Selected Annotated Bibliographyof the Geology and Occurrenceof Uranium-Bearing Marine
Black Shales in the United States
GEOLOGICALSURVEY

BULLETIN

This compilation was done on behalf of
the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission
and is published with the permission of
the Commission\

1059-F

Selected Annotated Bibliographyof the Geology and Occurrenceof Uranium-Bearing Marine
Black Shales in the United States
By CAROLYN E. FIX

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHIES OF URANIUM GEOLOGYGEOLOGICALSURVEY

BULLETIN

1059-F

This compilation was done on behalf of
the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission
and is published with the permission of
the Commission

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING-OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1958

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIORFRED A. SEATON, Secretary

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Thomas B. Nolan, Director

Fix, Carolyn Elizabeth, 1922Selected annotated bibliography of the geology and occurrence of uranium-bearing marine black shales in the UnitedStates. Washington, U. S. Govt. Print. Off., 1958.
iii, 263-325 p. plate (in pocket) 23 cm. (U. S. Geological Survey. Bulletin 105&-F. Selected bibliographies of uranium geology)

1. Uranium ores U. S. Bibl.
(Series: U. S. Geological Survey. Bulletin 1059-F. Series: U. S. Geological Survey. Selectedbibliographies of uranium geology)

016.55349

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing OfiBce
Washington 25, D. C. - Price 25 cents (paper cover)CONTENTS
Abstract_______________________________________
Introduction. ___________________________________________________
Explanation of the bibliography___________________________________
Bibliographies of uranium_____________________________-____________
Annotated bibliography.___________________________________________
Indexes.-___________________________________
Authors..___________________________________
Geographic areas.___________________________________________
Stratigraphic units_____________________-_--_-____-_______
Subjects___________________________________

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ILLUSTRATION
PLATE 3. Map of occurrences of uranium-bearing marine black shales in
the United States; uranium content and key to references. _ _In pocketmSELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHIES OF URANIUM GEOLOGYSELECTED ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE GEOLOGY AND OCCURRENCE OF URANIUM-BEARINGMARINE BLACK SHALES IN THE UNITED STATESBy CAROLYN E. Fix
ABSTRACTThis bibliography consists of 81 annotated references concerned with thegeology and occurrence of uranium in marine black shales. The annotations,arranged alphabetically by author, present information on geology, geographic
distribution, environment of deposition, mode of occurrence, and analytical data.
A map shows the distribution and uranium content of uraniferous shales in
the United States including Alaska.
The data in the annotations are indexed according to author, geographic area,
stratigraphic units, and subject.
INTRODUCTION

Uranium was first discovered in marine black shales in 1893 by
Nbrdenskiold 1 in samples of alum shale of Late Cambrian age insouthern Sweden. In 1909 this shale was mined for radium (Nininger,
1954, p. 76), and in 1948 uranium was being recovered from thisshale.2 In recent years this shale also has been mined and processedfor oil.
Since the first discovery was made, uranium has been found in many
black shales in many parts of the world. In the United Statesnumerous marine black shales, chiefly of Paleozoic age, have been examined in the recent search for uranium deposits. Although many ofthese marine black shales contain slightly more uranium than marine
sedimentary rocks in general, only a few of these units contain morethan 0.005 percent uranium. Because of their wide areal distribution
and uniform uranium content, marine black shales are considered to
1 Nordenskiold, A. E., 1893, R4marques sur le fer natif o'Ovifak et sur le bitumen desroches cristallines de Sufcde: Acad. sci. [Paris] Comptes rendus, v. 116, p. 677-678.
a Anonymous, 1953, Swedish uranium production : South African Mining and Eng. Jour.,v. 64, no. 3146, p. 521.
263

264

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHIES OF URANIUM GEOLOGY

represent vast but low-grade resources of uranium. None of theseuraniferous shales, however, is of commercial significance at present.
Some of the domestic black shales have been studied in considerable
detail to determine the distribution, and the geologic factors controlling the distribution, of their uranium. These include the Chattanooga shale of Devonian and Mississippian age in southeastern UnitedStates, the Woodford shale and its correlatives of Devonian andMississippian age in Oklahoma and adjacent States, the Middle andLower Pennsylvanian shales of Kansas and Oklahoma, the Cretaceous
Eagle Ford shale of Texas, and the Sharon Springs member of the
Pierre shale of Cretaceous age in South Dakota and Nebraska. Other
black shales that have been examined include the Devonian Antrim
shale of Michigan; shale in the Mississippian Salem limestone (formerly called Spergenlimestone) of Missouri; the subsurface Hartvilleformation of Mississippian (?), Pennsylvania, and Permian age inwestern Nebraska and eastern Wyoming; and black shale beds in thePennsylvanian cyclothems of the Midcontinent and the Appalachianand Eastern Interior Basins.
In general, most of the uraniferous marine black shales have thefollowing features in common: (a) They are relatively thin widespread deposits, probably representing extremely slow deposition
over a long period of time; (b) they are carbonaceous, containing
abundant plant matter; (c) sulfides and some phosphate are characteristically present; (d) they contain little or no calcium carbonate;and (e) almost all are Paleozoic or older in age.
Two main problems that have arisen during the investigations ofuranium-bearing shales are the mineralogical association of theuranium and the mode of origin of the uranium. Intensive laboratory
studies have been made, but no uranium-bearing minerals have been
identified to date (195Y), and the physical separation of a fraction
where the uranium is concentrated has been only partially successful.
The uranium seems to be finely disseminated and is associated withthe organic matter in some shales and possibly with the clay fraction
in others.
All investigators seem to agree that the uranium was deposited atabout the same time as the enclosing sediments in an organic- andsulfide-rich reducing environment, but the paleogeochemistry of precipitation and (or) adsorption of the uranium, and the relationshipbetween paleogeographic conditions and uranium concentration are
still in question.
EXPLANATION OF THE BIBLIOGRAPHY

The bibliography consists of annotations or abstracts of selectedreports that pertain to the geology and occurrence of uranium inURANIUM-BEARING MARINE BLACK SHALES IN UNITED STATES 265

marine black shales and their metamorphic equivalents in the UnitedStates. Only those reports that were available to the public before
June 30,1956, are included. Most of the reports may be consulted in
the larger public, university, or scientific libraries. A few reports thathave been released to the public in open file may be consulted at designated offices of the Geological Survey.
An effort has been made to include only those references to shales
whose uranium is believed to be of syngenetic origin and whose major
source of radioactivity is uranium. Many general papers on thegeology of uranium deposits refer to marine black shales, and someof these general papers have been included.
The ideas and opinions expressed in the annotations are those of theoriginal authors. Material added in some annotations by the present
author is enclosed in brackets. Where there are dual reference citations for quoted material, the quotation is taken from the first reference. The statements on the stratigraphic classification and nomenclature are those of the various authors and do not necessarily follow
usage of the U. S. Geological Survey.
The annotations are arranged in alphabetical order by author andare numbered consecutively for indexing. Reports by the same author
or authors are arranged first in chronological order and second inalphabetical order by title. The annotations are indexed by (a)author, (b) geographic area, (c) stratigraphic unit, and (d) subject.
This bibliography was prepared by the U. S. Geological Survey
on behalf of the Division of Raw Materials, U. S. Atomic Energy Commission.
The index map (pi. 3) shows (a) the general location of marine
black shales containing more than 0.001 percent uranium; (b) the
uranium content based on chemical analysis, or, where indicated by subscript "e," equivalent uranium content; (c) one or more references foreach location, indicated by numbers corresponding to the reference
number in the bibliography.
BIBLIOGRAPHIES OF URANIUM

Additional references to uranium deposits are contained in the following general bibliographies:
Alien, R. E., 1953, Uranium and its compounds, a bibliography of unclassified
literature: U. S. Atomic Energy Comm. TID-3041, issued by U. S. Atomic
Energy Comm. Tech. Inf. Service Ext., Oak Ridge, Tenn.
Cooper, Margaret, 1951, Preliminary bibliography on uranium and thorium andradioactive carbonaceous deposits: U. S. Atomic Energy Comm. RMO-835,
issued by U. S. Atomic Energy Comm. Tech. Inf. Service Ext., Oak Ridge,
Tenn.
1953, Selected bibliography on uranium exploration and the geology ofuranium deposits: U. S. Atomic Energy Comm. RME-4007, issued by U. S.
Atomic Energy Comm. Tech. Inf. Service Ext., Oak Ridge, Tenn.

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SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHIES OF URANIUM GEOLOGY

Cooper, Margaret, 1953, Bibliography and index of literature on uranium andthorium and radioactive occurrences in the United States, Part 1, Arizona,
Nevada, and New Mexico: Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 64, p. 197-234.
1953, Bibliography and index of literature on uranium and thorium andradioactive occurrences in the United States, Part 2, California, Idaho,Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming: Geol. Soc. America Bull., v.
64, p. 1103--1172.
1954, Bibliography and index of literature on uranium and thorium andradioactive occurrences in the United States, Part 3, Colorado and Utah: Geol.
Soc. America Bull., v. 65, p. 467-590.
1955, Bibliography and index of literature on uranium and thorium andradioactive occurrences in the United States, Part 4, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas,
Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South
Dakota, and Texas; Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 66, p. 257-326.
Croxton, F. E., 1951, Uranium and its compounds a bibliography of unclassified
literature: Oak Ridge, Tenn., Carbide & Carbon Chemicals Co., K-25 Plant,
Report K-295, Part 2.
Postell, P. E., and Voress, H. E., 1953, Unclassified bibliographies of interest to
the atomic energy program: U. S. Atomic Energy Comm. TID-3043, issued
by U. S. Atomic Energy Comm. Tech. Inf. Service Ext., Oak Ridge, Tenn.
Schwind, S. B., and Croxton, F. E., 1950, Radium. A bibliography of unclassified
literature: U. S. Atomic Energy Comm. TID-363, issued by U. S. Atomic
Energy Comm. Tech. Inf. Service Ext., Oak Ridge, Tenn.
Wallace, J. H., and Smith, H. B., 1955, Bibliography of U. S. Geological Survey
trace elements and related reports to June 1, 1954: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull.
1019-B, p. 63-144.
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
1

Alexander, F. M., 1953, The Chattanooga black shale A possible futuresource of uranium: Tennessee Dept. Conserv., Div. Geology Inf. Circ.
1, 3 p.; repr. from Tennessee Conservationist, June 1953.
This pamphlet presents information to the public on the Federal Government's investigations of the Chattanooga shale in southeastern UnitedStates as a possible future source of uranium. A general description of
the lithologic character, thickness, distribution, and correlative formations of the Chattanooga shale is given.
In 1921 and 1922 the Tennessee Division of Geology sponsored an investigation of the oil potential of the kerogen-rich Chattanooga shale. It was
found that as much as 10 to 15 gallons of oil per ton could be extracted fromthe shale, though this figure varied widely from place to place.
"The fact that marine black shales contain very small amounts of radioactive substances has been known to geologists for many years," but beforethe "atomic age" was ushered in, this knowledge was only of academic
interest. The uranium content of the Chattanooga shale has been reported
to range from 0.001 to 0.03 percent, but "much of the formation probably
contains less than 0.2 pound of uranium per ton of shale." Studies indicate, however, that the marine black shales of eastern and central UnitedStates are promising as large potential uranium reserves.
Major problems to be solved before this widespread low-grade sourceof uranium can be economically exploited are the development of low-cost
methods of mining the shale and extracting the uranium.

URANIUM-BEARING MARINE BLACK SHALES IN UNITED STATES 267

Bachman, G. O., and Read, C. B., 1952, Trace elements reconnaissanceinvestigations in New Mexico and adjoining States in 1951: U. S.
Geol. Survey TEM-443-A, 22 p., issued by U. S. Atomic Energy Comm.
Tech. Inf. Service Ext., Oak Ridge, Tenn.
In 1951 a reconnaissance was made in New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado,and Utah for uranium in coal and carbonaceous shale, chiefly of Mesozoic
age; and in marine black shale of Paleozoic age. "Tertiary volcanic
rocks, considered to be a possible source for uranium in the coal and associated rocks, were examined where the volcanic rocks were near coalbearing strata." Except for a coal unit in the Mesaverde formation, on
La Ventana Mesa, Sandoval County, N. Mex., which contains as much as
0.62 percent uranium, all other coals and associated rocks tested contain0.01 percent or less uranium. The equivalent uranium content of tested
marine black shales did not exceed 0.004 percent.
The results of the tests for uranium in the marine black shales are as
follows:
Martin limestone (Devonian), Gila Count1}/, Ariz. Four samples from theupper shaly part contain from 0.003 to 0.004 percent equivalent uranium
but less than 0.001 percent uranium in sample and in ash (90 percent
average ash).
Percha shale (Upper Devonian), Otero County, N. Mex. Nine samples
contain from 0.001 to 0.004 percent equivalent uranium; 2 of these samples
were from a calcareous zone and contain 0.004 percent equivalent uranium
and 0.002 percent uranium.
Lake Valley limestone (Mississippian), Socorro County, N. Mex. One
sample of calcareous shale contains 0.002 percent equivalent uranium.
Madera formation (Pennsylvanian), Mora County, N. Mex. One sampleof bituminous shale contains 0.002 percent equivalent uranium and 0.001
percent uranium.
Bain, G. W., 1950, Geology of the fissionable materials: Bcon. Geology,
v. 45, p. 273-323. See p. 284, 291-92, 308, and 311.
This report is a general summary of the geological associations, types ofdeposits, and world resources of uranium. Uranium deposits are classified as either (a) primary or hypogene, (b) sedimentary or bedded, and(c) oxidized bodies. Maps showing the locations of the principal uranium
deposits of the world are included.
"The uraniferous bituminous source rocks for petroleum are marine
deposits that accumulated very slowly. Generally only marine shales
yielding over 10 percent of oil by distillation have significant uranium."
However, a few slates and schists of shale derivation still retain theiruranium, but they have been so metamorphosed as to lose most of theirvolatile hydrocarbons. "The uranium content of 0.02 percent U3O8 ormore has been confirmed rarely." Uraniferous shales are from 1 to 17
meters in thickness and underlie hundreds of square kilometers. "Eachsquare kilometer has about 225 metric tons of U3O8 for each meter ofthickness of 0.01 percent content."
Some typical shales are the Antrim and Chattanooga in the UnitedStates, with about 0.01 percent U3O8 ; the alum shale of Narke, Sweden,with 0.023 percent U3O8 ; the Cambrian and Ordovician shales of the Leningrad district, Russia, with from 0.008 to 0.003 percent U3O8 ; and theblack siliceous schist(?) of Cambrian to Silurian age of the Ferghana
466353 58

2268

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHIES OF URANIUM GEOLOGY

region, Russia, with from 0.03 to 0.08 percent U3O8. The high values ofthe latter seem to be the result of surface enrichment.
The uranium in marine black shales was "a part of the original organicrich mud laid in brackish or salt water and adsorbed from it at pH 6 to
7.5. The uranium content is generally greater in strata that accumulated
very slowly * * *. Uranium was absorbed on the clay as phosphate andvanadate crystallites along with other metals." The thin black shales ofPennsylvanian age of the midcontinent, Illinois-Indiana, and western
Appalachian regions are also potential large low-grade sources ofuranium.
The geology and reserve data of the uraniferous shales and slates of
Russia are discussed in some detail. By analogy to the reserve data of
the foreign uranium-bearing black shales, "300 square miles may be expected to be underlain by such strata in the Chattanooga shale area
[southeastern United States], and at the average content of 1,125 metrictons per square kilometer, it is not unreasonable to expect up to 810,000
tons of U3O8 in this sort of occurrence * * *."4Bates, T. F., Strahl, E. O., Short, N. M., Silverman, E. N., and Camilli,
Elena, 1954, Mineralogy and petrography of the Chattanooga shale[abs.]: Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 65, p. 1230.
Detailed mineralogical and petrographic analysis of a drill core of the
Chattanooga formation has resulted in a clearer picture of the relationship of uranium with the composition and texture of the black shalefrom the Highland Rim area of Tennessee.
Thin-section point counts, alpha-track counts, and quantitative mineralogical and chemical analyses of 60 samples from 35 feet of core haveyielded statistically significant correlations between uranium and someof the shale constituents. The correlation is positive with respect to"blackness" of the sample, total carbon, pyrite, and total sulfur, and negative with quartz, feldspar, and clay and with Fe2O8. The absence of highcorrelation coefficients indicates that the uranium is not specific to any
single constituent measured. On the other hand, certain relationships between uranium content and composition are apparent.
The upper member [Gassaway] of the formation is darkest, shows theleast mineralogical and petrographic variation, and contains the highest
concentration of uranium. The four lower members are more heterogeneous and consist of alternating gray and black beds. The gray beds are
finer grained and contain more quartz, feldspar, and clay and less pyrite
and organic matter than the black layers.
Autoradiographic studies demonstrate that the alpha-particle source
material is localized about concentrations of organic matter and pyrite.
Author's abstract

5

Beers, R. F., 1945, Radioactivity and organic content of some Paleozoic
shales: Am. Assoc. Petroleum Geologists Bull., v. 29, p. 1-22.
Detailed measurements were made of the total alpha activity, thetotal beta activity, and the radium content of some Paleozoic sedimentaryrocks taken from oil wells in Osceola County, Mich., and in Oklahoma.
A method was developed for the rapid determination of the three radioactive constituents in ancient sediments (uranium, thorium, and potas-

URANIUM-BEARING MARINE BLACK SHALES IN UNITED STATES 269

sium-40) with the aid of a beta counter. In addition, quantitative analyses
were made of the potassium, carbon, and hydrogen content of selected
samples. A detailed description of the apparatus and methods of measurement used are given, as are several figures and tables of results.
Samples of cuttings of shale from oil and gas wells penetrating the
Coldwater, Sunbury, Ellsworth, and Antrim shales and Traverse formation of Michigan and the Chattanooga, Woodford, and Sylvan shales of
Oklahoma were studied. The radioactive elements in these rocks are inthree principal loci: (a) in heavy minerals (that is, zircon), (b) inpotassium-40, and (c) uranium and thorium in clays and organic materials. The studies indicate a positive correlation between the uranium
and carbon content of the Antrim and Sunbury shales. Positive correlations were found between radioactivity and fineness of particle size,radioactivity and thorium-uranium ratio, and radioactivity and potassium content.
Methods cited as to how the uranium and thorium may have become
associated with the sediments making up black shales are (a) adsorption
to clay minerals during sedimentation, (b) inclusion in a stabilized colloidal form in the existing organic colloid, and (c) formation as a compound on, or adsorbed to, organic particles.
The high thorium-uranium ratio (8.0) observed in the samples of Antrim
shale may have been due to a pH value in excess of 3.7 in the shallow
sea that caused the thorium to be precipitated in excess of the uranium.
"If all of these elements inhabit a colloidal dispersion at one time, thenwe have a mechanism which may account for the widespread and uniform
distribution of radioactive substances and the correlative organic matterin these black shales." The selective action of the colloidal environmenton the distribution of radioactivity and organic matter is illustrated by
the fact that the radioactivity increases with the fineness of texture of
the Antrim shale.
A hypothesis of the environmental conditions that may account for the
distribution of the Sunbury and Antrim shales with their high content of
uranium, thorium, potassium, and organic matter is set forth as follows:
The complete cycle of sedimentary rock types from the Traverse formation through the Coldwater shale indicates a tectonic cycle during theirformation. First, there was a stable period during which the limestoneof the Traverse formation was deposited in a clear, deep epicontlnental
sea. During this time the land was gradually weathered and eroded, anda deep residual mantle of fine clay and resistant heavy minerals, some ofwhich were radioactive, was accumulated.
The sea became oscillatory as the period of unstability began andtransgressed the adjacent low-lying lands. The residual debris was carried into the sea, the heavy and coarse fragments settling first and thefine particles remaining in colloidal suspension until an increased salinity
was met in deeper water. Then the fine clay particles with their adsorbed
uranium, thorium, and potassium and the organic matter were precipitated. The gentle oscillations of the sea may have been responsible forthe further lateral spread of the fine sediments. At the close of Antrim
time, the east edge of the sedimentary basin became the strand line andthe clastic Berea sandstone was deposited. This evidently marked theperiod of maximum crustal upwarp. The Sunbury shale was then deposited at the beginning of a cycle of downwarping under conditions

270

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHIES OF URANIUM GEOLOGY

similar to those in Antrim time. The maximum downwarping came as
the predominantly calcareous Coldwater shale was being deposited. Thus,
the full cycle had been completed.
The interaction of the organic matter and radioactive elements in shales
may be favorable for petroleum genesis. There is "the possibility thata significant amount of organic matter may have been altered by alphaparticle bombardment." The original organic endowment and the productsof this alteration are not known, however.
6

Beers, R. F., and Goodman, Clark, 1944, Distribution of radioactivity inancient sediments: Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 55, p. 1229-1254.
Over 300 samples of sedimentary rocks including limestone, sandstone,
shale, arkose, and dolomite were tested for their radioactive constituents(uranium, thorium, and potassium-40) in order to evaluate the role ofradioactivity in the genesis of petroleum. Quantitative analyses of thepotassium, carbon, and hydrogen content of selected samples were made.
A detailed description of the apparatus and methods of measurements,
particularly the beta counter, is given.
Samples of shale from oil and gas wells penetrating the Chattanooga,
Sylvan, and Woodford shales of Oklahoma and the Traverse formation,
Ellsworth, Sunbury, Coldwater, and Antrim shales of Michigan werestudied. The highest concentration of uranium, thorium, and potassium40 was found in black shale samples of the Antrim from a well in OsceolaCounty, Mich. The highest total beta activity was observed in wellcuttings of the Woodford chert (a correlative of the Chattanooga shale)from a well in the Seminole district, Oklahoma. Samples of organic
black shale from the Antrim shale of Late Devonian age, Michigan, wereselected for intensive study. A nearly 50-percent increase in beta activity
was observed in the minus-200-mesh fraction as compared with the coarser
fractions.
Conclusions resulting from this study are as follows: "In * * * organic
black shales, potassium and uranium content increase directly with one
another. Organic black shales show excellent correlation of uranium
content, organic matter, abundance of colloidal size grades and a highthorium/uranium ratio * * *. All these correlations indicate possible
genetic relationships in petroleum source beds and may have a bearing
on one possible origin of oil."

