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The Taunsa uranium mineralisation is hosted by the upper Miocene–Pliocene Litra Formation, part of the molasse sediments (Siwalik Group) deposited in the Himalayan foreland basin of the eastern Sulaiman Range, Dera Ghazi Khan, Pakistan. The Litra Formation is the only rock unit hosting economic-grade uranium occurrences in the stratigraphic record of Pakistan. Surface radioactivity is mainly associated with cemented layers of the host sandstone, known as hard-bands, whereas weakly cemented sandstone is non-radioactive. The outcropping sandstone is dominantly whitish grey owing to bleaching, which is probably related to hydrocarbon migration from the underlying marine black shales. The main sandstone-type uranium mineralisation is phreatic owing to its parallelism with the water-table, whereas the concordantly oriented tabular (roll-type) ore is subordinate. The host sandstone layers have high dips ranging from 70 to 85°E indicating a deformed geological setting that makes the Taunsa uranium ore unique. Uranium is trapped mostly by scant organic matter, probably related to hydrocarbons, and also by Fe–Ti-oxide phases, phyllosilicates (chlorite and biotite), graphitic schist and black shale clasts in the host sandstone. Uranium ore minerals are mainly coffinite, pitchblende and minor brannerite. Uranium in the ore phases is accompanied by the high contents of Ca, Fe, Ti, Si and Al. Radiometric disequilibrium in the phreatic ore is strongly positive, whereas that in the tabular (roll-front) is moderately positive, which in turn suggests the former is younger than the latter. The coexistence of the two ore-types, characterised by different intensities of radiometric disequilibrium within the same uranium deposit, suggests that the phreatic uranium ore has possibly resulted from remobilisation of the tectonically uplifted tabular (roll-type) ore and its reprecipitation at the horizontally oriented redox interface following the water-table in the host sandstone aquifers. The Taunsa uranium resource is dominantly phreatic that has resulted from oxidation and remobilisation of the earlier tabular (roll-type) mineralisation. The phreatic uranium mineralisation is very young, which is indicated by low radioactivity and high positive disequilibrium in comparison with that within the tabular (roll-type) ore. Uranium phases are mainly pitchblende, coffinite and brannerite, associated with organic matter of hydrocarbon origin, with phyllosilicates and Fe–Ti-oxide phases. Outcrop of the host sandstone in the Taunsa area is pervasively bleached and is marked by flat topography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was carried out to explore the potential of the isolated bacterial strains isolated from Gabal El Sela in Eastern Dessert, Egypt for biosynthesis of uraninite nanoparticles intracellularly. The most potent bacterial strains associated (intra) with uranium nanoparticles were characterized by transmission electron microscope (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX). Studying factors affecting biosynthesis of uranium nanoparticles indicated that the optimum conditions were 6000 ppm uranium concentrations at pH 7.0 and temperature 30 °C ± 1 after five days with 10% biomass under shaking conditions and the maximum uranium uptake by MAM – U9 cells was 3300 ppm (55%) from uranyl nitrate solution and 3600 ppm (72%) from Sela rock sample. Results of TEM micrograph show those uranium nanoparticles (UNPs) with size ranging from 2.9 to 21.13 nm inside cells. The kinetics, isotherm and thermodynamics parameters of uranium uptaken by bacterial strain MAM –U9 have been determined and found to be a first order process (R2 = 9935), follows Langmuir isotherm (RL2 = 0.998) and the thermodynamics of ΔG = –9.715 kJmol−1, ΔH = 16.987 kJmol−1and ΔS = 0.0881 kJmol−1 K−1at 30 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uraninite (UO2) is the most desirable end product of in situ bioreduction because of its low solubility under reducing conditions. For effective long-term immobilization of uranium (U), there should be no biotic or abiotic reoxidation of the insoluble biogenic U(IV). It is therefore critical to understand the long-term stability of U(IV) under oxic- and nutrient-limited conditions at U-contaminated subsurface sites. It has now been established that following in situ bioremediation of U(VI) via nutrient addition in the subsurface, a range of physical, chemical, and biological factors control the rate and extent of long-term stability of U(IV). Some of these factors are tied to site specific conditions including existence of oxidants such as Fe(III)(hydr)oxides, Mn(IV) oxides, oxygen, and nitrate; the presence of organic carbon and the reduced forms of U (e.g., mononuclear U(IV) or nanometer-sized uraninite particles); and the carbonate concentration and pH of groundwater. This review analyzes the contribution of these factors in controlling U(IV)-reoxidation, and highlights the competition among U(IV) and other electron acceptors and possible mechanisms of reoxidation of various forms of U(IV). