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At least 451 records · Page 25Linked to original sources
USGS1956

Duttonite, a new quadrivalent vanadium oxide from the Peanut mine, Montrose County, Colorado

Duttonite, a new quadrivalent vanadium oxide from the Peanut mine, Montrose County, Colo., has the formula VO(OH) 2 . The mineral occurs as crusts and coatings of pale-brown transparent platy crystals, as one of the first oxidation products of montroseite ore. It is associated with melanovanadite and abundant crystals of hexagonal native selenium. Duttonite is biaxial positive, 2V is about 60°, dispersion is r < v , moderate; X = a , pale pinkish brown; Y = c , pale yellow-brown; Z = b , pale brown; α = 1.810 ± 0.003, β = 1.900 ± 0.003, γ > 2.01. The hardness is about 2.5; the calculated specific gravity is 3.24. The chemical analysis shows, in percent: V 2 o 3 2.6, V 2 O 4 75.3, FeO 0.4, H 2 O 18.1, insoluble 4.2, total 100.6. Duttonite is monoclinic, a o = 8.80 ± 0.02A, b o - 3.95 ± 0.01A, c o - 5.96 ± 0.02A, β = 90°40 1 ± 5 1 . The space group is I 2/ c , ( C 6 2 h ); the cell contents are 4[VO(OH) 2 ]. The crystals are strongly pseudo-orthorhombic, and the structure departs only slightly from the space group Imcm . Duttonite is named for Captain Clarence Edward Dutton (1841-1912). A detailed study of the geology, geochemistry, and mineralogy of the vanadium-uranium ore at the Peanut mine, Montrose County, Colo., was begun early in 1954 by Carl H. Roach of the U. S. Geological Survey. A number of rare and new minerals were found in the ore and the study of these samples was undertaken by Mary E. Thompson. Duttonite is the first new vanadium mineral to be described from the Peanut mine. It is named for Captain Clarence Edward Dutton (1841-1912), who was one of the first geologists to work in the Colorado Plateau region and who was a member of the U. s. Geological Survey from 1879-91. We are indebted to the following members of the Geological Surbey: K. E. Valentine for spectrographic analyses of duttonite, and M. E. Mrose and H. T. Evans, Jr., for measurement of the unit cell constants. This work is part of a program being conducted by the U. S. Geological Survey on behalf of the Division of Raw Materials of the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission.

Colorado↗
USGS1956

Some observations on rutherfordine

The optical properties of rutherfordine, UO 2 CO 3 , previously determined on microscopic crystals, have been redetermined on considerably larger crystals; and the relations among the indices of refraction, the morphology, and the crystal structure have been examined. Rutherfordine is orthorhombic, biaxial positive, with α = 1.715, β = 1.730, γ = 1.795, 2V = 53° (calc.); X = b, Y = c (elongation, Z = a. The crystal structure of UO 2 CO 3 consists of layers of carbonate groups parallel to (010) with linear (O-U-O) ions normal to the layers. The indices β and γ correspond to vibration directions parallel to layers; the unexpectedly large difference in value between β and γ is ascribed to the optical anisotropy of the uranium-oxygen bonding in the layer. Indexed X-ray powder data are given.

Trace Elements Investigations↗
USGS1956

Oxidation potential and state of some vanadium ores and the relation of woody material to their deposition

Oxidation potential studies with a multiple pH-potential recorder designed and constructed for this purpose demonstrated that some uranium-vanadium ores in the Colorado Plateau were in a reduced state when deposited. Any oxidation which took place occurred after deposition. Experimental and theoretical reducing studies on fresh wood, wood degraded by burial for 450 years, and lignite, indicate that such ores may have been deposited by reduction of oxidized vanadium solutions by woody material. A vanadium (III) mineral, V 2 O(OH) 4 , was prepared synthetically by reduction of a vanadium (V) solution with wood. This is the only reported synthesis of any reduced vanadium mineral by any method. It was shown that the origin of almost all vanadium deposits currently of commercial importance involves life processes and products.

