Uranium association with organic matter

Uranium occurrences in these clastic formations are widespread, the most important being located in the Rendena Valley area (western Trentino) and in the Seriana Valley (Lombardy). Uranium mineralization is tabular and peneconcordant with the sandstone beds it is commonly associated with organic matter, the best occurrences being located in the grey beds close to the geochemical boundary with the red beds. 

Unconformity-related deposits are found near principal unconformities. Examples include the ore bodies at Quff Lake, Key Lake, and Rabbit Lake in northern Saskatchewan, Canada, and in the Alligator Rivers area in northern Australia. Sandstone deposits are contained in rocks that were deposited under fluvial or marginal marine conditions. The host rocks nearly always contain pyrite and organic plant matter. The sediments are commonly associated with tuffs. Unoxidized deposits of this type consist of pitchblende and coffinite in arkasoic and quartzitic sandstones. Upon weathering, secondary minerals such as camotite, tuyamunite, and uranophane are formed. More information on these and other uranium deposit types is available (1). 

Coffinite was first described as a new mineral by Stieff and co-workers from several localities in the sandstones of the Colorado Plateau deposits often intimately associated with asphaltic material. It was also found in vein-type deposits in Spain by Arribas and has since been found in almost all types of deposits. The composition has been reported as U(SiOi4)i AOrganic matter was always present and organometallic complexes of uranium may have accounted for the excess uranium rather than requiring excess (OH) to account for the U Si ratio deviating from unity. USi04 has been prepared by Fuchs and Gebert with no evidence of OH substitution. 

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