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Lake Boga Granite in northern Victoria contains a suite of well-crystallised secondary uranyl phosphates, including torbernite, saléeite, metanatroautunite and ulrichite. The minerals crystallised in miarolitic cavities and on joints, after dissolution of primary uraninite and fluorapatite by oxidising groundwater. A more restricted assemblage occurs in the nearby Wycheproof Granite. The 230Th/U dating method was used to reveal any links between formation ages of these minerals and climatic fluctuations during the Quaternary. Out of 104 analyses, 77 gave apparent ages less than about 500 ka, the upper limit beyond which secular equilibrium in the 230Th/U decay series is closely approached. The age distribution curve shows a broad peak around 400 ka, coinciding with a global interglacial period (Marine Isotope Stage 11). Thereafter, there is a slow tapering off towards younger ages, but with no direct correlation with interglacial peaks and with no ages less than 100 ka. Throughout this time interval (ca 500–100 ka), the southeastern Australian region was undergoing aridification, suggesting that regional rather than global climate was the more significant influence on uranium phosphate crystallisation. While caution needs to be applied when interpreting these results, the overall distribution pattern might be best explained by fluctuating weathering affecting a finite primary uranium source that was progressively depleted from about 400 ka and exhausted by around 100 ka. The study has also revealed that the Lake Boga and Wycheproof granites acted as natural reservoirs for the sequestration of uranium in phosphate-rich assemblages over periods of several hundred thousand years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

EPMA chemical U-Th-Pb uraninite analysis has been used to constrain the age of the granite-related, Rossing South uranium prospect in Namibia and the Kintyre unconformity-related uranium deposit in Western Australia. Uraninite from the Rossing South prospect has an age of 496.1 ± 4.1 Ma, which is similar to the age of other uranium deposits in the region at Rossing and Goanikontes. Uraninite grains analysed from the Kintyre deposit have an age of 837 +35/-31 Ma suggesting that the uranium mineralisation occurred during or after the latest period of sedimentation in the Yeneena Basin during the ca 850 to ca 800 Ma Miles Orogeny. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uranium is a pollutant of concern to both human and ecosystem health. Uranium's redox state often dictates its partitioning between the aqueous- and solid-phases, and thus controls its dissolved concentration and, coupled with groundwater flow, its migration within the environment. In anaerobic environments, the more oxidized and mobile form of uranium (UO22+ and associated species) may be reduced, directly or indirectly, by microorganisms to U(IV) with subsequent precipitation of UO2. However, various factors within soils and sediments may limit biological reduction of U(VI), inclusive of alterations in U(VI) speciation and competitive electron acceptors. Here we elucidate the impact of U(VI) speciation on the extent and rate of reduction with specific emphasis on speciation changes induced by dissolved Ca, and we examine the impact of Fe(III) (hydr)oxides (ferrihydrite, goethite and hematite) varying in free energies of formation on U reduction. The amount of uranium removed from solution during 100 h of incubation with S. putrefaciens was 77% with no Ca or ferrihydrite present but only 24% (with ferrihydrite) and 14% (no ferrihydrite) were removed for systems with 0.8 mM Ca. Imparting an important criterion on uranium reduction, goethite and hematite decrease the dissolved concentration of calcium through adsorption and thus tend to diminish the effect of calcium on uranium reduction. Dissimilatory reduction of Fe(III) and U(VI) can proceed through different enzyme pathways, even within a single organism, thus providing a potential second means by which Fe(III) bearing minerals may impact U(VI) reduction. We quantify rate coefficients for simultaneous dissimilatory reduction of Fe(III) and U(VI) in systems varying in Ca concentration (0 to 0.8 mM), and using a mathematical construct implemented with the reactive transport code MIN3P, we reveal the predominant influence of uranyl speciation, specifically the formation of uranyl-calcium-carbonato complexes, and ferrihydrite on the rate and extent of uranium reduction in complex geochemical systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bioleaching of a low-grade Indian uraninite ore (triuranium octoxide, U3O8: 0.024%), containing ferro-silicate and magnetite as the major phases, and hematite and pyrite in minor amounts, has been reported. Experiments were carried out in laboratory scale column reactors inoculated with enriched culture of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans isolated from the source mine water. The pH effect on uranium recovery was examined with the same amounts of ores in different columns. With the presence of 10.64% Fe in the ore as ferro-silicate, the higher uranium biorecovery of 58.9% was observed with increase in cell count from 6.4 × 107 to 9.7 × 108 cells/mL at pH 1.7 in 40 days as compared to the uranium recovery of 56.8% at pH 