7

Bell, K. G., 1954, Uranium and thorium in sedimentary rocks, in Faul,
Henry, ed., Nuclear geology: New York, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.,
p. 98-114.
The uranium cycle is briefly reviewed. The uranium present in sediments may (a) be indigenous to the clastic sediments (mainly uraniferous
resistates), (b) have been deposited syngenetically with the sediments,or (c) have been deposited epigenetically after sedimentation was completed. Some types of uraniferous sediments undoubtedly belong to morethan one of these categories. The uranium in fine-grained elastics is
predominantly indigenous whereas that of the chemical and carbonaceous
sediments is commonly of syngenetic origin.
The chemical reactions that bring about the extraction and deposition

URANIUM-BEARING MARINE BLACK SHALES IN UNITED STATES 271

of uranium from aqueous solutions are not fully understood. The uranium
may be (a) directly precipitated as insoluble compounds, (b) adsorbed
by clays and carbonaceous materials, or (c) deposited in lesser amounts
by gel precipitates of iron, aluminum, manganese, and silica. In addition,
the uranium may have been an original constituent of some organic
compounds, or it may have entered some minerals as an isomorphic substitution for calcium.
The distribution of uranium in sedimentary rocks indicates that a
reducing environment containing organic matter and sulfides and little
or no dissolved oxygen can precipitate uranium from solution. The
deposition of uranium in carbonaceous shales may have taken place byboth direct precipitation of insoluble compounds and by adsorption onto*
clays and carbonaceous material.
There are two main groups of carbonaceous sediments: (a) the humiegroup with a low hydrogen and high carbon and oxygen content and (b)the sapropelic group with high hydrogen and carbon contents and little,
or no, oxygen content. Some marine sapropelic black shales have beenfound to contain the greatest concentration of uranium of syngenetic
origin of the sedimentary rocks. The uranium exists in an acid-soluble
form in these uraniferous black shale formations, all of which have thefollowing features in common: (a) They are generally less than 100
feet thick, but represent long periods of very slow deposition, (b) containabundant organic matter and sulfides, and are poor in carbonates, (c)are bituminous and probable source beds of petroleum, (d) are all preMesozoic in age, and (e) the greatest amount of uranium is found in
nodules and layers of almost pure bitumen. Many marine black shales
are nonuraniferous, and nonmarine black shales, oil shales, asphaltites,
and coals are among the least radioactive of all sedimentary rocks.
Some examples of uraniferous marine black shales are the Chattanooga
and Antrim shales of the United States, which contain about 0.01 percent
UsOsj the alum shale of Sweden with as much as 0.023 percent U3O8 ;the shales of Cambrian and Ordovician age of the Leningrad district ofRussia, which contain from about 0.008 to 0.03 percent U3O8 ; and themetamorphosed black siliceous schist of Cambrian to Silurian age of theFerghana region of Russia with amounts ranging from about 0.03 to 0.08
percent U3OS. The latter may possibly be surface enriched.
All marine phosphate formations that have been tested contain significant amounts of uranium. The phosphates resemble the black shalesin that they are relatively thin and represent long periods of very slow
deposition. They were probably formed along the edges of continental
shelves. The uranium seems to be combined with the phosphate minerals,
probably as an isomorphous substitution for the calcium. A reducing
environment in the presence of organic matter may have aided in theconcentration of uranium in the phosphatic sediments. Phosphatic nodules
in some black shales are uraniferous, as at the top of the Checkerboard
limestone and in the Fort Scott limestone of Pennsylvanian age in Oklahoma, but some phosphatic black shales in Kansas and Oklahoma haveuraniferous layers of nonphosphatic shale. The phosphatic nodules, however, generally contain more uranium than the enclosing shale.
The book has an extensive bibliography of references dealing with geology and radioactive materials.

272

8

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHIES OF URANIUM GEOLOGY

Bell, K. G., Goodman, Clark, and Whitehead, W. L., 1940, Radioactivityof sedimentary rocks and associated petroleum: Am. Assoc. Petroleum Geologists Bull., v. 24, p. 1529-1547.
Determinations of the radium and radon content of 21 sedimentaryrocks and 7 associated crude oils have been made by the precision method
developed by R. D. Evans. "The object of the investigation was to fix, if
possible, the source of the radium emanation in the crude oils, to correlate the physical properties of the oil and its radioactivity, and to determine the radioactivity of some sedimentary rocks * * *."The radioactive elements in sedimentary deposits "are laid down ascomponents of some mineral in the beds or are precipitated with thesediment subject to existing physical, colloidal, and chemical conditions."
The chemical effects of radioactivity in the generation of petroleum issuggested.
Radium determinations were made on six drill-core samples from oil
and gas wells in the Fitts Pool, Pontotoc County, Okla., and in Texas,of shale ranging in age from Ordovician through Oligocene. The resultsof these tests, together with tests upon other sediments, are given intabular form. The radioactivity of 5 shale samples from the Frio clayof Starr County, Tex., and the Woodbine formation of Navarro County,
Tex., was found to be relatively high and fairly constant, averaging
1.08 X10-12 grams of radium per gram of rock. "If uniform radioactivity
in contemporaneous shales is real and is explicable by adsorption of
uranium by colloidal constituents, then variation of radioactivity in shalesof widely different ages may suggest variation of uranium in the sea
during geologic time."

9

Beroni, E. P., and McKeown, F. A., 1952, Reconnaissance for uraniferous
rocks in northwestern Colorado, southwestern Wyoming and northeastern Utah: U. S. Geol. Survey TEI-308A, 41 p., issued by U. S.
Atomic Energy Cornm. Tech. Inf. Service Ext., Oak Ridge, Tenn.
In 1950 a reconnaissance examination was made to determine theradioactivity of coal and lignite of Tertiary age in the Green River basin
and the Uinta basin. Several areas of copper-uranium mineralization
and a few miscellaneous prospects also were examined. Only those
deposits that contain 0.010 percent or more uranium or that represent
large potential low-grade reserves, such as lignite, are discussed in thereport.
Samples of phosphatic shale of the Phosphoria formation near Cokeville, Lincoln County, Wyo., contain as much as 0.027 percent uranium.
Near Rawlins, Carbon County, Wyo., thin layers of green micaceous
shale of Devonian (?) age are interbedded with pinkish-gray quartzite.
The green shale and the chlorite coating of the quartzite contain about
0.003 percent equivalent uranium. One grab sample of carbonaceous
shale from the Mancos shale of Late Cretaceous age near Steamboat
Springs, Routt County, Colo., contains 0.002 percent equivalent uranium,
both in the sample and in 93.31 percent ash. Five beds of oil shale,
totaling 6 feet in thickness, from the Laney shale member of the Green
River formation near Rock Springs, Sweetwater County, Wyo., containan average of 0.003 percent equivalent uranium.

URANIUM-BEARING MARINE BLACK SHALES IN UNITED STATES 273

10

Bradley, W. H., 1950, Occurrence of uranium deposits: Bull. Atomic
Scientists, v. 6, no. 5, p. 149-152.
This article summarizes the work of the U. S. Geological Survey inthe exploration for uranium deposits in the United States.
Uranium deposits are classified into three general types: (a) vein
deposits, (b) deposits in sedimentary rocks, and (c) pegmatite deposits.
The geology of the important uranium deposits of the world are briefly
described. Under the heading "Deposits in sedimentary rocks," uraniumbearing marine rocks, including black shales and phosphorites are
discussed.
Most of the known uranium-bearing marine rocks are either blackshales or phosphorites. Large low-grade deposits of uranium-bearing
marine black shales have been found in many areas of the world. Uranium
is being extracted from some of these deposits the oil shales of Sweden,
for example, which contain an average of 0.01 to 0.02 percent uranium.
In the future, other similar deposits may well prove to be importantsources of uranium.
Examples of uranium-bearing marine black shales include shales in
Estonia and Eussia, which are similar to the oil shales of Sweden; theChattanooga shale of east-central United States; the Woodford chert ofOklahoma; the Nonesuch shale of Michigan; and the Calico Bluff formation of east-central Alaska. All marine bituminous or carbonaceous
rocks, however, are not appreciably uraniferous, and the nonmarine oil
shales, coals, and associated rocks as a group are among the least radioactive of all rocks.
In the uraniferous marine shales, however, the most uranium generally
is found in those rocks containing the most organic matter. The uranium
content increases in direct proportion to the carbon content in the Sunbury and Antrim shales of Michigan. The highest concentrations ofuranium are found in nodules and lenses of nearly pure bitumen in the
shale of Sweden and in very thin layers of almost pure bitumen in the
Chattanooga shale.
Significant deposits of uranium in phosphorite rocks are known inseveral regions of the world. In the United States the Phosphoria formation of the Northwestern States and the Bone Valley formation of
Florida contain important low-grade concentrations of uranium. Uranium
is concentrated in the phosphatic nodules of many black shales, such as
those at the top of the Checkerboard limestone and in the Fort Scottlimestone of Oklahoma; and at the top of the Bourbon formation and in
the Hushpuckney and Stark shales of Kansas.
All marine phosphate formations that have been tested contain significant amounts of uranium. In general, the uranium content of thephosphorites increases in direct proportion to the phosphate content,
although there are many exceptions to this rule when applied to thephosphorites of the United States.

11

Branson, C. C., Burwell, A. L., and Chase, G. S., 1955, Uranium in Oklahoma,
1955: Oklahoma Geol. Survey Mineral Kept. 27, 22 p. See p. 19.
This booklet has been prepared for prospectors searching for uranium in
Oklahoma. Several known uranium occurrences in the State are dis-

274

12

13

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHIES OF URANIUM GEOLOGY

cussed. Maps of the major surface rock types and radioactive occurrences
and a geological map of a part of southwestern Oklahoma are included.
No radioactive deposits of proven commercial value have been found in
Oklahoma to date (1955).
Under the heading "Phosphatic black shales," several shales that arenotably radioactive are described. These are the Woodford and Chattanooga shales of Devonian and Mississippian age and shales of Pennsylvanian age from the Senora formation, the Marmaton group, and theMissouri series (includes the Checkerboard limestone). No figures are
given to indicate the uranium content of these shales.
Breger, I. A., 1955, Radioactive equilibrium in ancient marine sediments:
Geochim. et Cosmochim. Acta, v. 8, p. 63-73.
The radioactive equilibrium of eight marine sedimentary formations
was studied by means of direct determinations of the content of uranium,
radium, and thorium and by alpha-particle counting techniques. "Themaximum deviation from radioactive equilibrium that has been noted is
11 percent indicating that there is probably equilibrium in all theformations analyzed."
Of the 8 formations studied, 6 are of Cretaceous age from the Gulf Coastal
Plain of eastern Texas and southern Mississippi. The other two are the
Miocene nodular shale of the Los Angeles Basin, Calif., and the Antrim
shale of Devonian age from Osceola County, Mich., which contain 14.4
and 17.5 ppm (parts per million) uranium (0.0014 percent and 0.0017
percent), and 3.6 and 2.8 ppm thorium (0.0003 percent and 0.0002 percent),
respectively. "The uranium content of marine sediments may be appreciably higher than the average values that have been reported for sedimentary rocks. Data show that there is up to fourteen times the percentage of uranium as of thorium in the formations studied, and that thepercentage of thorium never exceeds that of uranium. While the proximityof a depositional environment to a land mass may influence the concentration of uranium in a marine sediment, this is not true with thorium."
Breger, I. A., and Deul, Maurice, 1956, The organic chemistry of uranium:
Internat. Conf. on Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, Geneva 1955,
Proc., v. 6, Geology of uranium and thorium, p. 418-421; U. S. Geol.
Survey Prof. Paper 300, p. 505-510.
"It has become clear within recent years that coal or materials derived
from plants are avid receptors for uranium." After a brief review of previous studies, the concentrations of uranium associated with carbonaceous
materials and their probable genesis are considered for the following:
Living plants, marine carbonaceous shales, carbonaceous limestones, coal,coalified logs, petroleum, asphaltic pellets, and unclassified materials.
Some marine carbonaceous shales have a uranium content of from 20
to 50 ppm, few contain over 50 ppm. Early studies on the alum shale
and associated kolm lenses of Sweden led to the conclusion that the uranium
had been precipitated in the shale by means of organisms. The old organic
complexes, such as the Babrosco "carbon" of Precambrian age in South
Africa or the kolm of Cambrian age in Sweden, "are probably of algal
origin" but little can be said regarding the origin of their contained
uranium.
"Recent experimental studies * * * indicate physical rather than direct
chemical association of uranium with the organic components of certain

URANIUM-BEARING MARINE BLACK SHALES IN UNITED STATES 275

shales." Probably "the decomposition of the organic matter under reducing conditions leads to the formation of hydrogen sulfide, vrhich is
known to reduce the uranyl ion to the insoluble uranium dioxide." However, the organic matter may have served as a primary precipitant byforming a complex organo-uranium compound from the sea water. If
this was true, then the chemical bonds between the uranium and theorganic compounds have since been broken.
14

Breger, I. A., and Schopf, J. M., 1955, Germanium and uranium in eoalified
wood from Upper Devonian black shale: Geochim. et Cosmochim. Acta,v. 7, p. 287-293.
Microscopic study of black, vitreous, carbonaceous material occurringin the Chattanooga shale in [Davidson County] Tennessee and in the
Cleveland member of the Ohio shale in [Cuyahoga County] Ohio hasrevealed coalified woody plant tissue. Some samples have shown sufficientdetail to be identified with the genus Callixylon. Similar material has beenreported in the literature as "bituminous" or "asphaltic" stringers.
Spectrographic analyses of the ash from the coalified wood have shown
unusually high percentages of germanium, uranium, vanadium, andnickel. The inverse relationship between uranium and germanium in theash and the ash content of various samples shows an association of theseelements with the organic constituents of the coal.
On the basis of geochemical considerations, it seems most probable thatthe wood or coalified wood was germanium-bearing at the time logs or
wpody fragments were floated into the basins of deposition of the Chattanooga shale and the Cleveland member of the Ohio shale. Once wii;hin themarine environment, the material probably adsorbed uranium with theformation of organo-uranium compounds such as exist in coals.
It is suggested that a more systematic search for germaniferous coalsin the vicinity of the Chattanooga shale and the Cleveland member of the
Ohio shale might be rewarding. Authors' abstract
A small sample of coalified wood from the Chattanooga shale contains
1.27 percent ash; this ash contains 2.58 percent uranium and about 4.0
percent germanium. A sample of coal from the Cleveland member of the
Ohio shale contains 1.7 percent ash ; this ash contains 0.50 percent uraniumand 2.0 percent germanium.

15

Brown, Andrew, 1956, Uranium in the Chattanooga shale of eastern
Tennessee: Internat. Conf. on Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy,
Geneva 1955, Proc., v. 6, Geology of uranium and thorium, p. 439-444;
U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 300, p. 457-462.
The uraniferous Chattanooga shale of Alabama, Tennessee, and adjoining States in Southeastern United States is part of a widespreadblanket of bituminous shales of Late Devonian and Early Missis sippian
age which were deposited over much of central United States from New
York to Texas.
This report concerns the most uraniferous part of the Chattanooga
shale in the Eastern Highland Rim area of the Nashville dome and theWalden Ridge area, both northwest of Chattanooga, Tenn. The' Chattanooga shale dips eastward from the axis of the Nashville dome at therate of 30 feet per mile to the Sequatchie Valley where it is broken by
the Sequatchie overthrust fault in the vicinity of Walden Ridge. Here
466353 58

3276

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHIES OF URANIUM GEOLOGY

the average dip is 8° to the southeast. The Chattanooga shale in thisarea is of Late Devonian age and consists of two members, the Dowelltown and the overlying Gassaway. The Dowelltown member, which includes a basal sandstone, a black shale unit, and a gray shale unit, attains
a maximum thickness of about 18 feet; the Gassaway member, which
includes 2 black shale units separated by a siltstone unit, ranges inthickness from 7 to about 21 feet. The top black shale unit is the mostwidespread and most uraniferous unit of the Chattanooga shale; it
ranges in thickness from 4 to 10 feet in Tennessee.
Analyses of two cores from drill holes near Smithville, Tenn., revealthat all units of the Chattanooga shale are composed chiefly of silicate
minerals of silt and clay sizes; pyrite and carbon are next in abundance.
The organic matter in the shale is composed largely of spores, and mostof the uranium-rich stringers, formerly identified as asphaltite, are now
known to be woody fragments.
Semiquantitative spectrographic analyses of samples from 3 cores of
the total thickness of the Chattanooga shale and from 15 cores of the
Gassaway member are summarized. The analyses show that the chemicalcomposition is fairly constant, both vertically and laterally. No correlation between the uranium and the minor metal content could be made.
Although all units of rock in the Chattanooga shale contain moreuranium than most marine shales, the uranium content varies from unit
to unit. The top gray-shale unit of the Dowelltown member contains theleast (0.001 to 0.002 percent uranium) and the top black-shale unit of
the Gassaway member contains the most uranium (0.006 to 0.0086 percent). Only the Gassaway member can be considered a potential sourceof uranium under present conditions.
"No uranium minerals have been identified in the shale. The element
is present as a separate colloidal phase disseminated through the organic
matrix and is not chemically combined with the organic matter. Autoradiographic studies * * * demonstrate that the alpha-particle source
material is localized around concentrations of organic matter and pyrite.'r
Observations in the field and reflectance studies in the laboratory haveestablished a positive correlation between the "blackness" of the shale,
which is a function of sulfide and carbon content, and its uranium content. Analyses of Chattanooga shale show a positive relationship between
uranium content and (a) total sulfur content, (b) carbon content, and(c) pyrite content, "the preponderance of evidence points to depositionof the [Chattanooga] shale in a sea that was for the most part landlocked
and comparatively shallow. The uraniferous Eastern Highland RimWalden Ridge area was apparently in the central and deepest part ofthis sea * * *. Lack of circulation on the bottom of such a sea would
provide anaerobic conditions and permit carbonaceous material, which
has a strong affinity for uranium, to accumulate." * * * "The suggestion that the high uranium content of certain black shales represents concentration of only normal quantities of the element in sea water overtremendously long periods of geologic time, and that no particularly uraniferous source material is necessary, may not apply to the Chattanooga
shale." The uranium in the Chattanooga shale could have been concentrated in part from the small quantity of volcanic ash that probably fell
and was transported into the sea. The landmass of crystalline rocks tothe east also may have been a possible source of uranium.

URANIUM-BEARING MARINE BLACK SHALES IN UNITED STATES 277

For recent stratigraphic descriptions and nomenclature of the Chattanooga shale in the southeastern United States, see Hass, W. EL, 1956,
Age and correlation of the Chattanooga shale and Maury formation: U. S»
Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 286.
10

Brown, J. H., Jr., and Keller, W. D., 1952, Uranium in the clay of a
black radioactive shale: Science, v. 116, no. 3023, p. 632-633.
A thin black radioactive shale layer in the Spergen limestone [now called
Salem limestone] near Ste. Genevieve, Ste. Genevieve County, eastern
Missouri, was studied in an attempt to determine the chemical association of the contained uranium. The presence of uranium and vanadium
was determined spectrographically.
The uranium content of three size fractions of the shale was testedby the use of the direct fluorimetric method using a sodium fluoride flux.
The shale fraction containing the greatest amount of carbon emitted
the weakest fluorescence. Therefore, it was concluded that the uranium
was associated with the clay fraction and not with the organic fraction.
Leaching experiments were conducted and it was found that hydrochloric, nitric, and sulfuric acids, aqua regia, and dilute sodium carbonate
were effective solvents of the uranium in the shale. "Normal propyl
alcohol dissolved a small amount which fluoresced weakly. Hot and cold
water, ethyl alcohol, carbon disulflde and carbon tetrachloride, however,
did not extract enough uranium to produce fluorescence."
An attempt was made to exchange the uranium in the shale cationicallyby using barium chloride and potassium chloride. It was concluded thatthe uranium was held in a condition not easily exchangeable. No information on uranium or vanadium content is given in this article.
An equivalent uranium content of 0.37 percent for this shale was reported in Muilenberg, G. A., 1949, Notes on uranium: Missouri Geol.
Survey Inf. Circ. 5,18 p. See p. 9,17.

17

Burbank, W. S., and Pierson, C. T., 1953, Preliminary results of radiometric reconnaissance of parts of the northwestern San Juan Mountains, Colorado: U. S. Geol. Survey Circ. 236, 11 p.
In 1951 a reconnaissance was made of the radioactivity of the rocks ofa portion of the northwestern San Juan Mountain region in parts ofGunnison, Ouray, San Juan, San Miguel, and Dolores Counties in southeastern Colorado. The localities examined include the uranium-bearing
base-metal and precious-metal sulflde-type deposits in the Uncompahgre
district of Ouray County and the Red Mountain district of Ouray and
San Juan Counties and the uranium-bearing Precambrian slates and black
bituminous shales of Jurassic age.
A one-foot channel sample of altered bituminous shale from the Pony
Express limestone member of the Wanakah formation of Jurassic age
hear the Pony Express mine, lower Uncompahgre district, contains 0.010
percent uranium. Nearby unaltered shale from the same horizon was
virtually nonradioactive. A chip sample of limonite-stained black slatefrom the Uncompahgre formation of Precambrian age near Bear Creek
Palls, upper Uncompahgre district, contains 0.050 percent uranium. A
spectroscopic analysis of this slate is included.
The uranium In the altered bituminous shale from the Pony Express
limestone member of the Wanakah formation is thought to have been
introduced by mineralizing solutions. The uranium in the black slate from

278

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHIES OF URANIUM GEOLOGY

the Uncompahgre formation is believed to have had a dual origin: "Thewidespread radioactivity of the slate and the structural environment oflocal uranium concentrations are suggestive of an initial Precambrianlow-grade concentration, which has been enriched locally by early Tertiary
processes of mineralization."
18

Burton, V. L., and Sullivan, G. E., 1951, Carbon content and radiactivityof marine rocks: Am. Geophys. Union Trans., v. 32, p. 881-884; also in
Eeport of progress Fundamental research on occurrence and recovery of petroleum, 1950-1951: New York, Am. Petroleum Inst., p. 221224 [no date].
This is a report of studies of the radioactivity of sedimentary rocks
made at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in connection with
fundamental research into the origin of oil sponsored by the American
Petroleum Institute. The net beta count and organic carbon content of
315 samples from 2 sandstone units, 2 limestone units, and 4 shale units
were determined.
Shales, which make up 82 percent of all sedimentary rocks, "have by
far the largest concentration of radioactivity." Organic matter, estimatedat 1.6 times the percentage of organic carbon, is also more concentrated
in the shales than in the limestones and sandstones. Determinations fororganic carbon, potassium, and beta emission were made on samples ofoil well cuttings and cores of four shale formations: the Miocene nodular
shale from the Los Angeles Basin, the Cherokee shale (former usage)of Pennsylvanian age from Oklahoma, the Eagle Ford shale of Cretaceous
age from eastern Texas, and the Eutaw formation of Cretaceous age fromsouthern Mississippi. A more detailed study was made of the Miocene
nodular shale (130 determinations) and Cherokee shale (105 determinations) because they exhibited the greatest radioactivity.
When the net beta counts (the beta activity due to potassium was excluded) were plotted against the average organic carbon content, an
increasing and consistent linear relationship was observed. These results
suggest a possible genetic relationship between the uranium, thorium,and carbon contents of the formations studied.

