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Harry Clifford Granger

Publications and source records attributed to Harry Clifford Granger.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS1979

The importance of dissolved free oxygen during formation of sandstone-type uranium deposits

One factor which distinguishes t, he genesis of roll-type uranium deposits from the Uravan Mineral Belt and other sandstone-type uranium deposits may be the presence and concentration of dissolved free oxygen in the ore-forming. solutions. Although dissolved oxygen is a necessary prerequisite for the formation of roll-type deposits, it is proposed that a lack of dissolved oxygen is a prerequisite for the Uravan deposits. Solutions that formed both types of deposits probably had a supergene origin and originated as meteoric water in approximate equilibrium with atmospheric oxygen. Roll-type deposits were formed where the Eh dropped abruptly following consumption of the oxygen by iron sulfide minerals and creation of kinetically active sulfur species that could reduce uranium. The solutions that formed the Uravan deposits, on the other hand, probably first equilibrated with sulfide-free ferrous-ferric detrital minerals and fossil organic matter in the host rock. That is, the uraniferous solutions lost their oxygen without lowering their Eh enough to precipitate uranium. Without oxygen, they then. became incapable of oxidizing iron sulfide minerals. Subsequent localization and formation of ore bodies from these oxygen-depleted solutions, therefore, was not necessarily dependent on large reducing capacities.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1951

Uranium in the Copper King Mine, Black Hawk No. 1 Claim, Larimer County, Colorado

Radioactive rock was discovered on the dump of the Copper King mine, sec. 8, T. 10 N., R. 72 W., Larirrier County, Colo., in the summer of 1949. The mine had been prospected intermittently for copper and zinc since 1,916, but there is no record that ore was produced. The country rock is pre-Cambrian granite containing many schist inclusions and narrow pegmatite dikes. Pitchblende disseminated in chlorite and sulfides was deposited in an obscure vein system during an intermediate stage of mineralization. This stage was preceded by biotitic alteration of amphiboles and sulfide deposition. The latest stage of mineralization is represented-by the limonitic dense quartz vein followed during mining. The uranium-bearing vein is about 2-3 feet wide and the dense quartz vein is less than 6 inches wide. Both veins are bordered by 1-3 feet of biotite- and sulfide-bearing granite and arriphibole schist. The uranium content of 26 samples taken in the mine and on the dump ranges from 0.002 to 1.40 percent. These samples contained as much as 2.97 percent copper and 5.96 percent zinc. The general outlook for further prospecting near the Copper King shaft is not favorable, because much of the 'immediately surrounding area has been thoroughly investigated without finding abnormal radioactivity. The most favorable environment for concentration of uranium minerals appears to have been in or near schist inclusions in granite, and further exploration in nearby prospects may result in the discovery of other uranium-bearing deposits. In the Copper King mine, additional exploration would aid in determining the extent of the uranium-bearing material.

Colorado↗