Microanalysis of samples collected from the Sulfur Springs Draw calcrete-type uranium deposit in the Southern High Plains, Texas, USA

This data release presents the results of microanalysis of 2 samples SSD15_01A (1 thin section and 1 composite chip sample), and SSD15_01B (1 thin section). The samples were collected in 2015 by U.S. Geological Survey geologists Bradley Van Gosen and Susan Hall from surface exposures of uranium mineralization in Sulfur Springs Draw, in Martin County, Texas (Van Gosen and Hall, 2017). The samples were collected as part of a field program designed to examine exposures of known uranium mineralization in support of the development of a genetic deposit model for calcrete-type uranium deposits in the Southern High Plains (Hall and others, 2019; Van Gosen and Hall, 2017). This study also contributed to an assessment of undiscovered (potential) uranium resources in this region (Hall and others, 2017; Hall and Mihalasky, 2017). A new mineral named Finchite was first identified from the sample analysis in this data release (Spano and others, 2017, 2022). The spectra for SEM-EDS (scanning electron microscope - energy dispersive spectrometer) measurements are provided in three PDF files; one for SSD15_01A_ThinSection (8 sites/reports), one for sample SSD15_01B_ThinSection (11 sites/reports), , and one for SSD1501A_Chip (15 sites/reports). Multiple spots were analyzed at each of the microsampled locations (sties) that were studied.
References
Hall, S., Mihalasky, M. J., and Van Gosen, B. S., 2017, Assessment of undiscovered resources in calcrete uranium deposits, Southern High Plains region of Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma, 2017: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2017-3078, 2 p. https://doi.org/10.3133/fs20173078
Hall, S. M., and Mihalasky, M. J., 2017, Grade, tonnage, and location data for world calcrete-type surficial uranium deposits: U.S. Geological Survey Data Release, available at: https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/5d1ce678e4b0941bde64cd71. https://doi.org/10.5066/F7MS3RQS.
Hall, S. M., VanGosen, B. S., Paces, J. B., Zielinski, R. A., and Breit, G. N., 2019, Calcrete uranium deposits in the Southern High Plains, USA: Ore Geology Reviews, v. 109, June, 2019, p. 50-78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oregeorev.2019.03.036
Spano, T., Olds, T. A., Hall, S., Kampf, A. R., Lowers, H., and Burns, P. C., 2017, Finchite, IMA 2017-052: Mineralogical Magazine, v. 81, no. 5, p. 1282. 
Spano, T.L., Olds, T.A., Hall, S.M., Van Gosen, B.S., Kampf, A.R., Brurns, P.C., and Marty, J., 2022, Finchite, Sr(UO2)2(V2O8) x5H2O, a new uranyl sorovanadate withthe francevillite anion topology: American Mineralogist, 18 p. https://doi.org/10.2138/am-2022-8365
Van Gosen, B. S., and Hall, S. M., 2017, The discovery and character of Pleistocene calcrete uranium deposits in the Southern High Plains of West Texas, United States: US Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5134, 27 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20175134

Tags: calcrete, calcrete-type-deposits, geoscientificinformation, laboratory-methods, mineral-identification, mineral-resources, particle-beam-spectroscopy, southern-high-plains, sulfur-springs-draw, texas, uranium, usgs-623a418dd34e915b67cdf748, usgs-denver-microbeam-lab
Organization: Department of the Interior