19

Butler, A. P., Jr., 1952, The Geological Survey's work on the geology ofuranium and thorium deposits: U. S. Geol. Survey TEI-207, 26 p.,
issued by U. S. Atomic Energy Comm. Tech. Inf. Serv. Ext., Oak Ridge,
Tenn. See p. 11,19-20,24.
This is a summary of the work done by the U. S. Geological Survey on
the geology of uranium and thorium from 1839 to November 1851, andrecords the many hundreds of occurrences .of uranium, or #f aaaterials
that might possibly be uraniferous, that were examined during that period.
Other than sandstones, marine phosphorites and black shales are theprincipal uraniferous sedimentary rocks and their uranium content ranges
from a few thousandths of a percent to about 0.02 percent. In general,the uranium in these marine sedimentary rocks is distributed rather uniformly in relatively thin beds of wide lateral extent, ranging In size froma few to several thousand square miles.
Brief statements are made about the studies of the Chattanooga andother Devonian shales, some shales of Pennsylvanian age, and the Phosphoria formation of Permian age; plate 3 of the report indicates areas
where the radioactivity of these units has been measured. Other plates

URANIUM-BEARING MARINE BLACK SHALES IN UNITED STATES 279

indicate areas in the United States including Alaska whkh have been
examined by the Geological Survey during the course of reconnaissanceinvestigations for radioactivity.
Under the heading "Studies of Alaskan deposits," the results of reconnaissance investigations, mainly in east- and south-central Alaska, arediscussed. Of the sediments examined, only the phosphate rocks in the
Lisburne group of Mississippian age cropping out on the north flank of the
Brooks Range of northern Alaska and the black shale beds at the base of
the Calico Bluff formation, also of Mississippian age, in the upper Yukon
River region of east-central Alaska are appreciably radioactive. The
uraniferous phosphate rock in northern Alaska is similar in lithologic
character and uranium content to that of the Phosphoria formation of
Permian age in the northwestern States. The radioactivity of the blackshales of the Calico Bluff formation "is comparable to that of the Chattanooga shale" of Devonian and Mississippian age in the SoutheasternStates. Most of the marine black shales examined in Alaska were only
weakly radioactive.
20

Butler, A. P., Jr., and Schnabel, R. W., 1956, Distribution of uranium
occurrences in the United States: Internat. Conf. on Peaceful Usesof Atomic Energy, Geneva 1955, Proc., v. 6, Geology of uranium andthorium, p. 224-230.
Butler, A. P., Jr., and Schnabel, R. W., 1956, Distribution and general features of uranium occurrences in the United States: U. S. Geol. Survey
Prof. Paper 300, p. 27-40.
This report is a compilation of data regarding the general geology anddistribution of the major types of uranium deposits in the United Statesand includes index maps showing the location and types of the major
uranium occurrences. Under the heading "Uraniferous marine sedimentary rocks," uraniferous marine black shales and phosphate rocks
are discussed.
In general, the more uraniferous marine black shales contain abundant
plant remains, are relatively rich in iron sulfides, are noncalcareous,and some contain phosphate. Identifiable uranium minerals in theserocks are extremely rare.
"Most of the appreciably uraniferous carbonaceous black shales in
the United States are distributed from the western limit of the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama, westward to the eastern front of the Rocky Mountains in Wyoming. "All areof Paleozoic age and contain 0.005 to 0.02 percent USO8." These include
the Chattanooga shale in Tennessee and its stratigraphic equivalents inadjacent States westward to Oklahoma, and some thinner, less persistent
black shales of Pennsylvania age in eastern Oklahoma and eastern Kansas
and in southeastern Wyoming." Weakly uraniferous shales are known
west of the Rocky Mountains, but in only a few places are these as richin uranium as the Chattanooga shale.

21

Conant, L. C., 1956, Environment of accumulation of the Chattanooga
shale: Internat. Conf. on Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, Geneva
1955, Proc., v. 6, Geology of uranium and thorium, p. 435-438; U. S.
Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 300, p. 463-467.
The Chattanooga shale that underlies central Tennessee and adjacentparts' of Kentucky, Alabama, and Georgia consists largely of interbedded

280

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHIES OF URANIUM GEOLOGY

fine-grained black shale and gray claystone overlying a remarkable smooth
peneplain of truncated gently-dipping sediments of Middle Ordovician to
Early Devonian age. The formation, which averages 30 to 35 feet thick,represents most of Late Devonian time and is divided into the Dowelltown
member and the overlying Gassaway member. Thin sandstone beds areat the base of each member; a thin, persistent bentonite bed is near the
top of the formation; and scattered phosphatic nodules are in the topmost
beds further to the northeast. The denser and darker parts of the shale,
which have proved to be the most uraniferous, are made up of about
25 to 30 percent clay and mica, 20 to 25 percent quartz, 15 to 20 percent
organic matter, 10 to 15 percent pyrite, 10 percent feldspar, 5 percent
chlorite, ferric oxides, and miscellaneous minerals. The fossil assemblage
includes algae, plant spores, petrified logs, radiolaria, brachiopods,
conodonts, and fish bones and teeth.
The uranium content is highest in the Gassaway member, which contains slightly more than 0.005 percent uranium. The uranium probably
was brought into the depositional basin in normal quantities by streams
from the surrounding land areas. The uranium is believed to have been
extracted from sea water by organic matter in some unknown manner.
Much of the uranium is "probably associated with the plant matter in anionic form." The higher uranium content of the driftwood logs ofCallixylon "probably results from the absence of mineral matter, andperhaps from longer exposure to water."
The environment of accumulation of the Chattanooga shale, as inferredfrom lithologic data and the regional, stratigraphic, and structural relationships, is as follows: (a) A broad shallow sea, at the most only a few
tens of feet in depth, encroached slowly from the northeast across avery smoothly peneplained land surface, (b) The limestone peneplain
contributed very fine mud, and probably aeolian dust, at a very slow
rate (most of the coarse sediments from the highland areas were trappedin the deeper Appalachian geosyncline to the northeast), where it was
deposited on a well-graded sea floor, (c) The water of the sea wasstratified, with a strongly reducing bottom layer and an overlying layerof more aerated water where life could be sustained. (d> Conditions
prevented strong wave or tidal action so that the bottom muds were
subjected to only mild movement and sorting, (e) At the close of theLate Devonian, the sea had spread over a large area, inundating thepeneplain and the low islands that had existed in the Chattanooga area.
Similar material is included in Conant, L. C., 1953, Shallow water originof the Chattanooga shale [abs.]: Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 64, p.
1529-1530.
22

Deul, Maurice, 1955, Mode of occurrence of uranium in the Chattanooga
shale [abs.]: Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 66, p. 1549; abs., Econ,
Geology, v. 50, p. 772.
The Chattanooga shale, an abnormally uraniferous marine carbonaceous
shale of Late Devonian age, has been studied to determine the relationship of uranium to gross organic and mineral constituents. Mineral-rich,organic-rich, and uranium-rich fractions have been obtained mechanicallyfrom a shale sample containing 0.009 percent uranium and 13.7 percent carbon.

URANIUM-BEARING MARINE BLACK SHALES IN UNITED STATES 281

Separation of shale components after ball-mill grinding in a mixture ofwater and kerosene for several hundred hours yielded a mineral concentrate containing 0.0035 percent uranium and 4.7 percent carbon, an organic
concentrate containing 0.0038 percent uranium and 39.8 percent carbon,
and a middlings fraction, consisting of the finest particles, assaying 0.019
percent uranium and 9.1 percent carbon.
With increased grinding time more uranium has been liberated fromthe shale components. The middlings fraction from a sample milled for
1,361 hours contained 0.031 percent uranium and 26.7 percent carbon.
This fraction, consisting of less than 8 percent of the total material,
contained more than 24 percent of the uranium.
These experimental data indicate that uranium in the Chattanooga
shale exists largely as a colloidal phase dispersed through the organic
matrix and that most of the uranium is not now combined with theorganic material or with the minerals. These conclusions are confirmed
by other experiments where colloidal fractions markedly enriched inuranium were obtained by air elutriation of air-jet pulverized shale andby dialysis of a hydrosol of shale. Author's abstract
The technique for the separation of components in shales of the Chattanooga, Phosphoria, Dakota, Chinle, and Lockatong formations andthe resulting analytical data (not including that on uranium) are given
in Deul, Maurice, 1956, Colloidal method for concentration of carbonaceous
matter from rocks: Am. Assoc. Petroleum Geologists Bull., v. 40, p. 909-917.
23

Deul, Maurice, and Breger, I. A., 1954, Uranium in carbonaceous rocks,
Geochemistry and petrology, Geochemistry of uranium-bearing shales,in Geologic investigations of radioactive deposits Semiannual progress report, June 1 to Nov. 30, 1954: U. S. Geol. Survey TEI-490,
p. 178 and 180-182, issued by U. S. Atomic Energy Comm. Tech. Inf.
Service Ext., Oak Ridge, Tenn.
Samples of Chattanooga shale, of vanadium shale from the Phosphoria
formation in Coal Canyon, Lincoln County, Wyo., and of shale from the
Dakota sandstone near Gallup, McKinley County, N. Mex., were fractioned by ball-mill grinding in mixed media. "These shales were chosenbecause they represent different geologic environments and contain different percentages of uranium. All the shales have about the same percentage of organic material. Preliminary results * * * indicate thaturanium is present in the Chattanooga shale [and the vanadium shaleof the Phosphoria formation] as a separate colloidal phase disseminatedthrough the organic matrix but not combined with the organic matter."Complete data (the percentages of ash, uranium, carbon, and hydrogenin various unrefined and refined separates) are listed in tabular form.
"Analysis of fractions from the Dakota shale [of nonmarine origin]show that the uranium is retained by and associated with the carbonaceousconstituents and is not present as a separate phase." This contrasts
sharply with the uranium association found in the Chattanooga andPhosphoria shale fractions.
"The organic concentrate from the Chattanooga shale exhibits nounusual trace-element enrichments. In contrast, the organic fraction
from the Phosphoria formation contains striking enrichments of nickel,
vanadium, copper, silver, and molybdenum; and the organic concentratefrom the shale of the Dakota shale contains notable enrichments of copper,

282

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHIES OF URANIUM GEOLOGY

lead, cerium, and lanthanum." * * * "The data obtained have clarified
a number of points with regard to the mechanism responsible for the
precipitation of uranium in carbonaceous shales."24

Duncan, D. C., 1953, Reconnaissance investigations for uranium in blackshale deposits of the Western States during 1951 and 1952: U. S. Geol.
Survey TEI-381, 89 p., issued by U. S. Atomic Energy Comm. Tech.
Inf. Service Ext, Oak Ridge, Tenn.
"Reconnaissance examinations for uranium in 80 formations containing black shale were conducted in parts of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho,Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming * * *."The search was directed primarily toward tests of thin black marine shalezones (about 100 feet or less thick) of wide areal extent similar to someof the larger known deposits of uraniferous black shales. "Most of theuranium-bearing black shales that were found * * * occur in rocks of
Carboniferous and Permian ages."
Most of the black shales examined contain very little uranium. Samples
from 13 of these shales, however, contain from 0.003 to 0.006 percent
uranium and were collected from the following rocks: An unidentified
black shale of Ordovician or Silurian age from central Nevada; anunnamed shale of Mississippian and Pennsylvanian age, Manning Canyon
shale, the Oquirrh formation, and the Gardner dolomite all from central
Utah; the Brazer limestone and the Park City formation from northern
Utah; the Hermosa formation of southern Colorado; the Paradox formation and Belden shale from central Colorado; the Heath shale from central
Montana; the Madison limestone from southern Montana; and the Lakota ( ?) sandstone of northeastern Wyoming.
Four of the shales locally contain from 0.011 to 0.026 percent uranium
and are as follows: A black shale bed, 1 foot thick, in the Weber (?)
quartzite of Pennsylvanian age, Lake County, Colo. (0.019 percent uranium,
possibly of hydrothermal origin); a shale bed, 1 foot thick, in the Pony
Express limestone member of the Wanakah formation of Jurassic age,
Ouray County, Colo. (0.011 percent uranium, possibly of hydrothermal
origin); several thin beds of black shale from the subsurface Hartvilleformation of Mississippian (?), Pennsylvanian, and Permian age in eastern
Wyoming and western Nebraska (from a few thousandths to 0.019 percent
uranium); and phosphate-rich beds from the Phosphoria formation of
Permian age in Lincoln and Teton Counties, Wyo. (as much as 0.026 percent uranium). Of the shales examined, "only the phosphatic blackshales of the Phosphoria formation appear to be sufficiently thick andextensive to be of possible economic interest."

25

Dunham, R. J., 1954, Black shale, Chadron area, Nebraska and South
Dakota, in Geologic investigations of radioactive deposits Semiannual progress report, June 1 to Nov. 30, 1954: U. S. Geol. Survey
TEI-490, p. 157-158, issued by U. S. Atomic Energy Comm. Tech. Inf.
Service Ext, Oak Ridge, Tenn.
About 250 square miles in northeastern Dawes County and northwestern
Sheridan County, Nebr., and southern Shannon County, S. Dak., were
mapped on aerial photographs at scales of 1:20,000 and 1:31,680. Concentrations of 0.003 to 0.013 percent uranium occur in 2 kinds of deposits.

URANIUM-BEARING MARINE BLACK SHALES IN UNITED STATES 283"Uranium is concentrated sporadically in the Carlile shale, Niobrara
formation, and the Pierre shale, all of Cretaceous age, in gray shales andmarls immediately below the base of an altered zone formed by weathering of the Cretaceous strata. The maximum known uranium content inshale of the altered zone is 0.01 percent, and in most places the content isless than 0.003 percent uranium. Greatest uranium content is generally
restricted to the highest part of the highest and thinnest remnant or pinnacle of unaltered shale."
About 20 feet of the middle part of the Sharon Springs member of the
Pierre shale exhibits a persistent radioactivity of from 2 to 4 times thenormal background count. Two samples from the richest part of theinterval show 0.003 percent equivalent uranium and 0.001 percent uranium
and 0.007 percent equivalent uranium and 0.001 percent uranium. The
Sharon Springs member is a hard black marine shale that bears abundantfish remains and pyrite.
A map showing exposures of the Sharon Springs member of the Pierre
shale is included.
26

Eargle, D. H., 1954, Uranium in carbonaceous rocks, Black shales in Texas,in Geologic investigations of radioactive rocks Semiannual progress
report, Dec. 1, 1953, to May 31, 1954: U. S. Geol. Survey TEI-440, p.
132-136, issued by U. S. Atomic Energy Comm. Tech. Inf. Service
Ext., Oak Ridge, Tenn.
The radioactivity of the Eagle Ford clay of Late Cretaceous age wasstudied from Dallas in northeast Texas to the Eagle Mountains in Hudspeth County, southwest Texas. The work included sampling from outcrops and well cores. In addition, a partial study was made of theradioactivity of several adjacent Cretaceous formations, and a few Paleozoic rocks were spot sampled in several localities. A table showing the
average radioactivity and uranium content of the rocks examined isincluded.
Thirty-six samples of clay and siltstone from the Eagle Ford clay (orshale) contain, with one exception (0.002 percent uranium in Brewster
County), less than 0.001 percent uranium. One sample of brown shalefrom the Maravillas chert of Late Ordovician age in Brewster County
contains 0.003 percent uranium. Two samples of black shale from wellcores of the Woodford chert of Devonian age in Terry County contains
0.0045 percent equivalent uranium but less than 0.001 percent uranium.
Clay from the Escondido formation of Cretaceous age in Medina County
contains 0.002 percent equivalent uranium, and gray clays from the Del
Rio clay (Grayson formation) and Pepper shale member of the Woodbine
formation, both of Cretaceous age, contain less than 0.001 percent uranium.

27

Evans, R. D., and Goodman, Clark, 1941, Radioactivity of rocks : Geol. Soc.
America Bull., v. 52, p. 459-90. See p. 59-460, 468, 475, and 487.
After an evaluation of the methods and data resulting from previous
determinations of the radioactivity of terrestral rocks, many of which arediscarded as unreliable, several hundred new measurements of the radioactivity of rocks are given. A description of the analytical methods usedin obtaining these newer and more reliable data is included.
Most of the new determinations are of igneous rocks, but 28 are of sedimentary rocks, including 5 shales from unspecified rock units. Most of466353 58

4284

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHIES OF URANIUM GEOLOGY

the sedimentary rocks tested were core samples obtained from oil andgas wells. Of the 5 shale samples, taken from oil and gas wells in Starrand Navarro Counties, Tex., 2 are Cretaceous and 3 are Oligocene in age.
These shales contain about 0.0003 percent uranium, using the given radium
determinations and the given conversion factor. By similar calculation,
the average uranium content of the 28 sedimentary rock samples is lessthan 0.0002 percent.
28

Everhart, D. L., 1951, Geology of uranium deposits a condensed version,
with mineral tables by Muriel Mathez: U. S. Atomic Energy Comm.
RMO-732, 33 p., issued by U. S. Atomic Energy Comm. Tech. Inf.
Service Ext., Oak Ridge, Tenn. See p. 20-22.
This report summarizes the geologic features of the major types ofuranium deposits. Deposits in igneous and metamorphic rocks are discussed. Under sedimentary rocks the following are discussed: Uraniumbearing black shales, carnotite deposits, copper-uranium deposits, uraniumbearing asphalts, limestones, phosphorites, alluvial and placer deposits,
and lacustrine-saline deposits.
"Comparatively low concentrations of uranium in vast tonnages ofcarbonaceous and bituminous shales have been known in many parts of
the world for several decades." Since the discovery in 1893 of uranium
in the black alum shale of Cambrian age in Sweden, uranium also has
been found in certain black shales of Russia, Estonia, Alaska, and central
United States.
The significantly uraniferous marine black shales are all very dark,
have a high content of sulfide and organic matter, are low in carbonate,
are in relatively thin units which are thinly bedded, and, so far as is
known, are mostly pre-Mesozoic in age. The radioactive black shales of
the United States are characteristically uniform in thickness and composition, and contain small abnormally radioactive lenses. The shales are
generally composed of silica, organic matter or carbon, and clay minerals
with associated pyrite, marcasite,, and phosphate.
The Chattanooga shale of Devonian and Mississippian age is cited as an
example of the radioactive black shales in the United States. It ranges inthickness from 5 to 100 feet throughout most of its extent. The mosturaniferous parts of the Chattanooga shale "are in central Tennessee andsouthern Kentucky where thousands of square miles of the uppermost partof the formation contain from 0.002 to 0.013 percent U8O8 and average
0.008 percent UsOs. Formations correlative to the Chattanooga extending
through Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, and New York are lessradioactive, but the uranium content of the roughly equivalent Woodfordformation of Oklahoma and Kansas is comparable [to that of the Chattanooga shale]. Certain black shales of Pennsylvanian age in Alabama,Kansas, and Oklahoma also range from 0.003 to 0.013 percent in UsOs
content, but the average is somewhat less than that of the Chattanooga
shale and they are not so widely exposed nor so minable.""The mineralogy of the uraniferous black shales has not been completely solved as yet, and no definite uranium minerals are identifiablein most cases." The uranium is in the finer grained parts of the shale
and is soluble in acid. "It may be incorporated into the crystal latticesof clay minerals and organic compounds * * *. All thin black shale
formations of Paleozoic and, probably, pre-Cambrian ages, representing

URANIUM-BEARING MARINE BLACK SHALES IN UNITED STATES 285

periods of stable, slow sedimentation in shallow seas, are worthy ofinvestigation if they afford large tonnages and may be mined at low costs."
29

Term, J. C., 1955, Radioactivity of coals and associated rocks in Beaver,
Clearfleld, and Jefferson Counties, Pennsylvania: U. S. Geol. Survey
TEI-468, 52 p., issued by U. S. Atomic Energy Comm. Tech. Inf.
Service Ext., Oak Ridge, Tenn.
In 1953 a reconnaissance was made of the radioactivity of coal andassociated rocks in the coal fields of west-central Pennsylvania. Selected
beds were examined in the Pottsville, Allegheny, and Conemaugh formations of Pennsylvanian age. The greatest radioactivity of any rockgroup (0.016 percent uranium) was found in the uppermost section of
the underclay underlying the Lower Freeport coal in Beaver County. The
coal beds were generally the least radioactive of the rocks examined.
A sample of the Lower Freeport coal in Beaver County, however, contains
as much as 0.010 percent uranium.
Dark marine shale beds associated with the Lower and Middle Kittanning and the Lower Freeport coals of the Allegheny formation and theBrush Creek coal of the Oonemaugh formation contain from 0.002 to0.004 percent equivalent uranium at several localities in the 3 counties
studied [Beaver, Clearfield, and Jefferson].
The structural attitude and the degree of weathering of the beds appear
to have little effect on the amount of radioactivity contained in the rocks
examined. No commercially significant uranium deposits were discovered
during this study.

30

Fredrickson, A. F., 1948, Some mechanisms for the fixation of uranium
in certain sediments: Science, v. 108, no. 2799, p. 184-185.
It is suggested that the wide distribution of uranium in the sedimentary crust of the earth is due principally to its tendency to form
large UC>2++ ions. "Much of the uranium in shales may be in the formof adsorbed ions and not of discrete minerals." Studies indicate that "if
the source rocks containing uranium are weathered to clays with a highbase exchange capacity, these clays should show high radioactivity.""A possible method of concentration of uranium in sedimentary deposits containing carbon may then be as follows:"Uranium ions are released, on weathering, from the granitic, rhyolittc,
etc., rocks in which they occur in relatively large amount and then are
adsorbed by base-exchange phenomena on layer-lattice minerals such as
certain clays." By aging of the clays or chemical or thermal change,
the uranium might be displaced and again put into solution. The carbonaceous material in the path of the displaced ions would then concentrate and fix the uranium ions.
"For the concentration of uranium * * * it is probably important thatan oxidizing environment prevail." Alkaline solutions would attack the
carbonaceous material and release the uranium into a colloidal suspension. The uranium would then be adsorbed again on clays and similar
minerals.
"Could such a process as this account for the high radioactivity ofcertain carbonaceous shales or have something to do with the formationof oil * * *?"286

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHIES OF URANIUM GEOLOGY

31

Glover, Lynn, 1955, Uranium in carbonaceous rocks, black shale investigations, Chattanooga shale in Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee, inGeologic investigations of radiactive deposits Semiannual progress
report, Dec. 1, 1954, to May 31, 1955: U. S. Geol. Survey TEI-540,
p. 170-174, issued by U. S. Atomic Energy Comm. Tech. Inf. Service
Ext., Oak Ridge, Tenn.
The Chattanooga shale was studied for radioactivity and sampled in
the southern Appalachian region between Birmingham, Ala., and Knoxville, Tenn. In the vicinity of Birmingham the shale is absent, but
farther to the northeast it is generally 10 to 40 feet thick. Phosphate
nodules and chert beds are common in the black shale of this region. The
phosphate and uranium content of the shale units is inversely proportional.
A sample of highly weathered coalified material from a bed about
1 inch thick, in the top of the Maury formation in northwestern Georgia,
contains from 1 to 5 percent yttrium in about 10 percent ash.

