Indian Creek uranium prospects, Beaver County, Utah

Wyant, Donald G.; Stugard, Frederick

doi:10.3133/ofr5124

Cited by 2 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…[Resource potential High] Combined geologic, geochemical, geophysical, and geochronologic data (Cunningham and others, 1984) indicate that an area along Indian Creek (Locality D4) between the west margin of the Mount Belknap caldera and Beaver basin may be underlain by a mineralized intrusive body that was emplaced about 16 Ma. Surface evidence for mineralization is most clearcut at the Mystery-Sniffer mine, which has produced small quantities of uranium (Osterstock and Gilkey, 1956;Wyant and Stugard, 1951). McHugh and others (1980) detected anomalous concentrations of Li, Be, F, Mo, U, As, and Mn in water from the mine area.…”

Section: [Resource Potential High]mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mineral resource potential of the Richfield 1° x 2° quadrangle, west-central Utah

Steven¹,

Morris²

1984

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The geology of the Richfield quadrangle is highly varied and developed over a long span of time. The oldest rocks comprise small patches of early Proterozoic gneiss and schist that crop out along the west side of the Mineral Mountains. Sedimentation during the latest Precambrian, Paleozoic, and Mesozoic deposited a thick sequence of sedimentary rocks now exposed in the northern part of the quadrangle. These rocks were broadly deformed during the Sevier orogeny in late Cretaceous time when allochthonous Precambrian and Paleozoic rocks were thrust eastward across Mesozoic and Paleozoic strata in the autochthon along the sinuous Sevier orogenic belt that trends diagonally southwest across the quadrangle. In early Tertiary time, erosion of highlands west of the orogenic belt produced a wide variety of debris that accumulated in basins east of the highland. Volcanism in Oligocene and early Miocene time formed an east-northeast-trending belt of calc-alkalic volcanoes across the southern half of the quadrangle; these rocks range in composition from mafic andesite to low-silica rhyolite. In early Miocene, about coincident with inception of extensional tectonism throughout much of the Western U.S., the composition of volcanic rocks changed to a bimodal assemblage of mafic rocks and high-silica alkali rhyolite that erupted episodically throughout the remainder of Cenozoic time. Extensional tectonism culminated in late Miocene-Pliocene time when the present basin-range topography formed through block faulting. The resulting mountain areas were eroded rapidly to supply debris which was deposited in the lower parts of nearby basins. Known and inferred mineral resources in the Richfield quadrangle are both syngenetic and epigenetic. Syngenetic types include limestone and dolomite, silica-rich sandstone and quartzite, metalliferous black shale, evaporite deposits, zeolite deposits, pumice, cinders and scoria, perilte, and different materials deposited in playa environments. The carbonate and silica resources are virtually inexhaustible, but are generally unfavorably located with respect to markets. The other syngenetic resources need to be discovered, or to have extraction or fabrication technologies developed to utilize them. Epigenetic resources are largely of volcanogenic-hydrothermal origin. Mineralization took place many times and in many different places, and deposits can be grouped by geologic association. The earliest mineralization was related to calc-alkalic igneous centers of Oligocene age, which formed an east-northeast-trending belt across the full length of the quadrangle. Associated resources are predominantly base-and precious-metal deposits (Cu, Pb, Zn, Au, and Ag) that occur in a wide variety of types zoned around core intrusions. During Miocene and younger times, many local rhyolite fields developed along the axis of the older belt of calc-alkalic centers. Resources or possible resources of lithophile elements (Mo, W, U, Be, Sn, and F) as well as base and precious metals (Pb, Zn, Au, and Ag) occur in associat...

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Section: [Resource Potential High]mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mineral resource potential of the Richfield 1° x 2° quadrangle, west-central Utah

Steven¹,

Morris²

1984

Open-File Report

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“…The uranium deposits of the Mystery-Sniffer mine located along Indian Creek just west of the Mount Belknap caldera, may have been formed both from remobilized uranium derived from the caldera fill and from primary uranium derived from a magmatic source at depth. The known areas of mineralized rock contain torbernite and autunite (Wyant and Stugard, 1951) concentrated along east-striking faults that cut argillically altered Bullion Canyon Volcanics. Records (Osterstock and Gilkey, 1956) indicate that 35 tons of ore averaging 0.17 percent U108 were shipped in 1952.…”

Section: Mineralized Areas Associated With the Mount Belknap Volcanicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The western Tushar Mountains were first studied by Callaghan and Parker (1961) who began mapping in the late 1930's and completed it in the early 1950's. Preliminary investigations of some of the uranium occurrences were reported by Wyant and Stugard (1951). Callaghan (1973) discussed the area as part of a general review of the mineral deposits of Piute County, Utah.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%