The Application of Seismic Techniques in the Development of the Millennium Uranium Deposit, Northern Saskatchewan, Canada

Wood, G.; O’Dowd, Clare; Dueck, Peter

doi:10.1081/22020586.2010.12041988

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The interpretations of the seismic data collected at Millennium presented by Cosma et al (2009); Wood et al (2009); and Enescu et al (personal communication, 2012) represent independent initial interpretations of either the 3D surface or borehole VSP and MSP data. These initial interpretations were used as the building blocks for the final integration of the data.…”

Section: Interpretation Methodsmentioning

confidence: 97%

An interpretation of surface and borehole seismic surveys for mine planning at the Millennium uranium deposit, northern Saskatchewan, Canada

Wood

O’Dowd

Cosma³

et al. 2012

GEOPHYSICS

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Millennium uranium deposit is located within the Athabasca Basin, in northern Saskatchewan, Canada. The deposit is hosted within moderately dipping Paleoproterozoic gneisses that are unconformably overlain by more than 500 m of flat lying, porous Paleoproterozoic to late Mesoproterozoic Athabasca Group sandstones. The deposit is associated with the sandstone-basement unconformity, post-Athabasca structure, and hydrothermal alteration. These features combine to create a complex 3D hydrogeologic setting that presents challenges with respect to mine development, production, and safety. In 2007, as part of a prefeasibility study for potential mine development, a seismic program consisting of a 3D surface survey, vertical seismic profiling, moving source profiling, and side-scan surveys was undertaken to map the complex geology. The geometry and resolution of these different seismic surveys allowed for direct imaging of the geologic targets of interest, regardless of orientation and size. After integration with drill-defined geology, the program successfully imaged the location and character of the unconformity, the post-Athabasca structural setting at camp and deposit scales, and the alteration around the deposit. This information increased the understanding of geotechnical aspects of the geology hosting the deposit, and is currently being used to help minimize risk and costs associated with mine development. Seismic surveys are now viewed as an integral part of risk reduction associated with mining in the Athabasca Basin.

show abstract

Section: Interpretation Methodsmentioning

confidence: 97%

An interpretation of surface and borehole seismic surveys for mine planning at the Millennium uranium deposit, northern Saskatchewan, Canada

Wood

O’Dowd

Cosma³

et al. 2012

GEOPHYSICS

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The success of the reflection technique in imaging these basement shear zone/fault systems is well documented (Wood et al . ; Gyorfi and Hajnal ; Wood et al . ; Juhojuntti et al .…”

Section: Acoustic Properties – Mineralization Indicatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Uranium mineralization indicators from seismic and well log data in the Shea Creek area at the southern margin of the Carswell impact structure, Athabasca Basin, Canada

Hajnal

Takács

Pandit

et al. 2015

Geophysical Prospecting

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A B S T R A C TThe primary economic uranium (U) mineralization indicators in the Athabasca Basin are the reactivated prominent basement deformation zones, basement alteration halos, and the overlying sandstone alteration halos enveloping the deposit. High-resolution seismic surveys, from the Shea Creek area, are investigated to assess the potential of the surface seismic reflection technique for detecting these key mineralization markers. Four seismic profiles identify ductile to highly brittle deformation features of the basement. One of the brittle deformation features is a southwest-dipping prominent reactivated shear zone comparable to basement structures hosting other known deposits in the basin. The Carswell meteor impact structure is also a conspicuous component of the Shea Creek regional structural regime. The seismic sections identify several features of the impact structure, including recognition that the dimensions of this structure are significantly larger than those estimated by previous geological studies. This larger area includes both the Cluff Lake mine and the Shea Creek U deposits, and it reveals that the basement was considerably disturbed by the impact and suggests the reactivation of the southwest-dipping shear zone. Complex trace analysis of the seismic sections provides detailed information about the lateral changes in the reflectivity properties of the unconformity interval, which is another key zone of interest for uranium exploration. Based mainly on velocity information, several sub-zones of clay alteration and silicification were identified within prominent fracture depth intervals: both in the sandstone and the basement. Thus, this study documents that these primary mineral indicators can be detected by the seismic method. Cross-plots of velocity versus density of well log data identify changes in lithological units such as unaltered basement, fractured/altered basement, unaltered sandstone, clay alterations in sandstone, and silicification in sandstone.

show abstract

The Application of Seismic Techniques in the Development of the Millennium Uranium Deposit, Northern Saskatchewan, Canada

Cited by 2 publications

References 0 publications

An interpretation of surface and borehole seismic surveys for mine planning at the Millennium uranium deposit, northern Saskatchewan, Canada

An interpretation of surface and borehole seismic surveys for mine planning at the Millennium uranium deposit, northern Saskatchewan, Canada

Uranium mineralization indicators from seismic and well log data in the Shea Creek area at the southern margin of the Carswell impact structure, Athabasca Basin, Canada

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About