1.9 with a corresponding value of 9.4 × 108 cells/mL for 2.5-kg ore in the column. The dissolution of uranium under chemical leaching conditions, however, recorded a lower value of 47.9% in 40 days at room temperature. Recoveries were similar with 6-kg ore when column leaching was carried out at pH 1.7. The bioleaching of uranium from the low-grade ore of Turamdih may be correlated with the iron(II) and iron(III) concentrations, and redox potential values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The remediation of uranium from soils and groundwater at Department of Energy (DOE) sites across the United States represents a major environmental issue, and bioremediation has exhibited great potential as a strategy to immobilize U in the subsurface. The bioreduction of U(VI) to insoluble U(IV) uraninite has been proposed to be an effective bioremediation process in anaerobic conditions. However, high concentrations of nitrate and low pH found in some contaminated areas have been shown to limit the efficiency of microbial reduction of uranium. In the present study, nonreductive uranium biomineralization promoted by microbial phosphatase activity was investigated in anaerobic conditions in the presence of high nitrate and low pH as an alternative approach to the bioreduction of U(VI). A facultative anaerobe, Rahnella sp. Y9602, isolated from soils at DOE's Oak Ridge Field Research Center (ORFRC), was able to respire anaerobically on nitrate as a terminal electron acceptor in the presence of glycerol-3-phosphate (G3P) as the sole carbon and phosphorus source and hydrolyzed sufficient phosphate to precipitate 95% total uranium after 120 hours in synthetic groundwater at pH 5.5. Synchrotron X-ray diffraction and X-ray absorption spectroscopy identified the mineral formed as chernikovite, a U(VI) autunite-type mineral. The results of this study suggest that in contaminated subsurfaces, such as at the ORFRC, where high concentrations of nitrate and low pH may limit uranium bioreduction, the biomineralization of U(VI) phosphate minerals may be a more attractive approach for in situ remediation providing that a source of organophosphate is supplied for bioremediation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Devonian Lake Boga Granite in northern Victoria, while almost entirely under thin Murray Basin cover, is one of the largest plutons in the western Lachlan Fold Belt. Its only exposure is a quarry penetrating the Cenozoic sediments. In the quarry, prominent pod pegmatites and miarolitic cavities suggest a high level of emplacement. The granite, a non-magnetic, fractionated S-type, contains a large range of accessory minerals, including primary uranium- and REE-bearing phosphates and oxides, and primary copper sulfides. Monazite-series minerals show an exceptionally wide range of compositions, from normal monazite-(Ce) through cheralite (Ca - Th-rich) to rare huttonitic monazite (Th-rich) and brabantite; U contents in monazite also vary widely (0 - 7.9 wt%). Primary low-Ca uraninites are well preserved and are unusual in having low Th/U and LREE. Late-stage cavity fluorapatite crystals up to several centimetres across show intricate elemental zoning patterns with extreme U gradients (<10 - 6900 ppm) in some crystals. New 40Ar - 39Ar ages for magmatic biotite, muscovite and K-rich feldspar average 365 ± 3 Ma, which approximates the emplacement age of the granite. This is supported by a 377 ± 12 Ma U - Th - Pb (CHIME) age for primary uraninite. New whole-rock geochemical data support earlier observations: the granite is strongly fractionated (SiO2 70.7 - 76.0 wt%; 4.2 - 0.6 wt% FeOt) and peraluminous (ASI = 1.23 - 1.45), and has slightly elevated Na2O and P2O5 (0.30 wt%) contents compared with other fractionated S-type granites from the Lachlan Fold Belt. Trace-element abundances are typical of fractionated granites, although U and Cu concentrations vary strongly and reach >60 and ≈1400 ppm, respectively. REE patterns also vary strongly, from LREE-enriched with moderate Eu depletion, to flat with strong Eu depletion. The flattest of the REE patterns, in samples with FeOtotal < 1%, are characterised by M-type tetrad effects. These and other samples also show low (subcrustal average) and variable Zr/Hf (35 - 16) and Nb/Ta (8 - 4) ratios; these and other unusual elemental fractionations are related to changes in elemental partitioning during the late magmatic stage, when felsic peraluminous magma and high-temperature magmatic fluid coexisted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Features the uranium ore and mineral, uraninite. Distinctive features of uraninite; List of assorted minerals that is usually associated with uraninite; Discussion of the mineralogy and occurrence of uraninite.

The article provides information on the fluoropatite crystals from Lake Boga, Victoria, one of the classic Australian mineral localities. The large granite quarry in Lake Boga is the type locality for two new minerals, ulrichite and bleasdaleite, with potentially another three. However, they are so rare that collectors hardly ever see them. Instead, another mineral, fluorapatite, may be more familiar, forming beautiful crystals in late-stage hydrothermal cavities in the granite.