Uranium in granites from the southwestern United States: actinide parent-daughter systems, sites and mobilization. Second year report. National Uranium Resource Evaluation

Results of detailed field and laboratory studies are reported on the primary distribution of uranium (and thorium and lead) in the radioactive minerals of five radioactive granite bodies in Arizona and California. This distribution was examined in a granite pluton. Granites with uranium concentrations ranging from 4 to 47 ppM, thorium concentrations from 11 to 181 ppM, and Th/U ratios of 0.6 to 16.0 were compared. Evidence for secondary mobilization, migration, fixation and/or loss of uranium, thorium and radiogenic leads was explored. Uranium distribution in radioactive granites is hosted in a far greater diversity of sites than has previously been known. Uranium and thorium distribution in primary minerals of granites is almost entirely a disequilibrium product involving local fractionation processes during magmatic crystallization. Every radioactive granite studied contains minerals that contain uranium and/or thorium as major stoichiometric components. When the granites are subject to secondary geochemical events and processes, the behavior of uranium is determined by the stability fields of the different radioactive minerals in the rocks. The two most powerful tools for evaluating uranium migration in a granite are (a) isotope dilution mass spectrometry and (b) the electron microprobe. Uranium mobilization and loss is a common feature in radioactivemore » granites of the southwestern United States. A model for the evaluation of uranium loss from granites has been developed. The mineral zircon can be used as an independent indicator of uranium and thorium endowment. The weathering products show surprising differences in the response of different granites in arid region settings. Significant losses of primary uranium (up to 70%) has been a common occurrence. Uranium, thorium and radiogenic lead exist in labile (movable) form on surfaces of cleavages, fractures and grain boundaries in granites.« less