Abstract
The relationship of sedimentary organic matter, oil-gas and sandstone-type uranium (U) deposits is the key problem of U-mineralization. Whether migrate hydrocarbons participate in U-mineralization is still a controversy. Typical U deposits of the Erlian Basin in northeast China have been investigated through detailed petrography, mineralogical, micro spectroscopic, organic geochemical and C-isotope studies. Petrographic observations, Microscopic Laser Raman Spectroscopic, Infrared Spectroscopic and Scanning Electron Microscope analyses indicated there are three types of organic matter (including carbonaceous debris and migrated hydrocarbons). A significant amount of uranium was associated with pyrites, clay minerals and carbonaceous debris organic matter, either coexisted with hydrocarbon fluids. There are at least two stages mineralization events, stage I is related to sedimentary organic matter (syngenetic pre-enrichment stage), and stage II is related to mobile hydrocarbon fluids (main mineralization stage). Therefore, our results support that migrated hydrocarbons were involved as a reducing agent for the main uranium mineralization after synsedimentary mineralization.
Highlights
Sandstone-type uranium deposits account for about 40% of the currently discovered deposits [1]
Micro laser Raman analysis indicated that the type-I organic matter (OM) has a narrow G band characteristic, which is comparable to the low-mature (Ro = 0.5%–1%) coal chip characteristics reported by Morga et al (2014) [42] and Su et al (2016) [43], It is obviously different from the Raman spectrum characteristics of bitumen reported by Zhang et al (2013) [44] and
Our research has identified three types of OM and provided direct evidence that mobile OM participates in U-mineralization
Summary
Sandstone-type uranium deposits account for about 40% of the currently discovered deposits [1]. Since the 1980s, China has gradually focused on a search for economically recoverable in-situ leachable sandstone-type uranium deposits in Mesozoic sedimentary basins. The Erlian Basin is one of the large Mesozoic continental sedimentary basins in. North China; it is located at the southeastern edge of the Central-Asia Uraniferous Province (CAUP). The CAUP is one of the largest metallogenic provinces in the world with uranium ore deposits located from the Transbaikal region in Russia, in southern Kazakhstan, in Uzbekistan, in Mongolia and North China [2]. Several large in-situ leachable sandstonehosted uranium deposits (e.g., Bayanwula, Saihangaobi, Hadatu) and mudstone-hosted uranium deposits (e.g., Nuheting) with poor economic value at present were found in the Erlian Basin. Several metallogenic models have been proposed for the origin of deposits
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