32

Gott, G. B., and Hill, J. W., 1953, Radioactivity in some oil fields of southeastern Kansas: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 988-E, p. 69-122.
"Abnormally high radioactivity in oil and gas wells in southeastern
Kansas was noted in 1948 during an investigation to determine the valueof commercial gamma-ray well logs in the search for radioactive ore
deposits." Studies showed that many of the large deflections on the
gamma-ray logs of these Kansas wells are caused by a radium-bearing
precipitate, derived probably by solution and redeposition from adjacentrocks since the drilling of the well. These precipitates, generally associated with limestones in the Arbuckle group of Cambrian and Ordovicianage, and the Kansas City group of Pennsylvanian age, contain as much as
0.26 percent equivalent uranium, and were found in more than 60 oil andgas fields in Cowley, Butler, Marion, Sedgwick, and Greenwood Counties,
Kans. Most of the other rocks in this area are not abnormally radioactive, though some large deflections on the logs are associated withmarine black shales.
Gamma-ray logs and a few radiometric analyses of drill cuttings ofPennsylvanian black fissile shales indicate an equivalent uranium content of from 0.004 to 0.01 percent. A gamma-ray log of the Dilworth
No. 2 Fee well (sec. 8, T. 33 S., R. 7 E., Cowley County) reveals amarked anomaly at the level of the Cherokee shale which exceeds thelimits of the sensitive logging instruments and could not be recorded. A
gamma-ray log of the upper gray shales of the Wabaunsee group shows
an equivalent uranium oxide content of 0.02 percent. It is noted that
A. L. Slaughter (1945, written communication) investigated the radioactivity of the exposed Pennsylvanian black shales and coals of Kansas
and Oklahoma and found phosphatic nodules disseminated in the blackshales to contain as much as 0.095 percent uranium. The uranium content of the black shales alone, however, was much lower.
Only meager information was obtained on the Chattanooga shale ofDevonian and Mississippian age because most of it has been removed in
the region by pre-Pennsylvanian erosion. A few gamma-ray logs andradiometric analyses, however, indicate that the equivalent uranium content of the Chattanooga shale ranges from about 0.002 to 0.007 percent.
Drill cuttings of a green shale and glauconitic sandstone from theURANIUM-BEARING MARINE BLACK SHALES IN UNITED STATES 287

Simpson group of Ordovician age contain as much as 0.006 percent
equivalent uranium.
33

Gott, G. B., Wyant, D. G., and Beroni, E. P., 1952, Uranium in blackshales, lignites, and limestones in the United States, in Selected
papers on uranium deposits in the United States: U. S. Geol. Survey
Circ. 220, p. 31-35.
Small quantities of uranium occur in carbonaceous deposits at a great
many localities in the United States, but the amount rarely exceeds 0.1
percent. The most common uranium-bearing carbonaceous deposits arein the black marine shales, principally Paleozoic in age, that are exposedin the eastern and central parts of the United States. The uranium
content of most of these shales ranges from a few thousandths to a little
more than 0.01 percent. Uranium-bearing lignites and limestones also
are discussed.
The uranium content of the Chattanooga shale ranges from 0.001
to 0.03 percent, and data suggest a general correspondence between theuranium content and the (a) organic content, (b) iron sulfide content,and (c) vanadium content of the shale. The uranium content of theblack shales of Pennsylvanian age in Kansas and Oklahoma is similar
to that of the Chattanooga shale except that the Pennsylvanian shale*contain phosphatic nodules that have a much higher uranium content.
Samples of a carbonaceous marine shale of Mississippian(?), Pennsylvanian, and Permian age [the Hartville formation] from an oil well ineast-central Wyoming contain from 0.005 to 0.02 percent uranium. Thinbeds of black shale in the Spergen limestone [now called Salem limestone]of Mississippian age in Ste. Genevieve County, Mo., contain as much as
0.6 percent uranium.

34

Holland, H. D., and Kulp, J. L., 1954, The transport and deposition of
uranium, ionium, and radium in rivers, oceans, and ocean sediments:
Geochim. et Cosmochim. Acta, v. 5, p. 197-213.
Data that have accumulated over the past two decades on the concentration of uranium, ionium, and radium in ocean water and in oceanbottom sediments, are evaluated and rate equations descriptive of theeconomy and history of the elements are presented. "The importantfactors controlling the concentration of the radioelements in the ocean
are the influx, the rate of radioactive decay, and the rate at which theradioelements are removed by sedimentation."
The uranium content of marine sediments is probably attributable to>several factors, including the original content of the constituent grainsderived from the land, uranium removed from the transporting streamsand from the ocean by the sediments, and the uranium removed by themarine organisms incorporated in the sediments.
The average uranium content of shales is 3.1±:0.3XlO"8 grams pergram and the fraction of the earth's land surface covered by shales i»on the order of 0.33±0.03. The estimated average uranium content ofconstituent grains that make up the shales on entering the oceans via
streams is 1.8±0.4xlO-8 grams per gram and l.Ort0.5X10'' grams pergram uranium is added during sedimentation. "The geochemistry of
uranium influx and deposition in shallow water are of major
importance * * *."

288

35

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHIES OF URANIUM GEOLOGY

Huddle, J. W., and Patterson, E. D., 1954, Uranium in carbonaceous rocks
Coal and lignite in the eastern United States, in Geologic investigations of radioactive deposits Semiannual progress report, Dec. 1,
1953, to May 31, 1954: U. S. Geol. Survey TEI-440, p. 100-101, issued
by U. S. Atomic Energy Comm. Tech. Inf. Service Ext., Oak
Ridge, Tenn.
Coal, lignite, and associated rocks in southwestern Pennsylvania, western Indiana, and southern Illinois were examined and sampled for radioactivity. No coal examined contains much more than 0.001 percent
equivalent uranium.
Nine samples of a grayish-black marine shale of Pennsylvanian age,from 4 to 6 feet in thickness and overlying the No. V coal, contain from0.006 to 0.016 percent equivalent uranium at several localities in Warrick,Pike, Vigo, and Vermillion Counties in western Indiana. Grayish-blackshale beds directly overlying the No. 5 and No. 6 coal units in southeastern
Illinois are also radioactive. The No. 5 coal in Illinois is a correlativeof the No. V coal in Indiana.

36

Kepferle, R. C., 1955, Uranium in carbonaceous rocks, Black shale investigations, South Dakota and northeastern Nebraska, in Geologic investigations of radioactive deposits Semiannual progress report,
Dec. 1, 1954, to May 31, 1955: U. S. Geol. Survey TEI-540, p. 163-165,
issued by U. S. Atomic Energy Comm. Tech. Inf. Service Ext., Oak
Ridge, Tenn.
Analyses of about 300 samples of black shale from 32 localities in South
Dakota and northeastern Nebraska indicate that the Sharon Springs member of the Pierre shale in that region contains 0.002 percent or less uranium.
"The most uraniferous parts of the shale contain 0.005 percent or moreuranium in zones averaging about 1 foot in thickness. At three localities
these zones reach thicknesses of 3 to 6 feet; elsewhere they are less than
1% feet thick. The most uraniferous parts of the zones are generally
about 3 inches thick and contain as much as 0.017 percent uranium.
"Semiquantitative spectrographic analyses of 82 samples of the blackshale from the Sharon Springs member indicate that the concentrations ofmolybdenum and iron tend to vary directly with the concentration of
uranium, whereas the concentrations of aluminum, gallium, boron, titanium, magnesium, and sodium all tend to vary inversely with theconcentration of uranium.
"Chemical analyses of 18 samples of shale from one locality indicate astrong positive relationship between the concentrations of uranium andarsenic, and a lesser positive relationship between the concentrations ofuranium and selenium.
"From a study of the relationship between the concentrations of uranium
and the elements which vary in concentration with respect to uranium,
it appears that the uranium in fresh samples of the Sharon Springs
shale was emplaced during the deposition of the shale, in a reducing
environment where deposition of allogenic clastic sediments was slow."
A diagram showing spectrographic analyses of the shale is included in
the report.

URANIUM-BEARING MARINE BLACK SHALES IN UNITED STATES 289

37

Krumbein, W. C., and Slack, H. A., 1956, Statistical analysis of low-level
radioactivity of Pennsylvanian black fissile shale in Illinois: Geol.
Soc. America Bull., v. 67, p. 739-762.
A sampling experiment utilizing the Brereton shale of Pennsylvanian
age in southwestern Illinois was undertaken in order to (a) evaluate
the average radioactivity of the shale and (b) detect regional radioactivity gradients. The mean equivalent uranium content of this 3-footshale unit is 0.0075 percent.
An isopach map and a map showing the distribution of radioactivity of
the Brereton shale in southwestern Illinois are included. A restrictedshallow-water marine environment of deposition with low oxygen content and almost neutral pH conditions is described for the Brereton shale.
It is believed that the Brereton sea, advancing eastward nr northeastward, slowly inundated the almost flat-lying peat bogs (now the No. 6
coal). The normal open circulation of this sea was restricted at its
margin, causing the waters to become deficient in oxygen content andrich in sulfides.
The uranium in the Brereton shale is thought to be associated withthe pyrite-organic clay complex. Living marine organisms probably helpedin the extraction and fixation of uranium from the sea water and later
the uranium may have become associated with the iron sulfide and clayin the accumulating muck after the death of these organisms.

38

McKelvey, V. B., 1955, Search for uranium in the United States: U. S.
Geol. Survey Bull. 1030-A, p. 1-64. See p. 14-16 and 37-40.
McKelvey, V. B., 1953, Search for uranium in the Western States [abs.]:
Am. Assoc. Petroleum Geologists Bull. v. 37, p. 2614.
"The search for uranium in the United States is the most intensive
ever made for any metal during our history * * *. The purpose of thisreport is to summarize briefly the information on the common uranium
minerals; the kinds of deposits in which uranium is found; the methods
used in the search for uranium; the important deposits found in thiscountry thus far; the outlook for future discoveries; and the recent
literature on the geology of uranium deposits in the United States."
Uraniferous Black Shale
Some bituminous marine black shales contain from 0.005 to 0.02 percent uranium and represent one of the world's largest potential sourcesof uranium. The distinguishing characteristics of the uraniferous shales
are not fully known. As a group, however, they are from older formations; are sapropelic rather than humic in origin; highly carbonaceousand bituminous, high in sulfide content, generally somewhat phosphatic;
but are noncalcareous. Their sediments accumulated very slowly, probablyat the rate of only 1 foot per 200,000 to 1,000,000 years net accumulationas compared to 1 foot per 700 years for other shales, and probably underanaerobic conditions.
The alum shale of Late Cambrian age in Sweden and the Chattanooga
shale of Devonian and Mississippian age of Southeastern United States

290

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHIES OF URANIUM GEOLOGY

are important examples of these uraniferous shales. "The uranium inthese shales is in acid-soluble form, but it probably does not occur in a
distinct uranium mineral. In the Chattanooga shale it is concentrated inpyrite-organic-matter complexes" and in the alum shale, the largest
amounts of uranium (as much as 0.5 percent) are in nodules and lenses
of dark bitumen, known as kolm. Microscopic particles of kolm scatteredthrough the alum shale may be the uranium carriers in the shale itself.
"The uranium may occur both in phosphate and carbonaceous matter" in
the Miocene nodular shale of southern California and the Cherokee shale(former usage) of Pennsylvanian age in Oklahoma. The uranium in a
black shale in the Spergen limestone [now Salem limestone] of Mississippian age in Ste. Genevieve County, eastern Missouri, is in the fine clay
fraction and not in the organic matter.
The most uraniferous parts of the alum shale of Sweden and the subsurface Hartville formation of Mississippian(?), Pennsylvanian, andPermian age in eastern Wyoming seem to have been deposited near themargins of deposition of those shales. "Very likely the uranium in blackshales is extracted from the sea by plankton, either alive or dead. The
reason uranium is more concentrated in some black shales than in others,
however, is unknown." It seems that the controls for uranium concentration in these shales "have to do with the pH, redox potential, andother physico-chemical factors that affect the precipitation of uranium
in the sea." Although the concentration of uranium in the widespread
evenly distributed uraniferous marine black shales probably occurred as
the sediments were being accumulated, there is evidence that the uranium
in some of the more irregularly distributed nonmarine carbonaceous deposits was adsorbed from percolating waters long after their deposition.
"The most important uraniferous black shale yet discovered in the
United States is the Chattanooga shale of Devonian and Mississippian
age in Tennessee. The upper part of this formation contains vast quantities of uranium in concentrations of 0.01 percent or slightly less." Thehighest percentage of uranium in black shale (0.019 percent) thus far
discovered In the United States is in the Mississippian(?), Pennsylvanian,and Permian (?) Hartville formation in the subsurface of eastern Wyoming. No uranium has yet been produced from the black shales in the
United States.
Uraniferous Phosphorite
Marine phosphorites commonly contain from 0.005 to 0.03 percent uranium. Important examples are the Permian Phosphoria formation inwestern United States, the Upper Cretaceous and lower Eocene deposits
of North Africa, and the Pliocene Bone Valley formation of Florida.
The uranium in the phosphorites seems to be chiefly in the mineralcarbonate-fluorapatite where it probably substitutes for calcium. "Theuranium content of the rock generally increases as the phosphate content
increases, but deposits or beds richest in phosphate are not necessarilyrichest in uranium * * *," as is seen in the Phosphoria formation. Thismay be due to the inverse relationship between uranium and carbonate
content.
The weakly phosphatic black shales in the Phosphoria formation contain little or no uranium. Phosphatic nodules in certain black shales,such as those of Pennsylvanian age in Kansas and Oklahoma, are gen-

URANIUM-BEARING MARINE BLACK SHALES IN UNITED STATES 291

erally more uraniferous than the enclosing black shales. The uranium
content of phosphatie nodules on the present sea-bottom off the California
const is about the same as that of older phosphorites. The uranium inmost of the marine phosphorite deposits is believed to have been adsorbed
from the sea water "at the time of deposition or before burial." An index
map showing the location of the more significant deposits of uraniferous
black shales and phosphorites is included.
39

McKelvey, V. E., and Carswell, L. D., 1956, Uranium in the Phosphoria
formation: Internat. Conf. on Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, Geneva 1955, Proc., v. 6, Geology of uranium and thorium, p. 503-506;
U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 300, p. 483-487.
Uranium-bearing marine phosphate deposits in the Phosphoria formation of Permian age and its stratigraphic equivalents cover an area of
about 135,000 square miles in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, andNevada. Deposits of the highest grade, however, are in eastern Idaho andadjacent parts of Montana, Wyoming, and Utah. The phosphorites contain from 0.005 to 0.03 percent uranium and locally as much as 0.06 percent uranium in very thin layers.
The Phosphoria formation ranges in thickness from 200 to 1,500 feetand consists of 2 overlapping "couplet.?." each composed of a carbonaceous
phosphatic shale member overlain by a clierty member. This represents
nearly two cycles of transgression and regression of the Phosphoria sea.
Even though some of the phosphatic shale beds contain layers that
resemble the uraniferous black shales of other formations, only the beds
high in phosphate content are appreciably uraniferous.
The uranium content of the formation varies areally and with thephosphate content, as shown in maps and tables. The reasons for thisareal variation are not well understood. The phosphate and uranium
contents vary in direct proportion, but there are many exceptions seemingly due to other factors, such as organic content, carbonate content,
textural variations, and effects of weathering. Most of the uranium isin carbonate-fluorapatite, probably substituting for the calcium. The
uranium is thought to enter the carbonate-fluorapatite at the time of precipitation or after burial. Smaller concentrations of uranium may bepresent also in the organic matter or other constituents. The uranium
and carbonate contents vary inversely with one another. Secondary
mineralization has been observed and is believed to have resulted fromleaching of uranium by surface weathering and subsequent migrationin, and precipitation from, ground waters.

40

McKelvey, V. E., Everhart, D. L., and Garrels, R. M., 1955, Origin of
uranium deposits: Econ. Geology, 50th Anniversary volume, 1905193.";, part 1, p. 464-533. See p. 514-526.
After a brief summary of the geochemistry of uranium and the occurrence of uraniferous deposits, the geology, mode of occurrence, andorigin of the following types of uranium deposits are discussed: Igneousrocks, veins, sandstone-type deposits, coal and associated carbonaceous
shale, and marine sedimentary rocks (black shales and phosphorites).
Uraniferous marine black shales such as the alum shale of Sweden,
the Chattanooga shale of Tennessee, and the Hartville formation of
46635.3 58 5

292

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHIES OF URANIUM GEOLOGY

eastern Wyoming contain from 0.005 to 0.02 percent uranium and minor
amounts of other metals including vanadium, nickel, molybdenum, andzinc. The uraniferous black shales generally are sapropelic, rather thanhuniic in origin; are rich in sulfides, distillable hydrocarbons, and finecarbonaceous matter; are somewhat more phosphatic but less calcareousthan other shales; and are relatively thin considering the period of time
their sedimentation presumably represents.
Much of the uranium in the Chattanooga shale is in the organic
matter-pyrite complexes and studies indicate that the uranium is notpresent as a discrete mineral. It is possible that the uranium in thealum shale of Sweden is carried mainly in fine-grained kolm pellets. It
is evident from many investigations that uranium may occur in several
forms in black shales, but the evidence "strongly suggests that theuranium in most black shales is held by one or another type of organic
matter.""The uranium in marine black shales and phosphorites was derived
from sea water. The precipitation of uranium in the shales probably
is brought about by chemical adsorption by living or dead plankton, but
reduction evidently plays an important role in its precipitation andstabilization in the shale. Uranium in the phosphorites substitutes for
calcium in the apatite structure." A list of 192 references, many dealing
with uranium in carbonaceous materials, is included at the end of thereport.
For information of a similar nature see also, McKelvey, V. E., Everhart, D. E., and Garrels, R. M., 1956, Summary of hypotheses of genesisof uranium deposits: Internat. Conf. on Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy,
Geneva 1955, Proc., v. 6, Geology of uranium and thorium, p. 551-561;
U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 300, p. 41-53.
41

McKelvey, V. E., and Nelson, J. M., 1950, Characteristics of marine uranium-bearing sedimentary rocks: Econ. Geology, v. 45, p. 35-53.
Uranium occurs in abnormal concentrates in some marine sediments.
The most important and widespread deposits are in black shales andphosphorites, many of which contain from 0.01 to 0.02 percent uranium.
The beach placer deposits of Nome, Alaska, and possibly the Witwatersrand conglomerates of South Africa constitute the only other known
significant occurrences of marine origin.
Uranium-Bearing Black Shale
Uranium in black shale was first discovered in 1893 in the Cambrianalum shale of Sweden. It has subsequently been found in the "blackshales of several other formations, including the Dictyonema and Leningrad shales of Estonia and Russia, which are the stratigraphic equivalents of the alum shale of Sweden; the Precambrian Nonesuch shale ofMichigan; the Devonian (?) Woodford chert of Oklahoma * * *; theDevonian and Mississippian Chattanooga shale of east-central UnitedStates and the Mississippian Calico Bluff formation of east-central
Alaska."The uranium-bearing marine shales have several features in common.
"All are black or dark in color, rich in organic matter and sulfides, low
in carbonate, relatively thin, and those known are of pre-Mesozoic age."

URANIUM-BEARING MARINE BLACK SHALES IN UNITED STATES 293

Most of them are of great lateral extent, contain little clastic material,
and represent long periods of depositional stability. The uranium inthe marine black shales described is syngenetic and is believed to havebeen chemically adsorbed by clay minerals or by organic matter. The
strong positive correlation between uranium content and carbonaceous
material in marine black shales suggested that the uranium has beenadsorbed by the organic matter rather than by the clays. A list offormations containing black shale that may be uraniferous is included.
Uranium-Bearing Phosphorites
Uranium in phosphorite was first discovered in 1924 in the phosphorite
deposits of Cretaceous and Eocene age in Algerio. Since then, uraniferous
phosphorites have been discovered in many other parts of the world.
In the United States, phosphorite in the Pliocene Bone Valley formationof Florida and in the Permian Phosphoria formation of the NorthwesternStates contain significant concentrations of uranium. In contrast to
the marine phosphorites, the residual phosphate deposits so far tested
do not contain significant amounts of uranium.
Uraniferous phosphatic nodules have been found in many black shales,such as those of Penusylvanian age in Kansas and Oklahoma. These
phosphatic black shales "are a cross between the typical phosphorite deposits and the uraniferous black shales."The phosphatic rocks that contain significant amounts of uranium range
in age from Paleozoic to Cenozoic, are in relatively thin formations, andmany are associated with unconformities. The uranium content generally
increases with the phosphate content but decreases with an increase in
the carbonate content.
The uranium content of the Phosphoria formation increases westward
from Wyoming into Idaho where an increase in the total phosphate
content causes a marked increase in total thickness of the formation.
Since the uranium-phosphate ratio is not constant in the Phosphoria
formation, it is thought that some of the uranium may be associatedwith the organic and clay fractions in addition to the usual fluorapatite
association.
Origin
It is believed that the uranium in these various marine sediments had
a syngenetic origin and was removed from the sea water (a) by direct
chemical precipitation, (b) by its selective removal by certain marineorganisms, or (c) by adsorption to clay or organic matter in an environment unfavorable for the accumulation of large amounts of clastic orcarbonate materials.
42

McKeown, F. A., 1951, Reconnaissance of radioactive rocks of Vermont,
New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and southeastern New
York: U. S. Geol. Survey TEI-67, 46 p., issued by U. S. Atomic
Energy Comm. Tech. Inf. Service Ext., Oak Ridge, Tenn. See p. 25-33
and 43-46.
In 1948 a reconnaissance, using a car-mounted Geiger counter, wasmade in Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, andsoutheastern New York to test the radioactivity of roadside rocks andsoils. The author observed abnormal radioactivity in the rocks and soils

294

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHIES OF URANIUM GEOLOGY

of three areas which he called "radioactive provinces." These are (a)the Hudson Highlands of southeastern New York and the Housatonic
Highlands of western Connecticut, with an estimated maximum equivalenturanium content of 0.240 percent; (b) central New England, with anestimated maximum equivalent uranium content of 0.006 percent; and(c) the Milton area, Chittenden County, northwestern Vermont, with anestimated maximum equivalent uranium content of 0.029 percent.
Abnormal radioactivity was found in the Hudson and Housatonic
Highlands region in gneiss, schist, and pegmatite. The radioactivity ofsome of the gneiss is believed to be of sedimentary syngenetic origin. The
radioactivity in the other gneisses, schists, and pegmatites, however, is ofhydrothermal origin.
Abnormal radioactivity MI central New England was found in gneiss,
schist, phyllite, slate, granite and pegmatite. Phyllite in the Orfordville formation of Middle Ordovician(?) age from 2 localities near Brattleboro in southeastern Vermont contains a field estimate of from 0.003
to 0.005 percent equivalent uranium. Micaceous slate of early Paleozoic
age in the Dixville Notch in northern New Hampshire contains a field
estimate of 0.003 percent equivalent uranium. No laboratory analyses
were made of these rocks. Black petroliferous phosphatic calcareous
clay galls in intraformational breccias of the Milton dolomite of Late
Cambrian age near Milton, Vt, contain an average of 0.006 percent
uranium and as much as 8.06 percent PzOz and 0.04 percent V2O5. A range
in grade of 0.002 to 0.018 percent uranium was noted. The radioactivity of the rocks in the Milton area is believed to originate fromuranium. Thorium, however, is believed to be the cause of most of theradioactivity of the other two "provinces" because chemical analyses
on igneous and rnetamorphic rock samples have a high thorium content and a low uranium content.
"The manner in which the radioactive elements are combined withother elements in the rock is not known. Alpha radiographs of thinsections * * * show * * * no apparent centers of radioactive concentrations." Phosphate analyses indicate a direct relationship between theuranium and phosphate content. "The fact that the radioactive material
apparently has a wide areal and narrow stratigraphic distribution andis disseminated in * * * the rock suggests that the radioactivity is afeature of the original sediments."
43

