Role of hydrodynamic factors in controlling the formation and location of unconformity-related uranium deposits: insights from reactive-flow modeling

The role of hydrodynamic factors in controlling the formation and location of unconformity-related uranium (URU) deposits in sedimentary basins during tectonically quiet periods is investigated. A number of reactive-flow modeling experiments at the deposit scale were carried out by assigning different dip angles and directions to a fault and various permeabilities to hydrostratigraphic units). The results show that the fault dip angle and direction, and permeability of the hydrostratigraphic units govern the convection pattern, temperature distribution, and uranium mineralization. Avertical fault results in uranium mineralization at the bottom of the fault within the basement, while a dipping fault leads to precipitation of uraninite below the unconformity either away from or along the plane of the fault, depending on the fault permeability. A more permeable fault causes uraninite precipitates along the fault plane,whereas a less permeable one gives rise to the precipitation of uraninite away from it. No economic ore mineralization can form when either very low or very high permeabilities are assigned to the sandstone or basement suggesting that these units seem to have an optimal window of permeability for the formation of uranium deposits. Physicochemical parameters also exert an additional control in both the location and grade of URU deposits. These results indicate that the difference in size and grade of different URU deposits may result from variation in fluid flow pattern and physicochemical conditions, caused by the change in structural features and hydraulic properties of the stratigraphic units involved

Giant uranium deposits formed from exceptionally uranium-rich acidic brines

Giant uranium deposits were formed during the Mesoproterozoic era, 1.6-1.0 Gyr ago, in both Canada and Australia. The deposits are thought to have formed from large-scale circulation of brines at temperatures of 120-200 °C that percolated between sedimentary basins and underlying crystalline basement rocks. However, the precise conditions for transport of the uranium in these brines are poorly understood. Here we use mass spectrometry to analyse the uranium content of brines preserved in naturally occurring fluid inclusions in ore deposits from the Athabasca Basin, Canada. We measure concentrations of uranium in the range 1.0 × 10¯⁶-2.8 × 10¯³ moll¯¹. These concentrations are three orders of magnitude above any other common crustal fluids. Experimentally, we measure the solubility of uranium as a function of NaCl content and pH, in mixtures that are analogous to ore-forming brines at 155 °C. To account for the high uranium content observed in the Athabasca deposits, we find that the brines must have been acidic, with a pH between 2.5 and 4.5. Our results strongly suggest that the world's richest uranium deposits formed from highly concentrated uranium-bearing acidic brines. We conclude that these conditions are a necessary requirement for the formation of giant uranium deposits in relatively short periods of time of about 0.1-1 Myr, similar to other world-class deposits of lead-zinc and gold