Uranium Ore - Ore Genesis

Ore Genesis

There are several themes of uranium ore deposit formation, which are caused by geological and chemical features of rocks and the element uranium. The basic themes of uranium ore genesis are host mineralogy, reduction-oxidation potential, and porosity.

Uranium is a highly soluble, as well as a radioactive, heavy metal. It can be easily dissolved, transported and precipitated within ground waters by subtle changes in oxidation conditions. Uranium also does not usually form very insoluble mineral species, which is a further factor in the wide variety of geological conditions and places in which uranium mineralization may accumulate.

Uranium is an incompatible element within magmas, and as such it tends to become accumulated within highly fractionated and evolved granite melts, particularly alkaline examples. These melts tend to become highly enriched in uranium, thorium and potassium, and may in turn create internal pegmatites or hydrothermal systems into which uranium may dissolve.

Read more about this topic:  Uranium Ore

Famous quotes containing the word genesis:

    Behold I have given you every herb bearing seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
    —Bible: Hebrew Genesis 1:29.

    But in a later context, God told the disgraced Adam, “and thou shalt eat the herb of the field” (Genesis 3:18)