Mapel, W. J., 1956, Uraniferous black shales in the northern Rocky
Mountains and Great Plains Regions: Internat. Conf. on PeacefulUses of Atomic Energy, Geneva, 1955, Proc., v. 6, Geology of uranium
and thorium, p. 445-451; U. S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 300, p. 469-476.
In 1953 a reconnaissance search for uranium in black shale was conducted in the northern Rocky Mountain and Great Plains regions. The
black shales in these regions range in age from Precambrian to Late
Cretaceous. Outcrops, drill cuttings, cores, and gamma-ray well logs
were examined. The location and name of the formations examined andthe maximum uranium content of the shale are shown in tabular form
and on index maps.
A black shale sequence, ranging in thickness from a few inches to 100
feet, at the base of the Madison limestone of Mississippian age, wassampled at 17 localities in Cache County, northwestern Utah, and inURANIUM-BEARING MARINE BLACK SHALES EST UNITED STATES 295

southwestern and central Montana. The shale contains as much as 0.005
percent uranium in Gallatin County, Mont.
Core chip samples of shale from oil and gas wells penetrating the Bakken formation (a correlative of the basal shale of the Madison limestone) were sampled in northeastern Montana and northwestern North
Dakota. Some of this shale contains as much as 0.007 percent uranium.
Samples from a well in Daniels County, Mont., contain an equivalenturanium content of as high as 0.010 percent but only 0.003 percent uranium.
The disequilibrium was found to be caused chiefly by the presence ofthorium 230 and radium, both daughter products of uranium. The
radioactivity in the Bakken formation seems to differ "appreciably andwith a definite pattern from place to place. Recognition of the pattern
doubtless will help in outlying [outlining] areas in which maximum concentrations of uranium in the formation might be expected."
A black phosphatic shale sequence, ranging in thickness from a few
inches to 75 feet, at the base of the Brazer limestone of Mississippianage, was sampled at 2 localities in southeastern Idaho and 1 locality inRich County, northern Utah. The shale at the Idaho localities was
virtually nonuraniferous; but an upper shale unit, 14 feet thick, and alower shale unit, 8 feet thick, at the Utah locality contain as much as
0.006 percent and 0.009 percent uranium, respectively.
The Heath shale, a marine black shale of Mississippian age, contains
a reported maximum of 0.006 percent uranium in Fergus county, central
Montana, but less than 0.003 percent equivalent uranium in Roosevelt
County, northeastern Montana. "Gamma-ray log data from oil andgas wells indicate that a bed of Heath shale, 10 feet in thickness, may
contain more than 0.01 percent equivalent uranium in McCone County,
northeastern Montana, and that parts of the formation in MusselshellCounty, Mont., may be nearly as radioactive."
Samples of black shale beds as much as 6 feet in thickness, in the
Minnelusa sandstone of Pennsylvania age, were taken from 2 oil and gas
wells in southeastern Wyoming. The uranium content of the shale isreported to be from 0.005 to 0.019 percent. Data from gamma-ray welllogs of Colorado shale of Cretaceous age in central Montana indicate asmuch as 0.008 percent equivalent uranium in Musselshell County and arange of 0.002 to 0.005 percent equivalent uranium for other parts of central Montana. Gamma-ray log data further indicate that black shale fromthe lower part of the Pierre shale of Late Cretaceous age in northeasternSouth Dakota may contain 0.008 percent equivalent uranium.
44

Moxham, R. M., and Nelson, A. E., 1952, Reconnaissance for radioactive
deposits in south-central Alaska, 1947-49: U. S. Geol. Survey Circ. 184,
14 p. See p. 1-6.
In 1947 a reconnaissance for radioactivity was undertaken in areas
adjacent to highways. Known pegmatites and beach placers in southcentral Alaska also were examined.
Shale beds from the Kennicott formation of Early Cretaceous age in
the Wrangell Mountains contain from an "insignificant amount" to 0.002
percent equivalent uranium. Shale beds of the Matanuska formation of
Late Cretaceous age in the Matanuska Valley which were tested were
found to be virtually nonradioactive. An argillite of Mesozoic age along
the Richardson Highway also is virtually nonradioactive.

296

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHIES OF URANIUM GEOLOGY

45

Narten, P. F., and McKeown, F. A., 1952, Reconnaissance of radioactiverock of the Hudson Valley and Adirondack Mountains, New York:U. S. Geol. Survey TEI-70, 54 p., issued by U. S. Atomic Energy Comm.
Tech. Inf. Service Ext., Oak Ridge, Tenn. See p. 7-10, 25-28.
In 1949 a reconnaissance for radioactivity, using a car-mounted Geiger
counter, was made of the sedimentary and metamorphic rocks of Paleozoic
age in the Hudson and Champlain Valleys of eastern New York and western Vermont and the metasedimentary and igneous rocks of Precambrian
age in the Adirondack Mountains in eastern and central New York. The
average equivalent-uranium content of the most radioactive Paleozoic
sedimentary rocks is about 0.003 percent. The highest equivalent-uranium
content of these rocks is estimated as 0.005 percent in some slates of Early
Cambrian age near Fairhaven, Rutland County, western Vermont. Precambrian pegmatites were the most radioactive rocks encountered, containing as much as 0.043 percent uranium and 0.62 percent thorium.
One sample of each of the following argillaceous rocks of Paleozoic age
in New York was submitted for analysis: A dark-gray shale from the Deepkill shale near Stuyvesant, Columbia County; a black shale from the
Bakoven shale near Medway, Greene County; gray and black shale fromthe Esopus shale near Ravena, Albany County; black shale from the Canajoharie shale near Ballston Spa, Saratoga County, and a slate from the
Hudson River group near Chatham, Columbia County. All of these samples
contain 0.002 percent equivalent uranium and 0.001 percent uranium.
A reconnaissance examination for radioactivity was made of the following argillaceous rocks in New York: Slaty shale, phyllitic slate, and darkslate from the Hudson River group; phyllite and slate from the Berkshire
schist; shale from the Rensselaer graywacke; slate from the Normanskill
shale; shale from the Snake Hill formation and black shale from theMarcellus shale. A slate from the Bomoseen grit of Early Cambrian age
from western Vermont also was examined for radioactivity. The average
estimated equivalent-uranium content for all of these rocks is about 0.003
percent.

46

Nelson, J. M., and Narten, P. F., 1951, Reconnaissance of radioactive rocksof Maine: U. S. Geol. Survey TEI-68, 43 p., issued by U. S. Atomic
Energy Comm. Tech. Inf. Service Ext., Oak Ridge, Tenn.
In 1948 a reconnaissance for radioactivity, using a car-mounted Geiger
counter, was made of roadside rocks, soils, and glacial materials in Maine.
Abnormal radioactivity was found in granite, pegmatite, diorite, gneiss,
schist, phyllite, quartzite, greenstone in tuff matrix, road metal, and glacial
till. A sample of black phyllite of Silurian age contains as much as 0.003
percent uranium. No uranium deposits of economic importance were foundduring this reconnaissance examination.
Samples of the abnormally radioactive rocks were collected and analyzed
for radioactivity in the field and later in the laboratory. A sample of grayphyllite of Ordovician and Silurian age from the Seboomook area, Somerset County, in west-central Maine contains 0.002 percent equivalenturanium and 0.001 percent uranium. Three samples of black phyllite of
Silurian age were collected from the Monson, Harrington Lake, and Kokadijo areas, Piscataquis County, In central Maine. These 3 samples contain from 0.002 to 0.003 percent equivalent uranium. No uranium was

URANIUM-BEARING MARINE BLACK SHALES IN UNITED STATES 297

found in the samples from the Monson and Kokadijo areas. The sample
from the Harrington Lake are was not analyzed for uranium.
47

Nininger, R. D., 1954, Minerals for atomic energy: New York, D. Van
Nostrand Co., Inc., 367 p. See p. 75-76 and 155.
This book is a comprehensive guide to exploration for uranium, thorium,and beryllium and includes data on the major producing and potential
areas of the world.
Deposits in Phosphate RockUranium is in the phosphatic Bone Valley formation of Florida andPhosphoria formation of northwestern United States and also in phosphatic nodules occurring in certain shales of Kansas and Oklahoma.
Uranium-bearing phosphorites are also known from Russia, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, and Nigeria. In Devon, England, uranium occurs
in phosphatic nodules in shaly limestones. Nonmarine phosphates suchas those of Tennessee and parts of Florida contain little uranium.
The uranium-bearing marine phosphorites range in age from Paleozoic
to Pliocene and all seem equally favorable. In general, there is a goodcorrelation between uranium and phosphate content. The uranium isassociated primarily with the calcium phosphate mineral, fluorapatite,though in places uranium may be associated with clay minerals andorganic matter.
The Phosphoria formation of Permian age, which is appreciably uraniferous, crops out in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and Utah. The uranium
content varies considerably from place to place; it increases westward
from Wyoming into Idaho and decreases westward in Montana. The
formation is from 200 to 500 feet thick and the beds of phosphate containmuch extraneous material. The beds (containing more calcium containlittle uranium. The Phosphoria formation contains a small amountof many other metals including vanadium, which has been minedcommercially.
Deposits in Black Shales
The uranium-bearing black shales have many features in common:(a) they are black and rich in organic matter and iron sulfides, (b) they
contain very little lime, (c) they all contain petroleum which, however,appears to exist in inverse proportions to the uranium content, (d) they
are all relatively thin formations that were deposited very slowly overa long period of time, and (e) most of them are geologically old formations. Only a few of the numerous black shales contain appreciableuranium. The carbonaceous or coaly type of black shale is virtuallybarren of uranium.
The uranium in the marine black shales, as well as in the phosphorites,
is of syngenetic origin. The uranium in the black shales is probably
associated with the clay minerals or the organic matter, for no discrete
uranium minerals have been found. The uranium content is generally
less than one-fifth of a pound per ton, and only the alum (kolm) shaleof Sweden contains as much as one-half of a pound or more per ton.
The most promising domestic occurrence of uranium in black shales
is in the Chattanooga shale in the Sparta-Smithville-McMinnville area
midway between Knoxville and Nashville, Tenn. Other outcrops of the298

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHIES OF URANIUM GEOLOGY

Chattanooga shale and its equivalents in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky,.
Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio, including the New Albany, Antrim,
and Sunbury shales, contain lesser quantities of uranium. The
Nonesuch shale of Michigan, the Woodford chert of Oklahoma, the CalicoBluff formation of east-central Alaska, and several other black shales in.
the Great Plains and Rocky Mountain States contain traces of uranium.
Uranium occurs also in the black alum shales of southern Sweden,
Estonia, and the Leningrad district of Russia. The Swedish deposits ofCambrian age were first discovered in 1893; some of these deposits weremined for radium in 1909. These shales have unique nodules and small
lenses of almost pure hydrocarbon which contain as much as 0.5 percent
uranium. Experimental extraction of uranium from these shales has.
been effected only recently.
Uraniferous phosphatic nodules have also been described from black,shales of Pennsylvanian age of Kansas and Oklahoma and from black,shales of the English Midlands area.
An index map of the United States showing generalized areas ofuranium-bearing shales is included on page 155.
48

Ostrom, M. E., Hopkins, M. E., White, W. A., and McVicker, L. D., 1955,.
Uranium in Illinois black shales: Illinois Geol. Survey Circ. 203, 15 p.
"One hundred and seventy-five samples of dark-gray to black shale [ofOrdovician, Devonian, Mississippian, and Pennsylvanian age] were taken,
from outcrops in 44 Illinois counties * * *. The uranium oxide (UsO8 )content of 15 of the shale samples having the higher percent equivalenturanium ranged between 0.001 and 0.014 percent. The uranium oxideaveraged 0.002 percent lower than the percent equivalent uranium forthese 15 samples. Phosphatic nodules and bands found in relatively small
quantities in some black shales have a higher percent equivalent uranium
than the shales in which they occur. The maximum uranium oxide content of the phosphatic materials investigated was 0.075 percent * * *.
No obvious regional variations in the equivalent uranium values of the
shales were noted."
Thirty-nine shale units of Pennsylvanian age, most of them associatedwith coal beds, were sampled. High values obtained are listed below:
UaOs

Shale "beds sampled
Percent
Above Upper McLeansboro coals.
0.012
Above Cohn coal_______________ _J .019Below Shoal Creek limestone________ - *. 13
Above Macoupin coal___________. 014 *. 075
Above No. 6 coal______________________. 006
Above No. 4 coal______________________. 014
Above No. 2 coal______________________. 008
Above Davis coal_____________________.009
Above Stonefort limestone member of the Tradewater
formation________________________. 013
At position of Reynoldsburg coal____________. 001
1 Analyses of phosphatic nodules.
A sample of shale from the Mountain Glen shale of Devonian age inUnion County, southern Illinois, contains as much as 0.013 percent UsO».

URANIUM-BEARING MARINE BLACK SHALES IN UNITED STATES 299

A sample of shale from the New Albany shale of Devonian age in Hardin
County, southern Illinois, contains as much as 0.006 percent U3OS.
49

Patterson, E. D., 1954, Radioactive coal and shale of Pennsylvanian andPermian age in northern West Virginia: U. S. Geol. Survey TEI-494,
17 p., issued by U. S. Atomic Energy Comm. Tech. Inf. Service Ext.,Oak Eidge, Tenn.
During 1953 the commercially important coal beds and associated shalesin the Monongahela formation of Pennsylvanian age and coal and shaleof the Dunkard group of Permian age were examined and sampled forradioactivity in eight counties in northern West Virginia. The shales ofthe Monongahela formation average about 0.004 or less percent equivalent uranium. The black and canneloid shales of the Dunkard groupaverage about 0.002 percent equivalent uranium. Most of the rocks
examined were nonradioactive. Coal samples of the Dunkard group contain as much as 0.003 percent equivalent uranium and the Monongahela
formation, 0.001 percent or less equivalent uranium.
Eighty-eight samples, most of which were coal, were collected from 16
localities. Six samples of black shale and gray to black siltstone fromthe Dunkard group of Permian age were collected in Wetzel and Marion
Counties, W. Va. These 6 samples contain a maximum of 0.002 percent
equivalent uranium. A sample of canneloid shale associated with the
Washington coal of Permian age in 4 Marion*Ctrtmty contains*about 0.002
percent equivalent uranium: Black^shales/siltstfcnes, and mudstones ofPennsylvanian age were not sampled because of the low radioactivity exhibited at their outcrops. These rocks are part of the Waynesburg coal[of the Washington formation], the Pittsburgh and Bedstone coals of theMonongahela formation, and the Freeport coal of the Allegheny formation.

50

Patterson, E. D., 1954, Radioactivity of some coals and shales In southern Illinois: U. S. Geol. Survey TEI-466, 23 p., issued by U. S. Atomic
Energy Comm. Tech. Inf. Service Ext.. Oak Ridge Tenn.
In 1954 a reconnaissance examination was made of the radioactivityof the coal and carbonaceous shales of Pennsylvanian age in central andsouthern Illinois. Channel samples were collected of the commercially
important coal beds and the hard black sheety roof shales in the Caseyville, Tradewater, Carbondale, and McLeansboro formations. The uranium
content of most of the coal and blact shale sampled is less than 0.001
percent. However, a sample of bright attrital coal from the Herrin No.
6 coal bed of the Carbondale formation near Harrisburg, Saline County,
contains 0.008 percent uranium and 0.125 percent uranium in the ash of
the sample, and a sample of black hard pyritic shale overlying the Harrisburg No. 5 coal, Equality quadrangle, Saline County, contains 0.017 percent uranium and 0.027 percent uranium in the 61.4 percent ash of thesample.
Of the marine black shale beds sampled, only 3 contained more than
0.001 percent equivalent uranium. These are as follows: (a) The shaledirectly overlying the Davis(?) coal of the Tradewater formation in
Saline County contains from 0.002 to 0.006 percent equivalent uranium;(b) the shale directly overlying the Harrisburg No. 5 coal of the Carbondale formation in Saline, Williamson, Jefferson, and Gallatin Counties
contains from 0.002 to 0.018 percent equivalent uranium; and (c) the300

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHIES OF URANIUM GEOLOGY

shale directly overlying the Herrin No. 6 coal of the Carbondale formation in Williamson, Perry, Randolph, and St. Clair Counties contains from0.005 to 0.007 percent equivalent uranium.
"It is evident that these black shales are radioactive over a wide area."
The radioactivity seems to be higher in the thinner black shale beds that
contain pyrite.
51

Pepper, J. F., 1953, Uranium in carbonaceous rocks, Reconnaissance, blackshale in Eastern States, in Geologic investigations of radioactive
deposits, Semiannual progress report June 1 to Nov. 30, 1953: U. S.
Geol. Survey TEI-390, p. 125, issued by U. S. Atomic Energy Comm.
Tech. Inf. Service Ext., Oak Ridge, Tenn.
"Preliminary survey [of the literature] shows that there are approximately 75 named black or partly black shales east of the Mississippi River
besides a large number of unnamed black shales that are referred to ingeologic sections in some areas."
Measurements of the radioactivity of the Dunkirk shale of Late Devonian
age were made at 28 localities in west-central and western New YorkState. This shale was found to contain on the order of 0.003 to 0.004
percent equivalent uranium. "The radioactivity appears to decrease fromwest to east, perhaps related to an increase in the silt content of the
shale."

52

Rankama, Kalervo, and Sahama, T. G., 1950, Geochemistry: Chicago, I1L,
Chicago Univ. Press, 912 p. See p. 636-638.
This comprehensive review of geochemistry is divided into two mainparts: (I) "general geochemistry" and (II) "manner of occurrence ofthe elements." In Part II, one-chapter each on uranium and thorium is
included. The geology of uranium is discussed under the subheadings:"Abundance and general geochemical character," "Uranium in igneousrocks," "Cycle of uranium," "Biogeochemistry of uranium," and "Ores ofuranium."
Some terrigenous sediments are rich in uranium because they containuranium-bearing detrital heavy minerals. From the few determinationsof uranium in sediments, it is concluded that the amount of uranium issmall in sediments containing little or no organic matter.
The concentration of uranium by biologic processes is considered an
important reason for the enrichment of uranium in some sedimentaryrocks. Carbonaceous marine shales contain more uranium than othersediments and even more than most granites. It is believed, also, thatthe uranium may have been precipitated as a sulfide, along with iron, in
the original sapropelic sediments and, in some places, along with vanadium,molybdenum, and nickel. It has been found that the uranium and potassium content of organogenic black shales and igneous rocks increase
directly with one another.
Kolm, an ash-rich coal in the alum shales of Sweden, contains as muchas 1 percent uranium. The bulk of the alum shales, however, contains
an average of from 50 to 100 grams of uranium per ton with some values
as high as 200 grams of uranium per ton.
An extensive bibliography and several geochemical tables on uranium
are included.

URANIUM-BEARING MARINE BLACK SHALES IN UNITED STATES 301

53

Boss, V. F., 1952, Autoradiographic study of marine shales: Econ. Geology,
v. 47, p. 783-793.
An autoradiographic study of five marine shales was undertaken as apart of the research sponsored by the American Petroleum Institute into
the influence of radioactivity on the natural production of hydrocarbons
from organic matter in sediments. The purpose of the study was todetermine the source of the radioactivity by recording on sensitized nuclear emulsions the tracks of the alpha particles in the shales. Distribution curves of alpha-particle tracks and photomicrographs of the tracks
are included.
Investigations of kolm from the alum shale of Sweden indicate that theradioactivity is associated largely with the inorganic constituents which
are chiefly fine-grained pyrite, phosphate, and carbonate with some saltsof uranium. "The radioactivity is often concentrated at the surfaces ofcolloidal grains." Some radioactivity, however, also was observed inassociation with the organic matter.
The radioactivity of the Woodford shale of Texas, with its finely disseminated pyrite, is mainly associated with certain mineral grains. The
seasonal white layers and grains of phosphate in the Woodford shale in
Oklahoma exhibit about three times the radioactivity of the surroundingorganic matter. There may be a relationship between the uranium andthe mineral sulfides. Studies of the Cherokee shale (former usage) of
Oklahoma revealed that the radioactivity is largely associated with phosphatic nodules which are randomly distributed throughout the shale.
The organic matter which surrounds these nodules exhibited only a small
amount of radioactivity. The radioactivity of the Miocene Playa del Rey
shale [Miocene nodular shale of this paper] of southern California is "moreextensively localized in the inorganic nodules and layers than in theorganic layers and veinlets."
Conclusions are that (a) "the radioactivity of the shales investigated isassociated with both the organic and the inorganic matter, (b) the radioactivity is concentrated to a greater extent in the inorganic matter bya factor of 2.5," and (c) alpha particles originating in inorganic matter
close to organic matter "might have been effective in transforming thelatter into hydrocarbons."

54

Ruch, J. W., 1954, Status of uranium recovery from low-grade sources:
Mines Mag. [Colorado], v. 44, no. 3, p. 105-106.
Problems encountered in processing several types of uranium ores arereviewed briefly. These include ores from vein deposits, Colorado Plateau deposits, and various byproduct sources such as the Rand depositsof South Africa, the phosphate deposits of Florida and northwestern
United States, and the Chattanooga shale deposits of southeastern UnitedStates. These materials range in grade from perhaps 0.005 to about 0.50
percent U3O8.
The Chattanooga shale is a very low grade but uniform and widespread deposit. It is a bituminous shale containing about 60 to 80 ppm
of uranium but only about one-third the oil potential of the oil shale in
the Green River formation of Colorado and Wyoming. "If this large
potential source is ever to be a uranium producer, the recovery of sulphur
and hydrocarbon values appears mandatory." So far, attempts at bene-

302

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHIES OF URANIUM GEOLOGY

ficiating Chattanooga shale have met with little or no success, even thoughmost known physical methods have been tried.
55

Runnels, R. T., Kulstad, R. O., McDuffee, Clinton, and Schleicher, J. A.,
1952, Oil shale in Kansas: Kansas Geol. Survey Bull. 96, pt. 3,
p. 157-184. See p.183-184.
A stratigraphic and petrographic description of the oil shales of Pennsylvanian and Cretaceous age in Kansas is presented. Total recoverable oil from the shales that contain over 5 gallons per ton is estimatedas about 3 billion barrels.
Other possible uses for these oil shales include the recovery of phosphate and uranium. These shales contain, chiefly in phosphate nodules,
about 136 grams of uranium per ton of shale (0.0136 percent).