Utah↗
USGS1956

Behavior of Colorado Plateau uranium minerals during oxidation

Uranium occurs as U(VI) and U(IV) in minerals of the Colorado Plateau ores. The number of species containing U(VI) is large, but only two U(IV) minerals are known from the Plateau: uraninite, and oxide, and coffinite, a hydroxy-silicate. These oxidize to yield U(VI) before reacting significantly with other mineral constituents. Crystal-structure analysis has shown that U(VI) invariable occurs as uranyl ion, UO 2 +2 . Uranyl ion may form complex carbonate or sulfate ions with resulting soluble compounds, but only in the absence of quinquevalent vanadium, arsenic, or phosphorous. In the presence of these elements in the +5 valence state, the uranyl ion is fixed in insoluble layer compounds formed by union of uranyl ion with orthovanadate, orthophosphate, or orthoarsenate. Under favorable conditions UO 2 +2 may react to form the relatively insoluble rutherfordine, UO 2 CO 3 , or hydrated uranyl hydroxides. These are rarely found on the Colorado Plateau as opposed to their excellent development in other uraniferous areas, a condition which is apparently related to the semiarid climate and low water table of the Plateau. Uranium may also be fixed as uranyl silicate, but little is known about minerals of this kind. In the present study emphasis has been placed on a detailing of the chemical and crystal structural changes which occur in the oxidation paragenetic sequence.

Utah↗
USGS1956

A fluorimetric study of the thorium-morin system

Thorium reacts with morin to yield a yellow complex that fluoresces when irradiated with ultraviolet light. The effect on the fluorescence of such variable as concentration of acid, alcohol, thorium, morin, and complex; time, temperature, and wavelength of exciting light are studied to determine experimental conditions yielding maximum fluorescence. The effects of Zr 4+ , Al 3+ , Fe 3+ , Ca 2+ , and La 3+ are discussed. The fundamental relationships between light absorption and fluorescence are expressed in a general equation which applied to a three-component system when the fluorescence is measured in a transmission-type fluorimeter. This general equation is used to obtain an expression for the fluorescence of the thorium-morin system. Equations, derived from experimental data, related both the fraction of thorium reacted to form complex and the fraction of unquenched fluorescence to the concentration of uncombined morin. These functions, when combined with the general equation, give an expression which relates the total net fluorescence to the amount of uncombined morin in the solution. This last equation can be used to determine the one region for the concentration of uncombined morin that gives maximum sensitivity for the system. Calculated standard curves are in excellent agreement with experimental curves.

Trace Elements Investigations↗
USGS1957

Electrical properties of sandstones of the Morrison Formation

The electrical properties of the Morrison formation in the Uravan mineral belt of the Colorado Plateau have been studied to determine if there are anomalous variations in these properties in and near zones of uranium-vanadium minerals which might serve as a target for geophysical prospecting. Measurements of electrical properties of the Morrison formation in place were obtained by the electric logging of 147 drill holes, and measurements were made of the resistivity and porosity of 440 drill cores in the laboratory to aid in the interpretation of the electric logs. The resistivity of the sandstone members of the Morrison formation is highest in areas that are most favorable for the occurrence of ore. This increase in resistivity is probably due to a lower water saturation or a lower salinity of the water in the favorable areas.

Colorado;Utah↗
USGS1958

Directional resistivity measurements in exploration for uranium deposits on the Colorado Plateau

A study of the electrical properties of the Morrison formation in the Uravan mineral belt of the Colorado Plateaus province indicated that there is a significant correlation between electrical resistivity and the relative favorability for occurrence of ore. The differences in resistivity were not large enough to provide a recognizable target for standard resistivity' field methods, especially where the ore-bearing sandstone member is more than a few hundred feet deep. Measurement of resistivity trends by placing one electrode in a drill hole and spreading the others out radially on the surface seemed to offer a means of exploiting the resistivity-favorability correlation. Field tests of such directional resistivity measurements were made in the Spud Patch area in San Miguel County, Colo., and the White Canyon district) San Juan County, Utah. In the Spud Patch area two methods were tried; in one a current electrode was placed in the drill. hole, and in the other, a potential electrode. The second was the more tedious but provided the more readily interpretable results. A comparison of the resistivity trends thus determined with the favorability estimated from geologic indexes indicated that directional resistivity methods could predict the location of favorable areas at distances of 600 to 1,000 feet with a high degree of success. In the White Canyon district directional resistivity measurements were made on the assumption that the conglomerate which is found in many channels filled with the Shinarump member of the Chinle formation has a high resistivity. The measurements were successful in tracing the channel conglomerate where surface conditions were favorable.

