autun, France; Cornwall, England; Mitchell Co., North Carolina and Mt. Spokane, Washington, USA; Zaire; wilberforce and Great Bear Lake, Canada; Portugal and France.
• Best Field Indicators are luster, color, radioactivity and streak.

Ref:.http://www.google.com.eg/imgres?imgurl=http://www.galleries.com/minerals/silicate/sklodows/sklodows.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.galleries.com/minerals/silicate/sklodows/sklodows.htm&h=360&w=480&sz=56&tbnid=tyCfHvioweoQfM:&tbnh=97&tbnw=129&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dphotos%2Bof%2Buranium%2Bminerals&zoom=1&q=photos+of+uranium+minerals&usg=__d9rdLHYPa5m1ZN0lGVW0xKvNYHg=&sa=X&ei=nsfXTMamH4-V4Aac-6nvBw&ved=0CAsQ9QEwAA

 General

 Section 6 of the Nuclear Energy Act (YEL 990/ 1987) stipulates hat the use of nuclear energy must be safe; it shall not cause injury to people, or damage to the environment or property. In the siting of a nuclear power plant, the aim is to protect the plant against external threats as well as to minimise any environmental detrimen its and threats that might arise from it.

Other factors to be considered include: impact on land use, socio-economic impacts, traffic arrangements, reliable electric power transfer to the national grid and specific factors relating to the security of supply of electric power. Prior to the licensing procedure proper, the  environmental effects of the nuclear power plant project are studied and evaluated by environmental impact assessment (EIA). The EIA procedure falls under the Act on Environmental Impact Assessment Procedure (EIA) (468/1994) and the Decree on EIA (268/1999). In addition, Finland’s neighbouring countries shall be heard where deemed necessary by virtue of the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context [1]. The Nuclear Energy Act prescribes that there must be a decision in principle of the Council of State, approved by Parliament, stating that the nuclear power plant project is in the overall good of society. An application for the decision in principle is submitted to the Council of State; the Ministry of Trade and Industry submits it to the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK) for a preliminary safety evaluation and requests statements from the Ministry of the Environment, the municipal council of the candidate municipality and its neighbouring municipalities.

The Nuclear Energy Decree (YEA 161/1998) stipulates that an environmental impact assessment report drawn up as a result of the EIA procedure shall be appended to the application for the decision in principle. The Council of State can consider a positive decision in principle only in case the candidate municipality has issued a statement in favour of the facility’s construction.Detailed licensing requirements applicable to the construction and operation of nuclear power plants are stipulated in the Nuclear Energy Act and Decree. The granting of a licence in accordance with the Nuclear Energy Act requires that the project and its environmental impacts are reported to the Commission of the European Communities, not later than six months prior to the granting of the licence, as required in article 37 of EURATOM Treaty and in Commission Recommendation 99/829/Euratom [2], which supplements the Treaty.

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Construction is not allowed on shore zones belonging to the coastal area of a sea or of a water system unless the area is covered by a detailed plan (a detailed shore plan) or by a specific local master plan. When deciding about a land use plan and a construction permit the authorities consider the special requirements pertaining to construction work on the nuclear power plant site and in its surroundings. Section 58 of the Nuclear Energy Act decrees that before a town plan 1 or building plan1  is drawn up for the area intended for the site of a nuclear facility, and prior to the approval of such a plan where a site is reserved for the construction of a nuclear facility, a statement must be obtained from the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority. In addition to the above, the environmental permit procedure prescribed in the Environmental Permit Procedures Act (731/1991) applies to the construction and operation of nuclear power 1 The terms “town plan” and “building plan” have been replaced with a “detailed plan” by virtue of the Land Use and plants. Rescue plans with provision for nuclear power plant accidents are dealt with in the Act on Rescue Services (561/1999) and the Decree on Rescue Services (857/1999) as well as in the Ministry of the Interior Order 1/97 [3] and the associated Guideline A:57 [4].

Requirements applicable to the limitation of radioactive releases from nuclear power plants are presented in chapter 3 of the Council of State Decision (VNP 395/1991) on the general regulations for the safety of nuclear power plants. Section 20 of the Decision, for its part, requires that the most important nuclear power plant safety functions shall remain operable in spite of any natural phenomena estimated possible on site or other events external to the plant. Supplementary guidelines pertaining to safety functions can be found in Guides YVL 2.6 and YVL 2.8.