56

Runnels, R. T., Schleicher, J. A., and Van Nortwick, H. S., 1953, Composition of some uranium-bearing phosphate nodules from Kansas
shales: Kansas Geol. Survey Bull. 102, pt. 3, p. 93-104.
The phosphatic nodules in 7 black shales of Pennsylvanian age from
11 localities in eastern Kansas contain an average of 30.2 percent P2Os,
0.017 percent UaOs, and 3.2 percent fluorine. Nodules from the Muncie
Creek shale member of the lola limestone from Wyandotte County havethe highest phosphate content (37.34 percent) and the highest uraniumoxide content (0.03 percent) of any of the nodulgs.analyzed* The mineralin these nodules is tentatively identified as a carbonate-bearing fluorapatite, though chemically the component percentages lie between those offluorapatite and dahllite.
As shown by a series of graphs, the uranium oxide, fluorine, and calciumoxide contents of the nodules generally increase with the increase inphosphate content, and as the fluorine content increases, so does theuranium oxide content. Thus, "if a location where the phosphate concentration in the nodules is 35 percent were selected, then slightly morethan 0.02 percent U3O8 could be expected * * *" and if "the maximum
phosphate content of 42 percent were obtained, 0.04 percent or more UsO8
would be present."

57

Russell, W. L., 1944, The total gamma-ray activity of sedimentary rocks
as indicated by Geiger-counter determinations: Geophysics, v. 9, p.
180-216.
Geiger-counter determinations of the gamma-ray intensity of 510
rock samples have been made to determine the average radioactivity
and frequency distribution of radioactivities of the various types ofsedimentary rocks. The results, expressed in units of gamma-ray intensity, show that limestones, sandstones, and dolomites are of relatively
low radioactivity, shales much higher, and black bituminous shales highestof all. The new data on the gamma radiation of the sediments may be
used to improve the interpretation of radioactivity logs and to determine
the values of surface radioactivity surveys. Author's abstract
A listing of the radioactivity determinations and location, formation,age, and lithologic character of the 510 samples is included. The averageradioactivity of 164 shale samples is 16.2 units (each unit is equivalent
to 1X10"12 grams of radium per gram of rock). The highest radioactivity
in the sequence of averages for lithologic types is 26.1 for 40 black andURANIUM-BEARING MARINE BLACK SHALES IN UNITED STATES 303

grayish-black shale samples. Generally, the more calcareous or sandy the
shale, the less the radioactivity. "Another general rule is that the darker
the shade of a rock, the greater its radioactivity * * *." This increasein radioactivity as the shade grows darker is probably related to theincrease in organic matter.
The shale samples studied were from both outcrops and wells in a
number of areas in the United States, Venezuela, and Trinidad; the shale
formations ranged in age from Ordovician to Pliocene. The highest
radioactivity (equivalent to 104 to 220XlO"12 grams of radium per gramof rock) of any rock measured was from phosphatic concretions in thinblack shales associated with the Oologah limestone and the Checkerboard limestone. Both are of Pennsylvanian age and were sampled in aquarry near Tulsa, Okla. The highest radioactivity of any shale studied
was from a black shale of Pennsylvanian age overlying the No. 2 coal inwestern Illinois. Other high-radioactivity determinations are from the
Chattanooga shale of northeastern Oklahoma, eastern Kentucky, andIllinois, and from several black shales of Pennsylvanian age and theirassociated phosphatic nodules of Oklahoma.
58

Russell, W. L., 1945, Relation of radioactivity, organic content, and sedimentation : Am. Assoc. Petroleum Geologists Bull., v. 29, p. 1470-1493.
"A comparison between the radioactivity and organic content of 510
samples of sedimentary rocks (see Russell, W. L., 1944) indicates amarked relation between certain types of organic content and radioactivity. Marine oil shales are associated with exceptionally high radioactivity, coals with abnormally low radioactivity, and other types oforganic matter with intermediate radioactivities." Calculating fromfigures given, Russell suggests that the average uranium content of all
shales is probably about 0.003 percent. Russell also suggests that theuranium in shales may be (a) indigenous in the mineral grains, (b)extracted from solution by organisms, (c) precipitated from solution ina reducing environment, or (d) adsorbed by clay minerals. "Shales whichyield oil when distilled are in general much more radioactive than thosecontaining other types of organic matter. An analysis of the materialbalance between sedimentary and igneous rocks indicates that the sediments should have about the same radioactivity as the igneous rocks fromwhich they were derived; the averages of the writer's tests seem toconfirm this conclusion if the igneous source of the sediments resembles
a granite."
From available sample tests, it is suggested that the Chattanooga
shale of Oklahoma is more radioactive where it is thicker, though it isprobably the chemical nature of the environment rather than the speedof deposition or relative thickness which controls the concentration ofradioactive matter. "An analysis of the data bearing on the radioactivityof deep-sea deposits and oil shales indicates no evidence of a generalincrease in radioactivity with slowness of deposition." The fact thatshales of Paleozoic age have a higher average radioactivity than younger
shales is not because the Paleozoic shales are older, but that certain
tectonic and chemical conditions were more prevalent during the Paleozoic era which led to a higher concentration of radioactive materials
being deposited.

304

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHIES OF URANIUM GEOLOGY

Determinations of radioactivity, indications of organic content, andlithologic characteristics are presented in tabular form.
59

Schnabel, E. W., 1955, The uranium deposits of the United States: U. S.
Geol. Survey Mineral Inv. Resource Map MB 2.
This is a map (scale 1:5,000,000) of the United States showing thelocation of the principal types of uranium deposits. The map is keyed
to a listing of these deposits and brief descriptions of the principal typesof deposits are given. A short bibliography is included.
The outcrop of the Chattanooga shale, a marine black shale formation
containing small percentages of uranium, is shown in green in the southeastern and south-central United States. The Woodford chert andPhosphoria formation are similarly indicated.

60

Schopf, J. M., 1953, Search for, and geology of, uranium in carbonaceous
rocks, black shale investigations, organic matter of the Chattanooga
shale, in Search for, and geology of, radioactive deposits Semiannual progress report, Dec. 1,1952, to May 31, 1953: U. S. Geol. Survey
TEI-330, p. 146-152, issued by U. S. Atomic Energy Comm. Tech.
Inf. Service Ext., Oak Eidge, Tenn.
Studies of parts of two drill cores of the Chattanooga shale were madeto determine whether a correlation between laminae could be establishedover a distance of half a mile. No periodicity in the thick or thin bands
was noted and "variation in the persistence of microlaminae" could bedemonstrated in individual core specimens.
Identifiable plant materials in the Chattanooga shale include Foerstia,
a group of planktonic marine algae, drift wood of Callixylon, and one
large algoid plant, Prototaxites. Some "nearly pure coaly mineral-freestreaks that probably represent the bituminous remains of Callixylon * * *have proved [to be] unusually radioactive.""Seven varieties of anomalous spore-like bodies are distinguished amongorganic constituents of Devonian black shale * * *. Abundant spores ofundoubted land plants have been found, but * * * these contrast strongly
with the spore-like microfossils * * *" of uncertain affinity referred to
the form genus Tasmanites. "Usually the latter types are dominant [inthe Chattanooga shale] and land plant spores are rarely seen."
Segregations of Foerstia thalli were made from the Huron member of
the Ohio shale collected near Columbus, Ohio, and ash, colorimetric oil
assay, uranium, and semiquantitative spectrographic determinations were
made. Cu, Mo, Mn, V, Y, and U are shown to be more abundant in theash of the Foerstia than in the ash of the shale matrix. The determination of organic elements in the Foerstia concentrate is also shown. These
data are preliminary and data from more sample localities "would aid inshowing whether any of the trends of variation between the organic concentrate and matrix are consistent * * *«" These studies may reveal asystematic variation in organic elements as does coal in a different
depositional environment.

4ft.

Snider, J. L., 1953, Radioactivity of some coal and shale of Pennsylvanian
age in Ohio: U. S. Geol. Survey TEI-404, 22 p., issued by U. S. Atomic
Energy Comm. Tech. Inf. Service Ext., Oak Ridge, Tenn.

^URANIUM-BEARING MARINE BLACK SHALES IN UNITED STATES 305

Measurements were made of the radioactivity of the commercially important coal beds and associated rocks of the Pottsville, Allegheny, andMonongahela formations of Pennsylvanian age in eastern Ohio.
Only 5 samples contain an estimated 0.001 percent or more equivalenturanium; 2 of these were shale and 3 were coal. Two samples of shale,both from just above the Middle Kittanning coal of the Allegheny formation, were analyzed in the laboratory. One of these, from a bed of fossiliferous and pyritiferous marine shale about 6 feet thick (from Carroll
County) contains 0.0004 percent uranium, 89.2 percent ash, and 0.0005 percent uranium in ash. The other sample, from a bed of fossiliferous
marine shale about 6 inches thick (from Tuscarawas County) contains
0.003 percent equivalent uranium but only 0.0007 percent uranium, 88.6
percent ash, and 0.0008 percent uranium in ash.
None of the rocks sampled contain sufficient uranium to be of economic
importance as a source of uranium at present.
<82

Snider, J. L., 1953, Reconnaissance for uranium in coal and shale insouthern West Virginia and southwestern Virginia: U. S. Geol. Survey
TEI-409, 28 p., issued by U. S. Atomic Energy Comm. Tech. Inf. Service Ext., Oak Ridge, Tenn.
In 1952 a reconnaissance for uranium in coal and associated rocks wasmade in southern West Virginia and southwestern Virginia. In addition
to checking the outcrops with radiation-detection equipment, channel
samples of coal, shale, and clay of Late Devonian, Mississippian, andPennsylvanian age were collected for laboratory analysis. Two channel
samples of a black fissile shale of Late Devonian age from Lee County,
Va., contain as much as 0.004 percent equivalent uranium. Other sandstone and shale associated with the coal beds contain from 0.001 to
0.003 percent equivalent uranium. All the coals sampled contain 0.001
percent or less equivalent uranium.
The results of radiometric field examinations of measured stratigraphic
sections are as follows:
Wise formation, Pennsylvanian age, Wise County, Va. Shale and sandy
shale in 6 beds, ranging from 10 to 65 feet in thickness, contain an estimated 0.001 to 0.002 percent equivalent uranium.
Norton formation, Pennsylvanian age, Wise County, Va. Shale andsandy shale in 15 beds, ranging from 4 to 125 feet in thickness, contain an
estimated 0.001 to 0.002 percent equivalent uranium.
Kanawha formation, Pennsylvanian age, McDoivell County, W. Va. Fossiliferous marine gray shale and sandy shale in 4 beds, ranging from 1
to 30 feet in thickness, contain an estimated 0.003 percent equivalenturanium.
Price formation, Mississippian age, Pulaski County, Va. Shale and silty
shale in 9 beds, ranging from 3 to 20 feet in thickness, contain an estimated 0.001 to 0.002 percent equivalent uranium. Siltstone in 1 bed,measuring 17 feet in thickness, contains an estimated 0.001 percent
equivalent uranium.
All other shales and siltstones examined in the field or sampled andanalyzed contain less than 0.001 percent equivalent uranium.

306

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHIES OF URANIUM GEOLOGY63

Snider, J. L., 1954, Reconnaissance for uranium in the Indiana coal field r
U. S. Geol. Survey TEM-784, 26 p., issued by U. S. Atomic Energy
Comm. Tech. Inf. Service Ext., Oak Ridge, Tenn.
A reconnaissance examination for radioactivity in coal and associatedrocks was made in the Indiana coal field of southwestern Indiana. This
field is a part of the Eastern Interior coal province which also includes
areas in southern Illinois and western Kentucky. Sandstone, siltstone,.
shale, limestone, clay, and coal were examined in the Mansfield, Brazil,
Staunton, Linton, Petersburg, Dugger, and Shelburn formations, all ofPennsylvanian age. Most of the coal beds examined in Indiana contaia
less than 0.001 percent uranium.
A marine black shale bed 1 foot' thick and just overlying coal No. V
of the Petersburg formation in Pike County, Ind., contains as much as
0.021 percent uranium; other marine black shales generally contain 0.005
percent or less equivalent uranium.
Twenty-eight samples of shales of differing lithologic character were
tested for uranium content in the laboratory. Of these, 20 "shale" samples contain an average of about 0.004 percent and a maximum of 0.01
percent equivalent uranium, 8 "gray shale" samples contain an averageof about 0.003 percent and a maximum of 0.004 percent equivalent uranium, and 20 "black shale" samples contain an average of about O.OOT
percent and a maximum of 0.021 percent equivalent uranium. In addition, 10 siltstone samples and 1 mudstone sample contain less than 0.001
percent equivalent uranium, and a pyrite nodule from a sample of blackshale contains about 0.001 percent equivalent uranium.
The shale beds above the No. V coal (Petersburg formation) and
Minshall coal (Minshall formation) contain in places an average of about
0.006 percent equivalent uranium. "The radioactive shale was above
the coal at all localities sampled * * * There appears to be a relationship between radioactivity and lithologic type of shale * * * rather thanto position in relation to the underlying coal or overlying limestone. * * *The very dark gray shale containing abundant organic matter is moreradioactive than the lighter colored shale containing less organic matter * * *." The shale with the greatest radioactivity is described as"grayish black to black, hard, very fissile when weathered, concoidal
fracture when fresh, satiny luster, vitrain bands, few pyritic nodules.""The fact that the radioactive matter was deposited contemporaneouslywith the shale is indicated by the wide areal extent of the radioactivity
in a stratigraphically limited shale unit. The source of the radioactivity
could be uranium in sea .water * * *." The vitrain stringers are indicative of plant material which "may have absorbed radioactive elementsfrom the sea water. * * * The black shale above coal V is widespreadin Indiana and adjacent States and the reserves of shale are large."64

Stockdale, P. B., 1955, An investigation of the Chattanooga black shaleof Tennessee as a source of uranium Progress report, Jan. 1, 1955,
to June 31, 1955 (Univ. of Tenn.) : U. S. Atomic Energy Comm.
ORO-143, 11 p., issued by U. S. Atomic Energy Comm. Tech. Inf.
Service Ext, Oak Ridge, Tenn.
This is a progress report of a continuing project begun In November
1951 at the University of Tennessee. The primary purpose of the project"is to obtain a complete geologic picture of the Chattanooga shale in the

URANIUM-BEARING MARINE BLACK SHALES IN UNITED STATES 307

outcrop area of the Eastern Highland Rim and Northern Highland Rimof Tennessee and in a small area of southern Kentucky, with special
emphasis upon stratigraphic relationships * * *."The Chattanooga shale lies beneath 15,000 square miles of the Highland Rim and the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee. "Assuming an
average thickness of 25 feet for the Chattanooga formation and an average grade of 0.0025 percent, the calculations show approximately 20,000,000 tons of uranium.""The best average uranium grade in the Chattanooga shale in Tennessee is in the Gassaway member and the most readily accessible shalein large amounts with shallowest overburden is on the Highland Rim."
Preliminary reserve estimates of uranium in the Gassaway member of
5 counties in the northern half of the Eastern Highland Rim indicate an
average uranium content of 0.0057 percent, an average thickness of the
Gassaway member of 15.8 feet, and total reserves of 1,810,000 tons ofuranium.
5Strahl, E. O., Camilli, Elena, Short, N. M., Silverman, E. N., Weiser, L. A.,
Wright, H. D., and Bates, T. F., 1954, An investigation of the mineralogy, petrography, and paleobotany of uranium-bearing shales
and lignites, Scope A Shales; Third annual report Period of Apr. 1,
1953, to Mar. 31, 1954 (College of Mineral Industries, Pennsylvania
State University) : U. S. Atomic Energy Comm. NYO-6060, 70 p.,
issued by U. S. Atomic Energy Comm. Tech. Inf. Service Ext., Oak
Ridge, Tenn.
Continuing studies were made at Pennsylvania State University, on
behalf of the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission, to find the nature of theuranium-bearing compound or compounds and their associations and thecontrolling factors of uranium deposition in uraniferous shales. Sixty
samples selected from a drill core of 35 feet of Chattanooga shale fromthe Young's Bend area of the eastern Highland Rim of Tennessee were
utilized in the studies. The perfection of laboratory methods has resulted in the development of several important techniques including theapplication of ozonization procedures to remove carbonaceous material
from thin section.
Qualitative and quantitative mineralogical studies of the 60 drill-coresamples have shown that the major constituents, in addition to organic
matter, are quartz, illite, pyrite, kaolin, feldspar, mica, and chlorite. Accessory minerals include carbonates, zircon, tourmaline, and apatite.
"Specific samples, however, show a great variation in mineral content."
A careful study of the 60 core samples "has yielded statistically significant correlations between the amount of uranium and some of the
shale constituents." The correlation of the amount of uranium is positive with respect to the "blackness," or color of the sample; sulfur content; and associated carbon and pyrite content. The correlation of theamount of uranium is negative with respect to the content of feldspar, clay,
and FesOz. Contrary to general belief, the black beds which contain moreuranium are coarser grained than the gray beds.
Alpha-track studies of 13 thin sections show that significantly fewer
tracks are associated with quartz plus feldspar whereas significantly
more tracks are associated with opaques (mainly organic matter andpyrite).

308

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHIES OF URANIUM GEOLOGY"The data make it evident that the concentration of uranium in theChattanooga shale is not due to the presence of any one of the componentsstudied but rather to a combination."
66

Swanson, V. E., 1955, Uranium in carbonaceous rocks, black shale investigations, midcontinent Devonian shales, in Geologic investigations ofradioactive deposits Semiannual progress report, Dec. 1, 1954, tO'
May 31, 1955: U. S. Geol. Survey TEI^540, p. 169-170, issued by
U. S. Atomic Energy Comm. Tech. Inf. Service Ext., Oak Ridge, Tenn.
"An abnormally high-grade uraniferous black shale was found near
Yellville, Marion County, Ark. Two select samples contain 0.12 and0.71 percent uranium, respectively. The black shale is confined to a lensless than 3 feet thick in the lower Mississippian basal sandstone memberof the Boone formation and 'is lithologically similar to the Chattanooga
shale of northern Arkansas. The shale having the highest radioactivity
contains much coalified plant material. Although analytical data on additional samples collected are not yet available, the average uranium content
of the shale in the lens is believed to be less than 0.02 percent uranium.'^

67

Swanson, V. E., 1956, Uranium in marine black shales of the UnitedStates: Internat. Conf. on Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, Geneva^
1955, Proc., v. 6, Geology of uranium and thorium, p. 430-434; U. S^
Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 300, p. 451-456.
Hundreds of black shale units, ranging in age from Precambrian toTertiary, have been examined in the search for uraniferous marine blackshales in the United States. This examination has been undertaken forthe most part, on a reconnaissance basis utilizing radiometric scanning
methods with some sampling. The radioactivity of some subsurface shaleunits penetrated by oil and gas wells has been determined from gamma-ray
well logs and cores. A few widespread shales contain on the order of
0.007 percent uranium, but "with few exceptions, the uranium content
of known marine black shales of the United States does not exceed 0.02
percent, and the contents of few shale units having a thickness of morethan 2 feet exceed 0.005 percent uranium." Although not currently being
exploited, these vast deposits of low-grade uraniferous shale represent an
extremely large reserve tonnage of uranium.
The uranium mineral or minerals in black shales have not been identified. "The uranium is apparently thoroughly disseminated in the shale but
is associated most closely with the contained organic matter" and waspresumably adsorbed from solution by this organic material.
In general, significantly uraniferous marine black shales contain (a)abundant organic matter with some oil content; (b) pyrite in the formof lenses, nodules, and minute crystals; (c) phosphate as nodules ordisseminated particles; and (d) abnormal amounts of trace elements,
such as copper, nickel, vanadium, germanium, and molybdenum. The
uranium content generally decreases sharply with small increases of calcium carbonate. Many marine black shales are virtually nonuraniferous
even though they are lithologieally similar to the more uraniferous marine
black shales.
Chattanooga Shale
The Chattanooga shale, of Devonian and Mississippian age, is thelargest low grade reserve of uraniferous black shale in the United States.

URANIUM-BEARING MARINE BLACK SHALES IN UNITED STATES 309

It crops out in central Tennessee and adjacent parts of Alabama and
Kentucky, is generally less than 35 feet thick, and contains from 0.001
to 0.035 percent uranium. It consists mostly of black siliceous shale andgray claystone, with a few thin sandstone beds, calcareous lenses, chert
layers, and phosphatic nodules. The black shale units of the Chattanooga
are composed of about 35 percent clay, feldspar and mica; about 25 percent silt-sized quartz grains; about 20 percent organic matter; about 15
percent pyrite, and minor amounts of chlorite, phosphate, calcite, andheavy minerals.
"Correlatives of the Chattanooga shale, all slightly radioactive, are
the New Albany shale of Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky, the Antrim
shale of Michigan, the Sunbury and Ohio shales of Ohio and Kentucky;
the Genesee group, Dunkirk member of the Perrysburg formation andother thin shales of New York, the Chattanooga shale of Kansas, northern.
Arkansas, and northern Oklahoma, and the Woodford chert of Oklahoma
and Texas. The Chattanooga shale and its correlatives accumulated in awidespread relatively shallow epicontinental sea * * *" where an extremely slow accumulation of mineral detrital material and a relatively
high accumulation of carbonaceous debris took place.
Pennsylvanian Shales, Midcontinent Region
About 2,500 feet of rocks of Pennsylvanian age are exposed in eastern
Kansas and nearby parts of Oklahoma and Missouri. Marine black shale
beds, generally only a few feet thick, are scattered throughout the sequence. Many of these beds are units of cyclic deposition that include
layers of sandstone, coal and limestone. About 20 of the black shaleunits in this sequence are abnormally uraniferous and contain more than
0.003 percent uranium.
"Many of these black shales of Pennsylvanian age are characterized byirregularly distributed small phosphatic concretions or nodules * * V
These nodules may contain as much as 0.10 percent uranium with anaverage of 0.015 to 0.020 percent uranium and are generally more radioactive than the enclosing shales. No correlation has been found between
uranium content and (a) the abundance of these nodules in the shales,(b) the thickness of the shale beds, or (c) the lithologic character ofthe shales.
These thin black shale units of Pennsylvanian age were apparently
deposited in an extremely shallow sea with a bottom reducing environment and accumulation of abundant organic debris. The uranium
in solution "was adsorbed in this bottom sludge, with a preferential chemical exchange bonding the uranium and the phosphate during the accretionary growth of the nodules."Phosphoria Formation
Two black pyritic and phosphatic shale members of the Phosphoria
formation of Permian age, exposed in southwestern Montana, eastern
Idaho, and adjacent parts of Wyoming and Utah, contain as much as
30 to 38 percent P2O6 and from 0.010 to 0.033 percent uranium. A positive
correlation exists between the uranium content and the abundance ofphosphatic and carbonaceous matter, and apparently these constituentscontain the uranium. "The Phosphoria formation may be roughly divided
into a miogeosynclinal facies on the west and a platform facies on the310

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHIES OF URANIUM GEOLOGY

east." A genetic similarity to the other uraniferous black shales describedis suggested, though it is probable that the sediments accumulated in the
Phosphoria sea at a more rapid rate.
Other Uraniferous Shales
Other uraniferous marine black shales in the United States include
thin black shale beds of Mississippian age in Montana and Utah, phosphatic black shale in the Barnett formation of Mississippian age in central
Texas, parts of the Heath shale of Mississippian age in central Montana,black shale units in the Hermosa formation of Pennsylvanian age inwestern Colorado, and pyritic and carbonaceous shale in the Sharon
Springs member of the Pierre shale of Late Cretaceous age in southern
South Dakota, northeastern Colorado, and adjacent parts of Nebraska
and Kansas.
Geologic SignificanceAlthough marine carbonaceous shales accumulated in miogeosynclinal
and eugeosynclinal areas, the general tectonic and paleogeographic category into which most uraniferous shales fall is that of the epicontinental
area. This environment was common to much of the interior of theUnited States during several intervals of the Paleozoic. The long-term
inundation of a broad expanse of a relatively flat surface and the lackof a source of a large amount of clastic sediment made possible the development of specific geochemical conditions that controlled the accumulation and preservation of uraniferous carbonaceous muds.
68

Thompson, M. E., 1953, Distribution of uranium in rich phosphate beds of
the Phosphoria formation: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 988-D, p. 45-67.
Five sets of "close" samples [of phosphate-rich beds from the Phosphoria
formation] were analyzed radiometrically for uranium and chemically for
P2O6, CaO, organic matter, and loss on ignition. A Rosiwal analysis wasmade of thin sections of one set of samples. The results of the analyses
have been plotted on graphs and on scatter diagrams, and coefficients ofcorrelation are given for uranium with CaO, P2O5, organic matter, and loss
on ignition. Preliminary studies indicate that the concentration of uranium in these samples of phosphate rock is not due wholly to phosphate
content but may depend in part on organic matter or on other components.
The correlations of uranium with P2O5 are poor in the groups of samples
with smaller amounts of uranium but are good in the groups of samples
containing more uranium. Author's abstract
The samples contain from 0.004 to 0.065 percent equivalent uranium,from 1 to 36 percent phosphate, and from 1 to 12 percent organic matter.

