Structural evolution, paragenesis, and origin of the arrow uranium deposit, southwestern Athabasca Basin

阿萨巴斯卡盆地西南部箭头铀矿床的构造演化、共生和起源

• 批准号: 500920-2016
• 负责人: Ansdell, Kevin
• 金额: $ 1.48万
• 依托单位: University of Saskatchewan
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Collaborative Research and Development Grants
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2017-01-01 至 2018-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=618968
• 关键词: Structural; evolution; paragenesis; origin; arrow

The objective of this project is to unravel the origin and evolution of an exciting new uranium deposit discovery in the 1.7 billion year old Athabasca sedimentary basin of northern Saskatchewan. The Arrow deposit was discovered two years ago and based on resource calculations it could be the third largest uranium deposit in the world, and now forms part of a fledgling uranium camp in the southwestern Athabasca Basin. Overall, this part of Canada contains the richest uranium deposits in the world, and yields about 15% of the world's uranium used to produce fuel for nuclear reactors. Nuclear energy is used to generate about 12% of the world's electricity at present, and it is likely that this proportion will increase as we reduce the global carbon footprint. In detail, the project will form the focus of a Master of Science thesis, as well as four B.Sc. theses, at the University of Saskatchewan, supported by NexGen Energy. Drill core from the Arrow deposit will be examined to relate uranium-bearing and alteration minerals to structures, along which brines would have moved during the evolution of the deposit. Samples will be analyzed by petrography and microprobe to determine the minerals present in and around the deposit, and their composition. The uranium and lead isotope compositions of uranium-bearing minerals will provide information on the age of the deposit and its history, and the oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon isotopes will be used to determine the character of the fluids through time. Representative samples of the rocks around the deposit will also be examined to determine the origin of these rocks, as this part of the Canadian Shield is poorly understood. This information will be used to construct a model for the origin of the Arrow deposit, which can be compared to other uranium deposits in the region to improve the ability to find new deposits. Direct outcomes will be MSc and BSc theses, and journal papers. In addition, new ideas as to the origin of the deposits of this part of northern Saskatchewan will provide economic growth for northern communities, and maintain the province and Canada as one of the leading providers of uranium in the world.

该项目的目的是揭示萨斯喀彻温省北部17亿年历史的17亿年Athabasca沉积盆地令人兴奋的新铀沉积物发现的起源和演变。箭头存款是两年前发现的，基于资源计算，它可能是世界上第三大铀矿床，现在构成了西南阿萨巴斯卡盆地刚起步的铀营地的一部分。总体而言，加拿大的这一部分包含世界上最富有的铀沉积物，大约有15％的铀用于为核反应堆生产燃料。核能目前用于产生大约12％的世界电力，随着我们减少全球碳足迹，这一比例可能会增加。详细说明，该项目将构成科学硕士论文的重点，以及四个B.Sc.在萨斯喀彻温大学的这篇文章，得到了Nexgen Energy的支持。将检查箭头沉积物中的钻芯，以将铀含量和改变矿物与结构相关联，在沉积物的演变过程中盐水会移动。样品将通过岩石学和微探针进行分析，以确定沉积物内外的矿物及其组成。含铀矿物质的铀和铅同位素组成将提供有关沉积物及其历史的信息，氧气，氢和碳同位素将用于确定流体的特征。还将检查沉积物周围岩石的代表样品，以确定这些岩石的起源，因为对加拿大盾牌的这一部分的了解很少。该信息将用于构建箭头沉积物原产的模型，该模型可以与该地区的其他铀沉积物进行比较，以提高找到新沉积物的能力。直接结果将是MSC和BSC论文和期刊论文。此外，关于萨斯喀彻温省北部这一部分存款的起源的新思想将为北部社区提供经济增长，并将该省和加拿大作为世界铀领先的提供者之一。