Guide YVL 2.6 concerns the effects of seismic events and how they should be considered in the structural concepts of nuclear power plants. Guide YVL 2.8 deals with probabilistic safety analyses (PSA) for nuclear power plants. STUK Guides YVL 7.1–7.11 and YVL 7.18 deal with onsite and offsite radiation safety and with licensees’ emergency response plans. This guide sets forth requirements for safety of the population and the environment in nuclear power plant siting. It also sets out the general basis for procedures employed by other competent authorities when they issue regulations or grant licences. On request STUK issues casespecific statements about matters relating to planning and about other matters relating to land use in the environment of nuclear power plants. Alternative candidate plant sites may be simultaneously examined during the EIA process and in the application for a decision in principle. In accordance with the Nuclear Energy Act, applications for a construction licence and an operating licence may only concern one plant site.

 CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION .......................................... 7

 Planning for uranium exploration ........................ 9

Uranium: a strategic commodity?

A general discussion ........................................ 11

 Uranium exploration planning and strategy ........ 15

Discussion ...................................................... 26

Contractual arrangements ................................ 31

E. Müller-Kahle

Discussion ...................................................... 45

II. THE ROLE OF NATIONAL GEOLOGICAL SURVEYS ..................................................... 49

The Geological Survey's contribution to uranium exploration in Canada - a commentary ............. 51

A.G. Darnley

Discussion ..................................................... 73

The role of the Geological Survey Department in national mineral development - the Zambian example ......................................................... 77

N.J. Money

Discussion ..................................................... 86

III. THE ROLE OF OUTSIDE INTERESTS ................................................. 89

The role of outside interests ........................... 91

H.D. Fuchs

Discussion ..................................................... 97

Attracting foreign companies   (Summary) ... ...103

  J. Bourrel

 Discussion .................................................. 106

IV. THE ROLE OF STATE EXPLORATION ORGANIZATIONS ........................................ 109

The role of Government and Government organizations in uranium exploration planning and practice in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ...... Ill

M.B. Vlasov, L.G. Podolyako

Discussion ................................................... 118

Uranium exploration in India - rspective and

 strategy (Abstract)  ..................................... 121

  S.C. Verma, J.C. Nagabhushana, K.K. Sinha,Discussion .......................................... 122

R.V. Viswanath, A.C. Saraswat 

V. CONCLUSIONS ...................................... 125

List of Participants ........................................ 131

A.Y. Smith, M. Tauchid

 The Use of Airborne Gamma Ray Spectrometry by M.I.M. Exploration—A Case Study From the Mount Isa Inlier, North West Queensland, Australia

Jayawardhana, P.M.[1],and Sheard, S.N.[1]

1. M.I.M. Exploration Pty. Ltd.

 ABSTRACT  

* يشتمل هذا الملف علي صفات الأمان الخاصة باختيار المحطات النووية

* الملف محمل بالكامل ضمن هذا الموقع وهو للاستخدام غير التجاري

*No for commercial use

Safety criteria for siting a

nuclear power plant

 S T U K • S Ä T E I L Y T U R V A K E S K U S • S T R Å L S Ä K E R H E T S C E N T R A L E N 

R A D I A T I O N  A N D  N U C L E A R  S A F E T Y  A U T H O R I T Y

Contents:

1 General 3

2 Plant site and surroundings 4

3 Safety factors affecting site selection 5

3.1 External events affecting safety 5

3.2 Radioactive releases 5

4 Regulatory control by the Radiation and Nuclear

Safety Authority 6

4.1 EIA procedure 6

4.2 Decision in principle 6

4.3 Construction licence and operating licence 6

5 References 7

* هذا الملف يمثل عرض عن اختيار مواقع المفاعلات النووية بالصين

* هذا الملف للاستخدام الغير تجاري

* For non commercial uses

 Metallogenic Condition and Regularity of Interlayered Oxidation Zone-type Sandstone Uranium Deposit in Suthwestern Part of Turpan-Hami Basin, Northwestern China

SUMMARY

This paper provides a review of the historical development of the South African uranium market and the current status of uranium exploration, resources and production. A prognosticated view of possible future demand for uranium in South Africa is attempted, taking cogniscance of the finite nature of the country's coal resources and estimated world uranium demand. Although well endowed with uranium resources, South Africa could face a shortage of this commodity in the next century, should the predicted electricity growth materialis e.

