| Title | Preliminary 3D modelling and structural interpretation of southeastern Athabasca Basin |
| Download | Downloads |
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| Licence | Please note the adoption of the Open Government Licence - Canada
supersedes any previous licences. |
| Author | Li, Z; Bethune, K M; Chi, G; Bosman, S A; Card, C D |
| Source | Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 7426, 2013, 21 pages, https://doi.org/10.4095/292715  Open Access |
| Image |  |
| Year | 2013 |
| Publisher | Natural Resources Canada |
| Document | open file |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | on-line; digital |
| File format | pdf |
| Province | Saskatchewan |
| NTS | 74A/13; 74G/01; 74G/08; 74H/03; 74H/04; 74H/05; 74H/06; 74H/07; 74H/10; 74H/11; 74H/12; 74H/13; 74H/14; 74H/15; 74I/03; 74I/04 |
| Area | Key Lake; Millennium; McArthur River |
| Lat/Long WENS | -106.5000 -104.5000 58.2500 56.7500 |
| Subjects | structural geology; stratigraphy; magmatism; igneous rocks; mineral deposits; mineral occurrences; uranium; unconformities; structural features; structural interpretations; structural analyses; mineral
exploration; uranium deposits; mineralization; basement geology; Athabasca Basin; Athabasca Group; Proterozoic; Precambrian |
| Illustrations | photomicrographs; location maps; cross-sections; images; rose diagrams |
| Program | Targeted Geoscience Initiative (TGI-4) Uranium Ore Systems |
| Released | 2013 07 03 |
| Abstract | The southeastern portion of the Athabasca basin hosts the largest high-grade unconformity-related uranium deposits in the world, including the McArthur River and Key Lake deposits. As a first step of an
effort to reconstruct and model the fluid flow related to uranium mineralization, a 3D model of the sub-Athabasca unconformity and basin stratigraphy has been constructed using publicly available geological, geophysical and drill-hole data. Several
cross-sections have been built and integrated into the 3D model to constrain the spatial configuration of Athabasca Group units. Faults have been identified using an iterative approach where potential fault lineaments were identified using the
basement geophysical signature then confirmed by the presence of spatial relationships to offsets of the unconformity surface. Using this approach, three dominant sets of faults, inferred to be subvertical, have been identified in the study area:
northeast trending, north-northwest trending and northwest trending. In the 3D model, the unconformity surface shows an approximately northeasttrending zone of elevated topography where elevations change abruptly (SE to NW) from about -100 m to +200
m (referenced to mean sea level). This topographic ridge of the unconformity surface is associated with the Phoenix - McArthur River deposits trend. A preliminary cross-section illustrates that this topographic high may be controlled by
northeast-trending reverse faults that have uplifted the basement. Regional clay anomalies in the Athabasca Group and the majority of deposits and prospects are also broadly coincident with this feature. Future work will be focussed on increasing
resolution of the model in this and other key areas to gain a better understanding of the geometry and kinematics of regional plus local structures and their control on fluid flow and uranium mineralization. |
| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
Interim report documenting the spatial relationships between faults and the eastern Athabasca Basin uranium ore deposits. Observations are based on a
preliminary 3D model that permits visualization of the various geological units and structural features (faults) that controlled formation of the ore deposits. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 292715 |
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