Geological Society of America

T79 Geologic Energy Research I

Monday, 5 November 2018
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Room 145

EXAMINING URANIUM TRANSPORT, SOURCES AND WASTE IN NEW MEXICO MINING DISTRICTS

Paper number: T79-3
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 8:30 AM – 8:45 AM

Authors

Bonnie A. Frey Presenting Author
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM
Marcus Silva
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM
Daniel Cadol
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM
Virginia McLemore
New Mexico Bureau of Geology NM Institute Mining & Technolo, Socorro, NM
William X. Chávez
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM
Eshani Hettiarachchi
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM
Reid D. Brown
Cheyenne, WY
Samantha Caldwell
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM
Alexandra R. Pearce
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM
John Asafo-Akowuah
Accra

Abstract

In 2013, a team of New Mexico Tech researchers began a study on uranium transport, uranium source characteristics, and legacy issues in New Mexico. The effort was funded by Energize New Mexico, a five-year NSF EPSCoR program concluding this year, that encompassed five research components focused on developing non-carbon emitting energy technologies. The uranium team, which included researchers from UNM, mainly addressed uranium deposits and mine waste in the Grants Mining District, including Laguna Pueblo, and on Navajo Nation lands. These uranium studies span a range of science and engineering disciplines, and not only provide new conclusions impacting remediation, hazard management, and uranium extraction, but hold implications regarding human health.

This presentation provides an overview of six New Mexico Tech research projects:

Identify the uranium mineralogy of several mineralized zones in the St. Anthony mine, New Mexico, determine possible reactions to produce them, and discuss overall geochemistry of uranium-mineralized host rocks.
Analyze the uranium distribution among grain size fractions from mineralized zones. Preliminary results suggest that uranium distribution in ore increases in the middle to larger size fractions. The increase in uranium corresponds to an increase in carbon.
Study dust transport of uranium at the Jackpile Mine site. Results suggest that uranium concentrations increase with decreasing grain size and that dust distribution is controlled by geomorphology and wind velocity.
Determine how well simulated lung fluids dissolve metals on dust-sized particles. Dust mineralogy is shown to be an important control as well as such factors as available surface area and fluid pH and composition.
Survey several abandoned uranium mines throughout New Mexico for risks, contamination and general layout. Although non-acid forming, the waste rock piles had elevated radioactivity, and evidence of weathering was found in the piles. In the Jeter sample, uranium decreases with increase in grain size.
Determine the geochemical suitability of New Mexican uranium deposits for in-situ recovery of uranium, focusing on the mineralogy and carbon content of ores and on batch experiments with lixiviant fluids.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 50, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2018AM-320624

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