أهمية البرامج النووية للدول العربية

* المقال محمل بالكامل ضمن جريدة اقتصاد الغد، العدد الثامن عشر بتاريخ الأحد  24 أغسطس 2008

Not for commercial use

 يشتمل هذا الملف علي تغير تكاليف إنشاء المحطات النـــــــووية منذ عام 1974 ، وذلك بتفاصيلها مما يجعل القارئ علي دراية تامة بهذا الموضوع الذي يشغل بال العديد من الدول العربية

COSTS OF NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS — WHAT WENT WRONG?

No nuclear power plants in the United States ordered since 1974 will be completed, and many dozens of partially constructed plants have been abandoned. What cut off the growth of nuclear power so suddenly and so completely? The direct cause is not fear of reactor accidents, or of radioactive materials released into the environment, or of radioactive waste. It is rather that costs have escalated wildly, making nuclear plants too expensive to build. State commissions that regulate them require that utilities provide electric power to their customers at the lowest possible price. In the early 1970s this goal was achieved through the use of nuclear power plants. However, at the cost of recently completed plants, analyses indicate that it is cheaper to generate electricity by burning coal. Here we will attempt to understand how this switch occurred. It will serve as background for the next chapter, which presents the solution to these problems.

Several large nuclear power plants were completed in the early 1970s at a typical cost of $170 million, whereas plants of the same size completed in 1983 cost an average of $1.7 billion, a 10-fold increase. Some plants completed in the late 1980s have cost as much as $5 billion, 30 times what they cost 15 years earlier. Inflation, of course, has played a role, but the consumer price index increased only by a factor of 2.2 between 1973 and 1983, and by just 18% from 1983 to 1988. What caused the remaining large increase? Ask the opponents of nuclear power and they will recite a succession of horror stories, many of them true, about mistakes, inefficiency, sloppiness, and ineptitude. They will create the impression that people who build nuclear plants are a bunch of bungling incompetents. The only thing they won't explain is how these same "bungling incompetents" managed to build nuclear power plants so efficiently, so rapidly, and so inexpensively in the early 1970s.

For example, Commonwealth Edison, the utility serving the Chicago area, completed its Dresden nuclear plants in 1970-71 for $146/kW, its Quad Cities plants in 1973 for $164/kW, and its Zion plants in 1973-74 for $280/kW. But its LaSalle nuclear plants completed in 1982-84 cost $1,160/kW, and its Byron and Braidwood plants completed in 1985-87 cost $1880/kW — a 13-fold increase over the 17-year period. Northeast Utilities completed its Millstone 1,2, and 3 nuclear plants, respectively, for $153/kW in 1971, $487/kW in 1975, and $3,326/kW in 1986, a 22-fold increase in 15 years. Duke Power, widely considered to be one of the most efficient utilities in the nation in handling nuclear technology, finished construction on its Oconee plants in 1973-74 for $181/kW, on its McGuire plants in 1981-84 for $848/kW, and on its Catauba plants in 1985-87 for $1,703/kW, a nearly 10-fold increase in 14 years. Philadelphia Electric Company completed its two Peach Bottom plants in 1974 at an average cost of $382 million, but the second of its two Limerick plants, completed in 1988, cost $2.9 billion — 7.6 times as much. A long list of such price escalations could be quoted, and there are no exceptions. Clearly, something other than incompetence is involved. Let's try to understand what went wrong.

 The Use of Airborne Gamma Ray Spectrometry by M.I.M. Exploration—A Case Study From the Mount Isa Inlier, North West Queensland, Australia

 Jayawardhana, P.M. [1],and Sheard, S.N.[1]

ABSTRACT

This paper describes how airborne radiometrics has been used by M.I.M. Exploration Pty. Ltd. (MIMEX) to aid mineral exploration. The case study for this paper focuses on the Mount Isa airborne survey undertaken from 1990–92. During this survey both radiometrics and magnetics were recorded over 639 170 line kilometres. Due to the perceived value of the radiometric data, stringent calibration procedures, including the creation of a test range, were adopted. In addition to the newly flown areas, agreements were entered into to acquire existing data (76 760 line kilometres) from other companies. These were reprocessed and stitched in to give an overall ‘seamless join to images. The total area covered by the Mount Isa airborne survey was 1 513 000 km

Over the last five years MIMEX has undertaken a number of projects and generated a number of products to maximise the in-house use of radiometrics for mineral exploration. This paper highlights these products, techniques, and results based on radiometric signatures of major mines in the Mount Isa Inlier; radioelement contour maps; geomagnetic/radiometric interpretation maps; lithological mapping; regolith mapping; geochemical sampling; and spatial modelling using geographical information systems (GIS).

