McArthur River Uranium Deposit. Saskatchewan, Canada

Farquharson, C.G. Craven, J.A. 2008. Three-dimensional inversion of magneto-telluric data for mineral exploration An example from the McArthur River uranium deposit, Saskatchewan, Canada. Journal of Applied Geophysics, in press. 

Vectoring potential of multi-element chemistry in unconformity-associated uranium deposits major and trace element signatures of the McArthur River Uranium Deposit, Saskatchewan, Canada. 

Derome, D., Cathehneau, M., Lhomme, T, Crmey, M. (2003). Fluid inclusion evidence of the differential migration of H2 and O2 in the McArthur River unconformity-type uranium deposit (Saskatchewan, Canada). Possible role on post-ore modifications of the host rocks. Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 7B-79, 525-530. 

Unconformity-type uranium deposits from the Athabasca Basin (Saskatchewan, Canada) represent the worid-richest uranium ores with the McArthur River deposit as a prime exampie. They are mainiy iocated ciose to the unconformity between a Paieo- to Meso-Proterozoic sedimentary basin, the Athabasca Basin, and an Archean to Paieoproterozoic metamorphic to piutonic basement. For severai years, a new type of uraniferous mineraiization, entireiy iocated in the basement, has been driiied in the South-Eastern part of the basin. Few data are avaiiabie for this type of deposit, iimiting the comparison of their characteristics and possibie genetic iinks with deposits iocated at the unconformity. 

Derome, D., Cathelineau, M., Cuney, M., Fabre, C., Lhomme, T., Banks, D.A. 2005. Mixing of sodic and calcic brines and uranium deposition at McArthur River, Saskatchewan, Canada. A raman and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopic study of fluid inclusions. Economic Geology, 100, 1529-1545. 

Canada and Australia are the world s largest producers of uranium. All Canadian production is from rich deposits in the Athabasca basin of northern Saskatchewan among those is the McArthur River mine, which has the world s largest high-grade deposit, estimated at 1.52 X 10 t of uranium from ore grading 15-18% uranium. These unconformity -type Saskatchewan deposits, which are also the principal deposit-type for Australian uranium production, contain mainly uraninite [UO2] with associated coffinite [U(Si04)i jc(0H)4j and brannerite [(U,Ca,Y,Ce)(Ti,Fe)206] (Plant et al, 1999). The chief uses of uranium are in nuclear power plants and weaponry. 

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