Arizona;Colorado;New Mexico;Utah↗
USGS1955

On the air-scattering of gamma rays from thick uranium sources

Semiquantative interpretation of data from airborne radioactivity surveying requires detailed knowledge of air-scattered gamma-ray intensity at considerable air distances from natural, thick uranium sources. Based on the concept of an elementary source of infinite thickness rather than on the classical point source, semi-empirical expressions, are developed for measured gamma-radiation intensities from . the two extreme types of natural, thick uranium sources, the elementary (point) and t-he broad (semi-infinite) source. These expressions agree both with extensive experimental data and with the form and structure of theory. Theoretical computations based on published solutions of the Boltzmann equation for ga.m.ma-ray transport in one medium agree closely with experimental measurements. The calculated value for primary, scattered, and total intensities from thick uranium sources show that at considerable air distances the scattered intensities are more than half of the total intensities for energies above 0.4 Mev and become considerably more than half as the lower limit of detector energy response is decreased below 0.4 Mev.

Trace Elements Investigations↗
USGS1958

Mineralogical applications of electron diffraction. 1. Theory and techniques

The small wavelengths used in electron-diffraction experiments and the thinness of the crystals necessary for the transmission of the electron beam combine to require a somewhat different diffraction geometry for the interpretation of electron-diffraction patterns than is used in the interpretation of X-ray diffraction patterns. This geometry, based on the reciprocal lattice concept and geometrical construction of Ewald, needed for the interpretation. of transmission electron-diffraction single-crystal patterns is here reviewed. Transmission electron-diffraction single-crystal patterns of two monoclinic substances, colemanite [CaB 3 O 3 (OH) 3 •H 2 O] and potassium chlorate (KC10 3 ), are examined and the .theory necessary for their interpretation is given in detail. The study of these patterns furnishes a basis for the interpretation of single-crystal patterns of materials belonging to any crystal system. It is shown that useful unit-cell data, accurate to a few tenths of a percent, can be obtained from the patterns of colemanite and KClO 3 . A method of evaluating unit-cell data from measurements of such single-crystal patterns is given. The transmission electron-diffraction powder pattern obtained from an oriented aggregate of thin crystals gives the same unit-cell data as are given by the electron-diffraction single-crystal pattern obtained from one crystal of the aggregate., A graphical method is given for precisely evaluating unit-cell constants from measurements of such a powder pattern.

Trace Elements Investigations↗
USGS1958

Areal geology of the Little Cone quadrangle, Colorado

The Little Cone quadrangle includes an area of about 59 square miles in eastern San Miguel County in southwestern Colorado. It lies within and adjacent to the northeastern boundary of the Colorado Plateau physiographic province. The precipitous front of the San Juan Mountains lies a few miles to the east and northeast, and an outlier of the San Juans, the San Miguel Mountains, lies about a mile to the south. The quadrangle contains features characteristic of both the plateaus and the mountains, and has been affected by geologic events and processes of two different geologic environments.

Colorado↗
USGS1956

Botanical prospecting for uranium in the Circle Cliffs area, Garfield County, Utah

Astragalus pattersoni and Stanleya pinnata broadly define some uraniferous localities adjacent to the contact of the Moenkopi formation and the Shinarump member of the Chinle formation, but the general paucity of Astragalus in the Circle Cliffs area limits the usefulness of this genus. Astragalus pattersoni , Stanleya pinnata , and Aster venustus (?) may serve as guides to mineralized parts of the Salt Wash sandstone member of the Morrison formation in the Circle Cliffs area. Thick and thin sandstones of the Shinarump member generally can be distinguished by pinyon-juniper ration studies. These studies may supplement drilling to define channel-fill sandstones which are associated with ore deposits in the Circle Cliffs area. Ratio studies appear to be applicable to other areas throughout the Colorado Plateau where similar geological and ecological conditions exist.

Utah↗