Due to the recent introduction of GIS technology and better techniques for handling MIMEX’s high quality digital data, there has been a revived interest in making more use of image data sets. The integration of raster and vector data sets for both spectral and spatial modelling has highlighted the vast potential that lies ahead.

* For non commercial uses

البحث محمل في هذا الملف

Reactor Types

1.Pressurized Water Reactors (PWR)

PWRs use nuclear-fission to heat water under pressure within the reactor. This water is then circulated through a heat exchanger (called a "steam generator") where steam is produced to drive an electric generator. The water used as a coolant in the reactor and the water used to provide steam to the electric turbines exists in separate closed loops that involve no substantial discharges to the environment. Of the 104 fully licensed reactors in the United States, 69 are PWRs.

 www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/nuclear/page/nuc_reactors

/pwr.html

 

2.Boiling Water Reactors (BWR)

The remaining 35 operable reactors in the United States are BWRs.  BWRs allow fission-based heat from the reactor core to boil the reactor’s coolant water into the steam that is used to generate electricity. General Electric built all boiling water reactors now operational in the United States. Areva NP and Westinghouse BNFL have each designed BWRs.www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/nuclear/page/nuc_

reactors/bwr.html

 

3.Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR)

PHWRs have been promoted primarily in Canada and India, with additional commercial reactors operating in South Korea, China, Romania, Pakistan, and Argentina. Canadian-designed PHWRs are often called "CANDU" reactors. Siemens, ABB (now part of Westinghouse), and Indian firms have also built commercial PHWR reactors. Heavy water reactors now in commercial operation use heavy water as moderators and coolants.  The Canadian firm, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), has also recently proposed a modified PHWR (the ACR series) which would only use heavy water as a moderator.  Light water would cool these reactors. No successful effort has been made to license commercial PHWRs in the United States. PHWRs have been popular in several countries because they use less expensive natural (not enriched) uranium fuels and can be built and operated at competitive costs. The continuous refueling process used in PHWRs has raised some proliferation concerns because it is difficult for international inspectors to monitor.  Additionally, the relatively high Pu-239 content of PHWR spent fuel has also raised proliferation concerns.  The importance of these claims is challenged by their manufacturers.  PHWRs, like most reactors, can use fuels other than uranium and the ACR series of reactors is intended to use slightly enriched fuels.  Particular interest has been shown in India in thorium-based fuel cycles.

 http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/nuclear/page/nuc_

reactors/china/candu.html

 

4.High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactors (HTGR):

HTGRs are distinguished from other gas-cooled reactors by the higher temperatures attained within the reactor. Such higher temperatures might permit the reactor to be used as an industrial heat source in addition to generating electricity.  Among the future uses for which HTGRs are being considered is the commercial generation of hydrogen from water.  In some cases, HTGR turbines run directly by the gas that is used as a coolant.  In other cases, steam or alternative hot gases such as nitrogen are produced in a heat exchanger to run the power generators.  Recent proposals have favored helium as the gas used as an HTGR coolant.  The most famous U.S. HTGR example was the Fort Saint Vrain reactor that operated between 1974 and 1989. Other HTGRs have operated elsewhere, notably in Germany. Small research HTGR prototypes presently exist in Japan and China. Commercial HTGR designs are now promoted in China, South Africa, the United States, the Netherlands, and France though none of these is yet commercially marketed.  The proposed Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) in the U.S. will most likely be a helium-based HTGR, if it is funded to completion.

http://www.nuc.berkeley.edu/designs/mhtgr/mhtgr.

GIF

5.Sodium-cooled reactors reactors

Sodium-cooled reactors are included on this list primarily because of proposals to build a Toshiba 4S reactor in Alaska. Sodium-cooled reactors use the molten (liquid) metal sodium as a coolant to transfer reactor generated heat to an electricity generation unit.  Sodium-cooled reactors are often associated with “fast breeder reactors (FBRs)” though this is technically not the case in the 4S design.