69

Tourtelot, H. A., 1956, Radioactivity and uranium content of some Cretaceous shales, central Great Plains: Am. Assoc. Petroleum Geologists
Bull., v. 40, p. 62-83.
The Sharon Springs member of the Pierre shale of Late Cretaceous age,a hard black organic-rich shale, similar in many characteristics to the
Chattanooga shale, is radioactive throughout central and western South
Dakota, most of Nebraska, northern Kansas, and northeastern Colorado.

URANIUM-BEARING MARINE BLACK SHALES IN UNITED STATES 311
In the Missouri River valley, thin beds of the shale contain as much as
0.01 percent uranium. Beds correlated with the Sharon Springs are as
much as 20 feet thick or more and have a radioactivity of about 0.01 percent equivalent uranium in southwestern Nebraska, according to interpretation of gamma-ray well logs. The radioactivity and uranium content
are highest in the Missouri River valley in South Dakota and in southwestern Nebraska where the shale rests disconformably on the underlying
Niobrara formation, also of Cretaceous age. Near the Black Hills, andin the area on the north, the shale of the Sharon Springs member rests on
a wedge of the Gammon ferruginous member of the Pierre, which is represented by a disconformity on the east and south, and the radioactivityof the shale is low, although greater than that of overlying strata. The
shale also contains a suite of trace elements in which arsenic, boron,
chromium, copper, molybdenum, nickel, selenium, and vanadium are conspicuous. Molybdenum and tin are less abundant in the Sharon Springs
than in similar shales of Paleozoic age, and silver and selenium are moreabundant.
Uranium determinations and semiquantitative spectrographic analyses
are shown in tabular form and include analyses of samples of Big Stone
Gap shale of Devonian and Mississippian age from Wise County, southwestern Virginia, 0.004 percent uranium; shale of Devonian age from
Burnet County, central Texas, 0.01 percent uranium; and Chattanooga
shale of Devonian and Mississippian age from Tennessee, 0.003 to 0.008
percent uranium.
In the Great Plains region, the upper 30-50 feet of Cretaceous shales
overlain unconformably by the White River group of Oligocene age havebeen altered by pre-Oligocene weathering and later groundwater conditions
to a brightly colored zone. This altered zone in the Niobrara formation
has masses of unaltered shale in its lower part that contain as much as
0.1 percent equivalent uranium and 0.03 percent uranium. This uranium
is believed to have been derived from the overlying White River group.
From author's abstract70

Twenhofel, W. S., Finch, W. I., Osterwald, F. W., Bell, K. G., and Stead,
F. W., 1954, Resource studies, in Geologic investigations of radioactive
deposits Semiannual progress report, June 1 to Nov. 30, 1954: U. S.
Geol. Survey TEI^90, p. 298-299, issued by U. S. Atomic Energy
Comm. Tech. Inf. Service Ext., Oak Ridge, Tenn.
Preliminary analytical data indicate that the natural radioactivity ofrocks at the surface of the earth varies widely from a few parts per
million to possibly 50 parts per million of equivalent uranium. The
authors state:
Further analysis of the data should clarify the expectable "normal" variation in radioactivity for a few limited environments such as the Mancos
shale, which ranges from 6 parts per million to 40 parts per million ofequivalent uranium where the total radioactivity of 40 parts per million
consists of 20 parts per million caused by the uranium series of elements
and 20 parts per miUion caused by the potassium series of elements.
It is now apparent that a rather significant variation in the total radioactivity of some shales can be attributed to variation in [radioactive] potassium content with no change in uranium content. These studies are being
continued.

312

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHIES OF URANIUM GEOLOGY71

Weaver, Paul, 1942, A theory of the distribution of radioactivity in marine
sedimentary rocks: Geophysics, v. 7, p. 192-198.
The relative gamma-ray intensity of muds, clays, and shales is usually
the highest of any of the sediments, as determined by gamma-ray
logs of wells. According to recent estimates, the rate of sedimentation
for marine shales is about 1 foot per 900 years (thickness after compaction). Thus, the gamma-ray measurements of marine sedimentaryrocks indicate that in general the amount of radioactivity in marine
sediments varies inversely with the rate of sedimentation.
"The most recent measurements of the radioactivity of sea water suggest
an increase with depth, which indicates a very slow settling rate ofsmall particles." The possible sources of these mineral particles are(a) fine river muds, (b) volcanic dust from eruptions, (c) meteor clouds,and (d) general dust circulated by large wind movements. Of thesesources, only the last is considered to have the necessary attributes toaccount for a widespread and uniform deposit of relatively high radioactivity.

72

Wedow, Helmuth, Jr., 1954, Reconnaissance for radioactive deposits inthe Eagle-Nation area, east-central Alaska, 1948: U. S. Geol. Survey
Circ. 316, 9 p.
"Reconnaissance of radioactive deposits in sedimentary rocks ofProterozoic and Paleozoic age, and granite of Mesozoic(?) age together
with its Tertiary sedimentary derivatives, was conducted in 1948 in the
Eagle-Nation area, east-central Alaska. None of the rocks examined
contains more than 0.003 percent equivalent uranium except for blackshale beds in the Calico Bluff formation of Late Mississippian age andin granite of Mesozoic(?) age and its sedimentary derivatives. The
more radioactive black shale beds in the Calico Bluff formation range
in thickness from % to 7 feet. Two units near the base of the formation
appear to be persistent in the area: Radioactive unit A, with an average
thickness of G.6 feet, which contains an average of 0.007 percent equivalenturanium and 0.004 percent uranium, and radioactive unit B, with anaverage thickness of 5.2 feet, which contains an average of 0.006 percent
equivalent uranium and 0.003 percent uranium. Phosphatic pellets fromunit B at one locality contain 0.022 percent equivalent uranium, 0.019
percent uranium, and 15 percent P2O5." The maximum uranium content
of the black shale in the 2 units is 0.006 percent. Although marine blackshales of Cambrian, Ordovician( ?), Devonian, Early (?) Mississippian,
Permian, and Triassic age are the most radioactive in the rock sequencesthat were traversed, they contain 0.003 percent or less equivalent uranium.

73

Wedow, Helmuth, Jr., White, M. G., and Moxham, R. M., 1951, Interim
report on an appraisal of the uranium possibilities of Alaska: U. S.
Geol. Survey TEM-235, 124 p. (open-file report). See p. 11, 98, 101,
106, and 113.
Summaries of the geology and mineral deposits, and appraisals of theuranium possibilities of the various regions of Alaska are presented inthis preliminary report. A short statement of previous knowledge andinvestigations of radioactive materials in the Territory also is given.

URANIUM-BEARING MARINE BLACK SHALES IN UNITED STATES 313
During the reconnaissance investigations, outcroppings of various rocks,
including sedimentary formations, were tested for radioactivity. A summary of those shales containing uranium of probable syngenetic origin
is given below.
Northern Alaska
The uraniferous oolitic phosphate and phosphatic shales in the Lisburne
group of Mississippian age along the north flank of the Brooks Range
are the only uraniferous sedimentary rocks known in northern Alaska.
Random samples from a phosphatic unit, which is similar in appearance
and composition to the bedded phosphates of the Phosphoria formationin northwestern United States, average 31.95 percent PaOs and 0.013
percent uranium.
Porcupine District

Radiometric traverses were made over thick sequences of sedimentaryrocks of Precambrian and Paleozoic age and associated intrusive rocks
in the Porcupine district, which is in the northeastern part of the Upper
Yukon region of east-central Alaska. The black shales of Silurian,Devonian, and Mississippian age, which were among the most radioactive
rocks traversed, contain not more than 0.005 percent equivalent uranium.
Tolovana District
In the Tolovana district, which lies northwest of Fairbanks in eastcentral Alaska, black shales of Mississippian age were found to containnot more than 0.002 percent equivalent uranium.
Eagle District
Black shale beds near the base of the Calico Bluff formation of Mississippian age in the Eagle district of the upper Yukon River contain between
0.005 and 0.01 percent equivalent uranium. Phosphatic pellets and nodules
that are scattered through some of these radioactive black shale beds,
contain as much as 0.02 percent equivalent uranium.
74

Wedow, Helmuth, Jr., White, M. G., Stevens, J. M., and Tolbert, G. E.,
1954, Reconnaissance for radioactive deposits in east-central Alaska,
1949: U. S. Geol. Survey Circ. 335, 22 p. See p. 1-3.
Chapter A is concerned with the Fairbanks and Livengood quadrangles in east-central Alaska. In 1949, several mines and prospects inthese quadrangles were examined for radioactivity. Metamorphic andsedimentary rocks of Precambrian and Paleozoic age were examined forradioactivity along the Elliott Highway.
The greatest radioactivity found in the rocks along the Elliott Highway was in an iron-stained Precambrian schist and in a carbonaceous (?)
shale of Middle Devonian or Mississippian and Pennsylvanian age.
Samples of these rocks contain 0.003 and 0.004 percent equivalent uranium, respectively.
Subsequent chapters contain no information on radioactivity of possible syngenetic origin in marine black shales or phyllites.

314

75

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHIES OF URANIUM GEOLOGY

Welch, S. W., 1953, Radioactivity of coal and associated rocks in theanthracite fields of eastern Pennsylvania: U. S. Geol. Survey TEI348, 31 p., issued by U. S. Atomic Energy Comm. Tech. Inf. Service
Ext., Oak Ridge, Tenn.
In 1953 a reconnaissance study was made of the radioactivity in theanthracite coal fields of eastern Pennsylvania. Selected coal beds andassociated rocks were examined in the Pottsville, Allegheny, and Conemaugh formations of Pennsylvanian age from each of the four majorcoal fields: (a) the Southern, (b) the Eastern Middle, (c) the Western
Middle, and (d) the Northern. Forty-six localities were visited and 150
coal and 3 shale samples were collected. The radioactivity of the coal,siltstone, and claystone is estimated as 0.001 or less percent equivalenturanium, and the shale contains from about 0.001 to 0.003 percent equivalent uranium.
Most of the shale is described as dark gray and carbonaceous. The
shale beds range in thickness from 1 inch to 10 feet, most of them being
4 feet or less in thickness. In Schuylkill County in the Southern field
a bed of medium light-gray shale 2 feet in thickness from the Allegheny (?) formation contains about 0.003 percent equivalent uranium.
The author concludes that the uranium content of the rocks in theanthracite fields of eastern Pennsylvania is "too low to be of economic
interest at the present time."

76

Welch, S. W., 1953, Radioactivity of coal and associated rock in the coal
fields of eastern Kentucky and southern West Virginia: U. S. Geol.
Survey TEI-347A, 38 p., issued by U. S. Atomic Energy Comm. Tech.
Inf. Service Ext., Oak Ridge, Tenn.
In 1952 a reconnaissance was made of the radioactivity of the coals
and associated rocks of eastern Kentucky and Logan and Mingo Counties,
W. Va. The coal-bearing beds of this region are in the Lee and Breathitt
formations of Pennsylvanian age. Most of the radioactivity measurements were made from samples from operating coal mines and consisted
chiefly of coal, with some samples of shale, siltstone, limestone, sandstone, underclay, and flint fire clay. Two samples of intrusive dike rockalso were tested. The radiometric tests showed the coal to have little
or no radioactivity: 0.000 to 0.001 percent estimated equivalent uranium.
The other rocks sampled were slightly radioactive and contained about
0.002 percent estimated equivalent uranium.
Shales were examined and tested at 59 out of the 61 localities visited.
Only 3 out of 132 shale samples tested contain as much as 0.002 percent
equivalent uranium. These 3 shale samples were taken from Breathitt,
Knott, and Perry Counties in Kentucky. They are predominantly darkgray and carbonaceous and two of them contain marine fossils. The
shale beds range in thickness from 1 to 10 feet at the localities sampled.
At 4 localities, 7 siltstone beds were tested, but all contain less than
0.001 percent estimated equivalent uranium.
"No correlation between radioactivity and stratigraphic position nor
between radioactivity and structural relationship was detected."

URANIUM-BEARING MARINE BLACK SHALES IN UNITED STATES 315

77

White, M. G., 1952, Reconnaissance for radioactive deposits along theupper Porcupine and lower Coleen Rivers, northeastern Alaska: U. S.
Geol. Survey Circ. 185,13 p.
A reconnaissance search for radioactive deposits was undertaken in1948 in northeastern Alaska.
"The highest equivalent uranium content found in the sedimentary rocks
on the upper Porcupine River, northeastern Alaska, is 0.005 percent."
Black shale and black slate in the Tindir group of Precambrian and
Early Cambrian (?) age contain from 0.001 to 0.004 percent equivalenturanium. Black shale of Silurian age contains the highest amount ofradioactivity and included a range of 0.001 to 0.005 percent equivalenturanium. Black shales of Devonian age are virtually nonradioactive
and samples contain no more than 0.002 percent equivalent uranium.
The black shales of Mississippian and Pennsylvanian age contain from0.001 to 0.003 percent equivalent uranium.
Although black shales have the highest radioactivity of the rocks tested
along the lower Coleen River, none of these rocks (of Devonian orMississippian and Pennsylvanian? age) contains more than 0.003 percent
equivalent uranium.

78

White, M. G., and Killeen, P. L., 1953, Reconnaissance for radioactive
deposits in the lower Yukon-Kuskokwim Highlands region, Alaska,
1947: U. S. Geol. Survey Circ. 255,18 p. See p. 1 and 9.
Investigations in the region between the lower Yukon and Kuskokwim
Rivers in western Alaska reveal that the only abnormal radioactivity inthe vicinity of Flat is due to uraniferous zircon, an accessory mineral inmonzonite.
The sedimentary rock sequence in the Flat area, consisting of gray andblack shales interbedded with sandy shale and sandstone of Late Cretaceous age, was tested in the field for radioactivity but results were
negative. "Particular emphasis was placed on outcroppings of black shale
in an attempt to locate any bed that might contain a significant quantityof radioactive material. Samples from three different localities that gave
the highest radiometric readings in the field contain only 0.002 percent
equivalent uranium."

79

Whitehead, W. L., 1950, Studies of the effect of radioactivity in the transformation of marine organic materials into petroleum hydrocarbons,
Research Project 43c, in Report of progress Fundamental researchon occurrence and recovery of petroleum, 1948-1949: New York, Am.
Petroleum Inst, p. 226-229.
This is a biennial report on the progress of continuing research conductedby the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for the American Petroleum
Institute concerning the quantitative evaluation of the amount of crude
oil formed by the effects of radioactivity on marine organic substances.
The studies include research on (a) the yield factor for reactions producing hydrocarbons, (b) the loss of radioactive energy through absorption
in the sediments, and (c) the content and mode of occurrence of radioactive elements in organic marine sediments and sedimentary rocks.

316

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHIES OF URANIUM GEOLOGYRadioactivity determinations of fractions of powdered organic shales
indicate that the finest size organic fractions may be more radioactive
than the more argillaceous fractions. Measurements of the potassium
content and the radioactivity of 10 formations were made by using aflame photometer, and by alpha-particle and net beta counts. The rocks
studied are from 10 sedimentary formations of marine origin. Of these,
there are 3 from east Texas: the Woodbine formation, the Eagle Ford
shale, and the Austin chalk; 3 from southern Mississippi: the Tuscaloosa
and the Eutaw formations and the Selma chalk; 2 from Oklahoma: theCherokee shale (former usage) and the Chattanooga shale; the Woodford
shale from western Texas and the Miocene nodular shale from the Los
Angeles Basin of California.
Graphs indicate the frequency distribution of total and net beta counts
and the potassium content for the Eagle Ford shale, the Woodbine sand,and the Tuscaloosa and Eutaw formations. These curves indicate a very
low variation of radioactivity. A graph shows a slight increase in total
beta emission with depth for oil well core samples of the Playa del Rey
shale [probably Miocene nodular shale of this paper].
80.

Whitehead, W. L., 1952 Studies of the effect of radioactivity in the transformation of marine organic materials into petroleum hydrocarbons,
Research Project 43c, in Report of progress Fundamental researchon occurrence and recovery of petroleum, 1950-1951: New York, Am.
Petroleum lost., p. 192-201.
This is a biennial report on the progress of continuing research conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for the American
Petroleum Institute concerning the quantitative evaluation of the amountof crude oil formed by the effects of radioactivity on marine organic substances.
Analyses for potassium and organic carbon were made on several organic
marine sedimentary rocks (see reference 79). Tables and graphs thatshow the results of these determinations plus total and net beta counts
are included. It was found that the net beta activity increased withan increase of potassium for all the formations tested except the Miocene
nodular shale of southern California. The Antrim shale of Michigan wasshown to have the highest median content of potassium (2.77 percent).
Excellent correlation between organic carbon content and radioactivity
suggests that a genetic relationship exists between the two. An increasein radioactivity with an increase in the phosphorus content (as nodulesof calcium phosphate) is noted for the Miocene nodular shale and theCherokee shale (former usage) of Oklahoma.
The apparent linear relationship between the carbon and phosphate
content of the Miocene nodular shale suggests a common genetic factor in
the environment of accumulation. The phosphorus in ancient seas indirectly may have been responsible for the abundant organic matter aswell as the precipitation of uranium. The organic matter, when precipitated as colloids, also may have taken some of the uranium out ofsolution.
Studies of the "tracks" that alpha particles make on photographic film
were made of the Cherokee, the Miocene nodular shale, the Woodford
shale of Oklahoma, and the Woodford shale of Texas. The results are
given in tabular form and two photomicrographs of "tracks" from theURANIUM-BEARING MARINE BLACK SHALES IN UNITED STATES 317

first two named shales are included. A ratio of the number of alpha particles originating in inorganic material to the number originating in organic material in the thin sections of the shales tested is 2.4 to 1.
81

Whitehead, W. L., 1954, Hydrocarbons formed by the effects of radioactivity and their role in the origin of petroleum, in Faul, Henry, ed.,Nuclear geology: New York, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., p. 195-218.
Previous studies conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for the American Petroleum Institute, into the origin of petroleum
through the bombardment of certain organic substances and their related
compounds, are reviewed.
The average total radioactivity of 8 composite samples of sedimentary
formations (including 5 shales) is about 4X10"12 grams of equivalentradium per gram of sediment. It was proved that a negligible amount ofhydrocarbons are formed by the effects of radioactive bombardment, but
this cannot account for the great bulk of the oil to be found in the sediments.
The review includes tables and figures that show the relation of radioactivity to the carbon, potassium, and phosphorus content of several sedimentary formations, including the Antrim shale of Michigan, the Woodford shale of western Texas, the Cherokee shale (former usage) of Oklahoma, the Eagle Ford shale of eastern Texas, and the Miocene nodular
shale of southern California. An excellent correlation between radioactivity on the one hand, and phosphorus and organic carbon content, on
the other, was established for the Miocene nodular shale and Cherokee
shale. The radioactivity was shown to increase with an increase of potassium content for all the formations studied, with the exception of
the Miocene nodular shale.

INDEXESAUTHORS
Reference
Reference
No.
No.
.....
1 McVicker, L. D..........................._
48
Mapel, W. J..................................
43
Bachman, G. O...._______________
2 Mathez, Muriel_________________
28
Bain, G. W..................................
3 Moxham, R. M..________________ 44,72
Bates, T. F........_..............._...... 4,65
Beers, B. F._____________..____ 5,6 Narten, P. F...._........._.............. 45,46
Bell, K. G...__- .____..______._._ _.__ 7,8,70 Nelson, A. E____._.________.___
44
Beroni, E. P.____.______________ 9,33 Nelson,!. M...__.........__.._....... 41,46
Bradley, W. H.__._._..._._........
10 Nininger, B. D..___......................
47
Branson, C. C__________________
11
Osterwald,
F.
W.
Breger, I. A...._._..__....._.. 12,13,14,23
Brown, Andrew_________________
15 Ostrom, M. E_.
Brown, J. H., Jr.________________
16
Burbank, W. S______._________..
17 Patterson, E. D.______________ 35,49,50
Pepper, J. F________________.__
51
Burton, V. L................_._..........
18
17
Burwell, A. L______._____._____
11 Pierson, C. T................._.....__....
Butler, A. P., Jr...................._....... 19,20 Bankama, Kalervo.... __52
2
Camilli, Elena.......______________ 4,65 Bead, C. B_______________
53
Carswell, L. D__________________
39 Boss, V. F...................................
54
Chase, G. S......___._.__.._...._
11 Buch, J. W ...._._....__.__.......
Conant, L. C.___.__,___________
21 Bunnells, R. T.._...............__...._ 55,56
RusseU, W. L___._______.______ 57,58
Deul, Maurice________________ 13,22,23
52
Duncan, D. C_______.________
24 Sahama, T. G_____.____
Dunham, B. J__________________
25 Schleicher, J. A......_...___.........._ 55,56
Scnnabel, B. W._ __._......._.__ 20,59
Eargle, D. H.____________._____
26 Schopf, J. M................................. 14,60
Evans, B. D___________________
27 Short, N. M.._._._____._..______.___....._-_. 4,65
4,65
Everhart, D. L__...........__.......... 28,40 Silverman, E. N_.____________
Slack, H. A.......___..__..__.._..
37
Ferm, J. C...__.
Snider,!. L........._____..____._ 61,62,63
Finch, W. I..__.
Stead, F. W. ._._._._.__........
70
Fredrickson, A. F.
Stevens, J. M_._____________
74
Stockdale, P. B_...................... ....
64
Garrels, B. M......._____._____.....
40 Strahl, E. O.................................. 4,65
Glover, Lynn..-.________________
31 Sullivan, G. B__________________
18
Goodman, Clark________________ 6,8,27 Swanson, V. E.......................... .. 66,67
Gott, G. B...__.___._.............._ 32,33
Thompson, M. E.
Hill, J. W_.___._...._____......_
32 Tolbert, G. E__,73
Holland, H. D....._____._.__...._
34 Tourtelot; H. A...
Hopkins, M. E__________________
48 Twenhofel, W. S_.
70
Huddle, J. W................................
35
Van Nortwick, H. S____._.___......
56
Keller, W. D..___.___.___.____..
16
Weaver,Paul.....
71
Kepferle, B. C_.______________
36
Killeen, P. L.................................
78 Wedow, Helmuth, Jr... ................ 72,73,74
65
Krumbein, W. C________________
37 Weiser, L. A............_...._._____
Kulp, J. L____________________
34 Welch, S. W..... ....____________ 75,76
Kulstad, E. O...._________._....__
55 White, M. G...._.._.____..__ 73,74,77,78
White, W. A.....................____...-.
48
McDuflee, Clinton______________
55 Whitehead, W. L....................... 8,79,80,81
65
McKelvey, V. E...___________ 38,39,40,41 Wright, H. D.-..__.__._._______
33
McKeown, F. A....._________..._ 9,42,45 Wyant, D. G____._______
Alexander, F. M.

