Geochemistry of clay minerals for uranium exploration in the Grants mineral belt, New Mexico

Abstract

Clay mineralogy studies of ore rocks versus barren rocks in the Grants mineral belt, New Mexico, show that some combination of chlorite (rosette form), illite, mixed-layer illite-montmorillonite, (±Mg-montmorillonite) are penecontemporaneous with uranium minerals in trend ore; these same clay minerals plus kaolinite are related to the roll-type ore near the main redox front of the Grants mineral belt. Clay minerals from barren rocks are characterized by a greater abundance of Na-montmorillonite, kaolinite, and face-to-edge form chlorite. Chlorites from ore zones contain much more vanadium than do chlorites from barren rocks. Trend orr probably formed from southeasterly flowing waters following paleochannels in the Late Jurassic. These deposits are found almost entirely in reduced rocks, and organic carbon may have been an important reductant to remove U-V-U-V-Se-Mo from solution as carbonate from ore zones contains some organic carbon based on stable isotope studies. Uplift, remobilization, and reprecipitation of some of the trend ore resulted in the formation of redistributed ore, some of which possesses a roll-type geometry. Mineralization for the roll-type ore was apparently controlled by sulfide-sulfate equilibria at or near the main redox front in the Grants mineral belt. Trend and roll-type ore possess different assemblages of clay minerals and different trace element abundances. Laramide-age faults cut both trend ore and some roll-type ores. Stack ore is found in Laramide-age fault zones. Limited oxygen isotopic data from clay minerals collected from two mines at Ambrosia Lake in reduced rocks indicate probable preservation of ancient, formational waters and show no evidence of infiltration by young meteoric waters. This information, plus the pre-Laramide-age faults, suggest, but do not unequivocally prove, that the main redox front has been relatively stable since its formation, probably some time in the Cretaceous. Younger encroachment of the redox front in post-Laramide time is proposed by others, however, and the problem is unresolved. Uranium for the deposits was most likely carried in solution as an oxyion, probably as (UO2(CO3)2·2H2O2− or (UO2(HPO4)2)2−, although organic transport cannot be entirely ruled out. Oxyions of vanadium, selenium, molybdenum and possible arsenic and antimony, are interpreted from Eh-pH diagrams to have been segregated and transported with U6+ soluble species and precipitated when a chemically reducing environment was reached. The rare-earth elements are also enriched in ore zones, but is it not clear if they were transported with the U-V-Se-Mo-(As)-(Sb) suite or derived from a more local source.