دراسات جيولوجية مقترحة  لتقليل مخاطر الزلازل علي موقع مفاعل القوي بمنطقة الضبعة، الساحل الشمالي، مصر

هذه ترجمة لعنوان البحث المنشور عام 1995 من إعداد عبدالعاطي بدر سالمان

البحث تم تحميله بالكامل علي الموقع

هذا التقرير غاية في الأهمية لجميع العاملين في مجال استكشاف وتعدين واستخلاص اليورانيوم حيث يوجد به فصول تفصيلية لمناقشة تلك الموضوعات كما يلي (التقرير محمل بالكامل في هذا الموقع بغرض الثقافة النووية وليس لأي أغراض تجارية):

1. INTRODUCTION 

2. HISTORY OF URANIUM MINING

3. CLASSIFICATION OF DEPOSITS.

3.1. Definition and examples 

3.1.1. Unconformity-related ...

3.1.2. Sandstone

3.1.3. Quartz-pebble conglomerate 

3.1.4. Veins 

3.1.5. Breccia complex 

3.1.6. Intrusive 

3.1.7. Phosphorite 

3.1.8. Collapse breccia pipe 

3.1.9.Volcanic

3. Surficial.9

3.1.11. Metasomatite 

3.1.12.Metamorphic

3.1.13. Lignite.

3.1.14.  Blackshale

3.2. The exploitable deposits 

4. PARAMETERS TO BE CONSIDERED WHEN ASSESSING A

URANIUM ORE RESOURCE

4.1.Location

4.2. Shape 

4.3. Size 

4.4. Depth 

4.5. Orientation

4.6. Geotectonics 

4.7. Mineralogy 

4.8. Hydrology

4.9. Boundary conditions ...............................................................................................................13

5. PROJECT IMPACT AND APPROVAL.

5.1. Project proposal

5.2. EIS guidelines

5.3. EIS report.. EIS approval process

MINING.............................................................................................................................................16

6.1. Benefits greater than liabilities 

6.2. ALARA .

6.3. Mining methods

6.3.1. Open pit 

6.3.2. Underground

6.3.3. In situ leaching (ISL)

6.4. Influence on mining methods

6.4.1. Social and legal (regulatory) .

6.4.2. Resource recovery 

* يشتمل هذا الملف علي البحوث التي ألقيت بمؤتمر الوكالة الدولية للطاقة الذرية الذي عقد في فينا في أكتوبر 2000

* الغرض من ذلك إعطاء الفرصة لشباب الباحثين للإطلاع علي البحوث في هذا المجال الهام، وخاصة هؤلاء الذين لا تتاح لهم فرصة للمشاركة في تلك المؤتمرات الدولية 

*بحوث المؤتمر محملة بالكامل ضمن هذا الملف

* ليست للإستخدام التجاري ولكنها لنشر الثقافة النووية

NUCLEAR POWER  PLANT SITE SELECTION 

ABDELATY B. SALMAN 

Ex Ex-Chairman Chairman

Nuclear Materials Authority, Cairo, Egypt

I. Introduction

The aim of this article is to present the The aim of this article is to present the requirements and characteristics for the requirements and characteristics for the nuclear power plant site selection. nuclear power plant site selection.

It will focus on the treatments of the main It will focus on the treatments of the main geologic and tectonic features and the geologic and tectonic features and the nature of the site. nature of the site.

Sitting factors and criteria are important in Sitting factors and criteria are important in assuring that radiological doses from assuring that radiological doses from normal operation and postulated accidents normal operation and postulated accidents will be acceptably low. will be acceptably low.

المحاضرة محملة ضمن هوقعي هذا

The Second Gulf Conference and Exhibition on ‘Environment and Sustainability’

16-19/February, 2009 - Kuwait

Role of the Nuclear Programs in the Sustainable Development and the Environment Preservation in the Arabian Countries

Salman, A.B.

Nuclear Materials Authority, P.O.Box: 530 El Maadi, Cairo, Egypt

Abstract

The nuclear programs in the Arabian countries should be taken seriously and need remarkable efforts to be able to share in the countries sustainable development projects. The important first step is the understanding of the nuclear fuel cycle and its demands. Where to explore and find reasonable uranium resources and how to extract uranium from them. It is known that the Arabian countries have lot of oil and gasses, but these are considered as fossil resources that will be diminish with few tens of years.

Therefore, the utilization and need for the nuclear energy will be essential. It should be noted that the importance of the water issue in the Arab countries is well known "as the situation faced by the countries of the Middle East and North Africa is very critical". So, one of the main demands to nuclear programs is desalination of see water to overcome the water shortage problems.

In addition, the development projects are expanded year after year in our Arabian countries and the need for more energy is essential for the sustainable development of the ongoing and future projects.

The nuclear programs play an important role in the environment preservation where no CO2, SO2 and NO2 gases emitted. Radiation monitoring is essential for checking the land, soil, air, water and indoors radiometric pollutions. Therefore, the construction of baseline radiometric maps is of fatal importance for the Arabian countries. These maps can be used as historical record for watching any radiological hazards at any part of the country.

للحصول علي البحث كاملا يرجي الاتصال بي:

[email protected]