319

320

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHIES OF URANIUM GEOLOGYGEOGRAPHIC AREAS

Reference
No.
Alabama- ___________. 15,20,21,28,31,47,67
Alaska:General---10,19,28,41,47,73
Brooks Range._______________ 19,73
Coleen River, lower..__________
77
Eagle district.____.__....__...._
73
Eagle-Nation area______________
72
Elliott Highway
74
Fairbanks area. __________ _ __74
Flat area.___._____....______
78
Kuskokwim River area__________
78
Livengood area._______________
74
Matanuska Valley____________
44
Nome.-__________________
41
Porcupine River.._____________ 73,77
Richardson Highway___________
44
Tolovana district______________
73
Wrangell Mountains..._________.
44
Yukon River_______________ 19,73,78
Algeria-_.______________.____ 41,47
Arizona.._____________________ 2,24
Arkansas..._ _______________ 66,67
California: Los Angeles Basin, southern California.... .._.... 12,18,38,79,80,81
Colorado:
General-...
2,24,67,69
Dolores County..______________
17
Gunnison County______________
17
Lake County..______________
24
Ouray County....____________ 17,24
Red Mountain district...______
17
Uncompahgre district..________
17
Routt County, Steamboat Springs-..._
9
San Juan County, Red Mountain district.
17
San Miguel County..__________
17
Connecticut___________________
42

ReferenceNo.
Ind iana Continued
Vigo County...____________....
Warrick County....._ ...

35
35

Kansas:General.. 7,10,20,28,32,33,38,41,47,55,56,67,69
Butler County...._... .
32
Cowley County.______
32
Greenwood County....
32
Marion County..______.
32
Sedgwick County.... .
32
Wyandotte County...___
56
Kentucky:General- --.
20,21,28,47,57,64,67,76
Breathitt County..
76
Knott County._______
76
Perry County_76
Maine:
General.-...
46
Piscataquis County..
46
Somerset County
46
Michigan:
General..-.-__-___ 6,10,28,41,47,67,80,81
Osceola County.
5,6,12
Mississippi- 12,18,79
Missouri:
General... _- ----67
Ste. Genevieve County.._.
16,33,38Montana:
General.....
24,39,43,47,67
Daniels County..
43
Fergus County.
43
Gallatin County.
43
McCone County.
43
Musselshell County..
43
Roosevelt County
43
Morocco47

Egypt ___._________________
47
England._____________________
47 Nebraska:
General....
Estonia....__ .... .__.... 10,28,41,47
Dawes County..
Sheridan County
Florida___ 10,41,47,54
Nevada...- Georgia....
____.___...._ 21,31,47 New Hampshire
New Mexico:
General..
- Idaho....__ _______.... 24,39,41,43,47,67
McKinley County niinois:Mora County...
General.. __.... 3,35,37,47,48,50,57,67
Otero County...
Gallatin County______________
50
Sandoval County
Jefferson County._____________
50
Socorro County
Perry County_______________
50
Randolph County._____________
50 New York:
General... St. Glair County..______.__......
50
Adirondack Mountains__
Saline County________________
50
Albany County
Union County________________
48
Champlain Valley
Williamson County_____________
50
Columbia County
Indiana:Greene County.._
General-....._._____.__ 3,28,35,47,67
Hudson Highlands...
Indiana coal field_____________
63
Hudson Valley
Pike County......______._.. .. 35,63
Saratoga County
Vermillion County.___________
35

24,36,67,68
25
25- 24,39
42
2,24
23
2
2
2
2
28,42,61,67
45
45
46
45
45
42
46
46

321

INDEX
Reference
No.
"Nigeria.___"North Dakota-

.....
. -

47
43

Reference
No.
Texas Continued
Dallas County, Dallas __ _...
Hudspeth County. -_-_____...
Navarro County.....
Starr County ..-_.___.__.
Terry County..---- - - Trinidad....--- --___-_-_
Tunisia.____________________

26
26
8,27
8,27
26
57
47

Ohio:
General-.-. . . 28,47,61,67
Carroll County_______________
61
Cuyahoga County_____________
14^~ Franklin County, Columbus. ______
60
pt" Tuscarawas County___________-.
61'Oklahoma:
United States......... 3,10,19,28,33,38,41,47,54,59
General-.. .6, 7,10,11,18,20, 28,32,33,38, 41, 47, Utah:
53, 57, 58, 67, 79, 80, 81.
General--.. . 2,24,39,43,47,67
Pontotoc County, Fitts Pool_______
8
Cache County____.___
43
Seminole district-..____________.
6
Rich County
43
Tulsa County, Tulsa...--------_-_..
57
Uinta Basin-----.--_.... . ..
9

Pennsylvania:
Venezuela___ .-..
-.
57
General...._________________ 35, 75
Vermont:
Beaver County_______________
29
General-___________________ 42,45
Clearfield County____.............__
29
Chittenden County, Milton area.
42
Jefferson County.___________
29
Windham County, Brattleboro__ .
42
SchuylkiU County.. .. .......
75
Rutland County, Fairhaven
45
Virginia:"Bhode Island___________________
42
General.____.__._----------- 20,62
Russia..
.......... 3,7,10,28,41,47
Lee County-.._.
62
Pulaski County___.__ .
62South Africa..._._______.__.__ 13,41,54
Wise County_________ .
62,69South Dakota:
General...______________ 36,43,67,69
Shannon County_________ _____
25 West Virginia:
General....____ _- 49,62
Sweden3,7,10,13,28,38,40,41,47,52,53
Logan County
76
McDowell County-..._
62
Tennessee:
Marion County..-....
49
General- ..-1,4,14,15, 20, 21, 28, 31, 38, 40, 47,64,
Mingo County._ .
76
65, 67, 69.
Wetzel County._______.__.
49
Cumberland Plateau. ___________
64
Davidson County____________.
14 Wyoming:
General..... 9,20,24,33,38,39,40,41,43,47,54,67
Highland Rim area.__ ..._..-.. 4,15,64,65
Texas:
Carbon County..
9
Lincoln County..__________.... 9,23,24
General..... 8,12,18,26,53,67,69,79,80,81
Brewster County.._____________
26
Sweetwater County.
9
Teton County..
24
Burnet County __ . . __
69

322

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHIES OF URANIUM GEOLOGYSTBATIGBAPHIC UNITS

Reference
Reference
No.
No.
Allegheny formation___________ 29,49,61,75 Devonian rocks_________________. 1,2,
Alum shale, Sweden. 3,7,10,13,28,38,40,41,47,52, 53
3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 19, 20, 21,
Antrim shale._.._..._ 3, 5,6,7,10,12,47,67,80,81
22, 23, 26, 28, 31, 32, 33, 38, 40, 41, 45, 47,
Arbuckle group_________________
32
48, 51, 53, 54, 57, 58, 59, 60, 62, 64, 65, 66,
Austin chalk..__________________
79
67, 69, 72, 74, 77, 79, 80, 81.
Dictyonema shale, Estonia and Russia..___
41
Babrosco "carbon," South Africa_______
13 Dowelltown member of Chattanooga shale... 15,21
Bakken formation_______________
43 Dagger formation....____________..
63
Bakoven shale .__.______.__._
45 Dunkard group..________________
49
Barnett formation________________
67 Dunkirk member of Perrysburg formation__
67
Belden shale___________________
24 Dunkirk shale__________________
51
Berea sandstone _._._ __...._._
5
Berkshire schist--_____._________
48 Eagle Ford clay (or shale).............. 18,26, 79,81
Big Stone Gap shale_______________
69 Ellsworth shale_________________ 5,6
Bomoseen grit _________________
45 Eocene rocks. __________________ 9,54
Bone Valley formation-..________ 10,38,41,47 Escondido formation.-.____________
26
Boone formation_________________
66 Esopus shale_. ______-___-___..
45
Bourbon formation. _______________
10 Eutaw formation________________ 18,79
Brazer limestone_________________ 24,43
Brazil formation_________________
63 Fort Scott limestone__-____-___.. 7,10
Breathitt formation-..-____________
76 Freeport coal of Allegheny formation _ ____ 29,49
Brereton shale. .._.__ __..__-...
37 Frio clay.__ _---__--__-.__ -8
Brush Creek coal of Conemaugh formation...
29
Gammon ferruginous member of Pierre shale.
69
Calico Bluff formation. ____ 10,19,41,47, 71,73 Gardner dolomite---_____________
24
Cambrian rocks-._______________ 32,42,45 Gassaway member of Chattanooga shale. 4,15,21,64
Cambrian shale, in Alaska___________ 72,77 Genesee group.--_ __-_________
67
in Estonia__________________
41 Grayson formation.__ _. _. _-...
26
in Russia__________________ 3,7,41 Green River formation..... _...__.. 9, 54
in Sweden....... 3, 7,10,13, 28,38,40,41,47, 52,53
Canajoharie shale_______________
45 Harrisburg No. 5 coal of Carbondale formaCarbondale formation-.____________
50
mation, shale overlying-.. .
50
Carboniferous rocks. See MississippianHartville formation....-.-__ --.-.-.-_.. 24,38,40
Pennsylvanian.
Heath shale...________________ 24,43,67
Carlile shale.._________._______..
25 Hermosa formation.....__---------__ 24,67
Caseyville formation..._____________
50 Herrin No. 6 coal of Carbondale formation ..
50
Chattanooga shale:
Hudson River group..__.-__ _45
General summary papers___.._-_ . 3,7, Huron member of the Ohio shale.. ___. _60
10,19,20,28,33,38,40,41,47,59,67
Hushpuckney shale.- _. ..
10
Detailed studies and references..__1,4,
5, 6, 11, 14, 15, 21, 22, 23, 31, 32, 54, 57, 58,
Tola limestone..
60,64,65,66, 69, 79.

Checkerboard limestone-______.__ 7,10,11,57
Cherokee shale. . . . 18,32,38,53,79,80,81
Chinle formation____________._ .
22
Cleveland member of the Ohio shale
14
Cohn coal, shale above-..... ..
48
Coldwater shale___________..__
5,6
Colorado shale________________
43
Conemaugh formation_____._ _ 29,75
Cretaceous and Eocene phosphates, North
Africa....._._...... ._.. 38,41
Cretaceous rocks.--.___... 2,g, 9,12,18, 22, 23,
24, 25, 26, 27,36,43,55,67,69, 70, 78, 79, 81

Cretaceous shale, Alaska....

44,78

.

Jurassic rocks. .

...

56
17,24

Kanawha formation. _.
.
62
Kansas City group...
. ..
32
Kennicott formation....__ - -------44
Kittanning coal, of Allegheny formation 29,61
Lake Valley limestone___ .
2
Lakota sandstone..
24
Laney shale member of Green River formation.
9
Lee formation.
76
Leningrad shale, Estonia and Russia... ..
41
Linton formation
63
Lisburne group.....19,73
Lockatong formation...
22

Dakota sandstone-....___...__
22,23
Davis coal, shale overlying..-_.__
48
Davis coal of the Tradewater formation,
shale overlying.
50
Deepkill shale________ __45 McLeansboro formation
Del Rio clay of Grayson formation
26 Macoupin coal, shale above

50
48

323

INDEX
Reference
No.
Madera formation
2
Madison limestone..--24,43
Mancos shale.-..---- -------. 9,70
Manning Canyon shale._..
.
24
Mansfield formation- . 63
Maravillas chert-__-____.___
26
Marcellus shale.___-___--._, _.. 45
Marmaton group,
11
Martin limestone... -.
2
Matanuska formation.--___....__------44
Maury formation...
31
Mesaverde formation.....
..
2
Milton dolomite
42
Minnelusa sandstone.
43
Minshall formation_.-_..
- .
63
Miocene nodular shale. -__ 12,18,38,53,79,80,81
See also Playa del Key shale.
Miocene rocks..
- - 12,18,53,79,80,81
Mississippian and Pennsylvanian rocks - 24,
38, 40, 74, 77
Mississippian rocks.- ------- ------------ 2,5,6,
10, 11, 16, 24, 26, 28, 31, 38, 41, 43, 47, 53,
59, 62,66,67,69, 72, 73,79, 80,81.
Mississippian shale, Alaska___ 10,19,41,47,72,73
Missouri series--.- 11
Monongahela series_-_
49,61
Mountain Glen shale.--.48
Muncie Creek shale member of Tola limestone,
56
New Albany shale .---_-_-------- 47,48,67
Niobrara formation-.25,69
Nonesuch shale._______ __10,41,47
Normanskill shale__ _ _ 45
Norton formation._____-__- 62
No. 2 coal, shale overlying- __48,57
No. 4 coal, shale overlying - _48
No. 5 coal, shale overlying-.
35
No. V coal of the Petersburg formation, shale
overlying-_
63
No. 6 coal, shale overlying__ ___ - 35,37,48
Ohioshale ------------_-_-__ 14,60,67
Oligocene rocks________________ 8,27,69
Oologah limestone__-_____
57
Oquirrh formation_-__24
Ordovician rocks.----- 8,24, 26,32,42,45,46,47, 57, 71
Ordovician schist, Russia._ __ - _ 3,7
Orfordville formation._____________
42

Reference
No.
Permian rocks_____________ __ - 9,10,
19, 22,23, 24,38,39,41,47,49, 59,67,68,73
Permian shale, Alaska_.__________ 72
Perrysburg formation. ..
_... 67
Petersburg formation______ ________
63
Phosphoria formation._____ ______ 9,10,
19,22,23,24,38,39,41,47, 59, 67, 68, 73

Pierre shale -------_ ... 25,36,43,67,69
Pittsburgh coal of Monongahela formation ..
49
Playa del Rey shale_______________ S3,79
See also Miocene nodular shale.
Pliocene rocks. ....._....._.... 10,38,41,47,57
Pony Express limestone member of Wanakah
formation_____ _______. 17,24
Pottsville formation_____________. 29,61,75
Precambrian rocks. 10,17,28,41,43,45,47,67,72,73,74
in Alaska__ __ ____ __ __ - ____ 74,77
in South Africa_____________ _13
Price formation.___ __ ._._...
62
Bedstone coal of Monongahela formation...._
Rensselaergraywacke.--------------__ .

Reynoldsburgcoal -----__ __-_....

49

45
48

Selma chalk___________________
79
Senora formation.____________.._.
11
Sharon Springs member of Pierre shale 25,36,67,69
Shelburn formation____-_______
63
Shoal Creek limestone, shale underlying-. __48
Silurian rocks .. ________________ 24,46
Silurian schist, Russia..__._.___... 3,7Silurian shale, Alaska.---___________ 73,77
Simpson group. -.____________.....
32
Snake Hill formation._._._.___-...45
Spergen limestone [abandoned and replaced by
Salem limestone]. - _ ______ 16,33,38
Stark shale____________________
10
Staunton formation___________-63
Stonefort limestone, shale overlying......._
48
Sunbury shale.______________ 5,6,10,47,67
Sylvan shale.___________________ 5,6
Tindir group. _______________-___
77
Tradewater formation_. ___ ___ __ _ 48,50
Traverse formation.._______________ 5,6
Triassicshale, Alaska----.________.
72
Tuscaloosa formation______________
79
Uncompahgre formation.
Utica shale.--___--..

Wabaunsee group..-.- ---------____._
32
Paradox formation.-._____________
24 "Wanakah formation.______________ 17,24
Park City formation.______________
24 Waynesburg coal of Washington formation _49
Pennsylvanian rocks.--..._________ 2,3, 7 Weber(?) quartzite..............._-. -__.
24
10, 11, 18, 19, 20, 24, 29, 32, 33, 35, 37, 38, White River group, shales underlying....__
69
41, 43, 47, 48, 49, 50, 55, 56, 57, 61, 62, 63, Wise formation__________________
62
67, 75, 76.
Woodbine formation....____________ 8,79
Pepper shale member of Woodbine formation.
26 Woodford chert. - 10,26,28,41,47,59,67
Percha shale..._______________..
2 Woodford shale ............... 5,6,11,53,79,80,81

324

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHIES OF URANIUM GEOLOGY
SUBJECTS

Reference
No.
Alpha activity........_....._.......__ 5,12,79
Aluminum.___________________
36
Analytical methods:
Potassium-40 ___ _____.____ 5,6
Radium______________._____ 7,27
Radon____________________
7
Thorium.._.______._____..... 5,6
Uranium_________________ 5,6,16,27
Arsenic______________________ 36,69
Autoradiographic studies:
Chattanooga shale__._____.___ 4,15,65
Other rocks.._________....__ 42,53,80
Beta activity.....__ __.______ 5,6,18,79,80
Black shales, generalized descriptions_____
3,
7,10,11,19,20,28,38,40,41, 47,59,67
Boron._______________________ 36,69
Calcium........____......._.......... 40,56,67
Carbon content...................5,6,15,16,18,23,80
Cerium_____________________
23
Chromium.___________________
69
Copper.___... __ _______ 23,67,69
Equilibrium studies, radioactive_______ 12,43
Fluorine______________________

56

Gallium.............____.___...........
36
Geochemistry of uranium..._____ 13,16,30,40,52
Germanium content..______________ 14,67
Hydrogen____._______________ 5,6,23
Iron__......_.__ 36,52

Lanthanum .
Lead_.....
Magnesium...._________________
36
Mineralogy:
Chattanooga shale.. .. 4,15,21-23,65,67
Phosphoriaformation.....________ 23,39
Sharon Springs member of Pierre shale_
36
Molybdenum.........___..... 23,36,40,52,67,69
Nickel..

.__..._._.... 14,23,40,52,67,69

Oil shales, uranium bearing_______ 9,10,32,55
Oil yield:
Chattanooga shale___._________ 1,54
Other shales_._________.___ 3,54,55
Paleogeographic environment of accumulation:
Chattanooga shale.__............. 14,15,21,67
Other shales.__..._ 3,5,7,14,28,30,36,37,67
Paleontology---.- ..._ .__._. 14,21,25,60
Petroleum, origin................. 5,6,8,30,53,80,81
Phosphorites, generalized descriptions -.. _..
7,
10,19,38,41,47,59,67

ReferenceNo.
Phosphorus-_______________ 42,56,67,68
Potassium -. -..
5,6,18,52,79,80
Radium........

5,8,12,27,32,43,57,81

Selenium_____________________ 36,39Silver.---..
.___ .. ..
23
Sodium______..._... ...........
36
Thorium.....--...
5,6,12,18,42,43
Tin.... ._ _ __-_....
69
Titanium.________________.___36
Uranium:
Relation between uranium andAluminum..____ ..
36
Arsenic._
.
.....
36
Boron.._.....
36
Carbon (also "blackness") __4,
5,10,15,16,18,23,30,57,65,67,80,81
Carbonate-___--__.._ 38,39,41,51,67
Calcium......
38,57,67
Clay.-..
4,16,30,37,65, 79
Copper._67
Feldspar........ . ...4,65
Fluorine____________ _56
Gallium..._.____ . .._-..
36
Germanium-.___.____... 14,67
Iron oxide...._____._-___ 4,36,65
Magnesium-.-.__ ___ ..
36
Molybdenum. ..
..
36,67
Nickel....
67
Organic matter........ 6,10,13-16,18,22,23,
30,33,37,39,41,52,53,57,58,63,65-68,80
Particle size. -..... 5,6,16,39,51,53,57,65,79
Phosphate__________-___ 10,
31,33,39,41,42,53,55, 56,67,68,72,80,81
Potassium .._...... 5,6,52, 70,80,81
Proximity of landmass to site of deposition...
12
Pyriteor iron sulflde-- -___-__--.
4,
15,33,37,50,53,65,67
Quartz__._.__..__..-._ 4,65
Rate of deposition_________ 34,57,71
Selenium____________..
36
Sodium____ __.___..___
36
Stratigraphic position...-.-..-__ 15,63,76
Structure..
29,76
Sulfur (also "blackness'') -- 4,15,57,65
Thorium-uranium ratio.. __. 5,6,12,18
Titanium.......-... ..-. .
36
Vanadium-.. - -.
33,67
Weathering ...... __.......... 29,39
Uranium, origin:
Marine black shales:
Chattanooga shale.______ - 14,15,21,65
Other. ..
- 3,5, 7,8,13,14,17,30,
36-38,40, 41,47,52,53,58,63,67,69, 71,80

Other sedimentary rocks... .___ .._7,
8,'2,17,34,42,48,69,71
Phosphorites. .......... ...... 7,38-41,67

INDEX

325

Reference
Reference
No.
No.
Uranium content:
Uranium deposits in sedimentary rocks___
3,
Marine black shales:
7,10,19,20,28,33,38,40,41,47,59,67,69
Chattanooga shale__________
1, Uranium reserves:
3,7,14,21-23,28,32,33,38,54,64,67
Black shales- ... .. -.. ..
3
Other................................
2,Black shales and slates of Russia____3
3, 7, 9, 12, 13, 16, 19, 20, 24-26, 28, 29, 32Chattanooga shale....._-.... 14,15
38, 40, 41, 43-45, 47-51, 54-56, 58, 61-63,
66,67,69,72-78.
Vanadium .-.___. ._ . 3,14,23,40,52,67,69
Other sedimentary rocks....______
5,
6,9,12,23,25-27,29,32,42,63,69,70,75-77. .
31
Phosphorites,........... 9,19,23,24,38,39,41,73 Yttrium. ... .
Slate, phyllite, schist, and argillite____3,..
40
7,17,42,44-46,74,77 Zinc ..___