Reconnaissance for uranium-bearing lignite in the Ekalaka Lignite Field, Carter County, Montana

Abstract

Uranium-bearing lignite beds 1.5 to 8 feet thick occur in the Fort Union formation of the southern part of the Ekalaka Hills, Carter County, Mont. Data from surface outcrops indicate that an area of about 1,400 acres is underlain by 16,500,000 tons of uranium-bearing lignite containing 700 tons of uranium. The uranium content of the lignite beds ranges from 0.001 to 0.034 percent. Ironstone concretions in the massive coarse-grained sandstones in the upper part of the Fort Union formation contain 0.005 percent uranium in the northern and eastern parts of the area. These sandstones are good potential host rocks for uranium mineralization and are lithologically similar to the massive coarse-grained uranium-bearing sandstones of the Wasatch formation in the Pumpkin Buttes area of the Powder River Basin.