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Formation of Secondary Uranium Minerals in the Koongarra Deposit, Australia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 February 2011

Hiroshi Isobe ,
Rodney C. Ewing  and
Takashi Murakami
Hiroshi Isobe
Affiliation:
Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, Tokai, Ibaraki, 319-11, Japan
Rodney C. Ewing
Affiliation:
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA
Takashi Murakami
Affiliation:
Ehime University, Matsuyama, Ehime, 790, Japan
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Abstract

Secondary uranium minerals from the Koongarra deposit, Northern Territory of Australia, were examined in order to understand the formation and alteration processes of the uranium minerals and their relevance to the migration behavior of uranium, lead, calcium and rare earth elements in the weathered zone. In most of the secondary ore zone, the only stable uranium mineral was saléeite (Mg(UO2)2(PO4)2·10H20), occurring as euhedral platy crystals up to 1 mm in length in veins and at surfaces. Apatite (Ca5(PO4)3F), an accessory mineral of the host rock, has saléeite reaction rims, suggesting formation at the expense of apatite. Ca-uranyl phosphates, such as autunite (Ca(UO2)2(PO4)2·10H2O), were not identified, and Ca-rich uranyl silicates are also absent in the primary ore zone. Pb-bearing uranyl phosphates were found only in the graphite layer cross-cutting the secondary ore zone. In the graphite layer, the local low oxidation condition and high hydrocarbonate content of ground water have affected the formation of uranium minerals and the migration behavior of uranium.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 333: Symposium V – Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management XVII , 1993 , 653
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1994

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References

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