Geologic Distribution and 

Resources of Thorium 

By J. C. OLSON and W. C. OVERSTREET 

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1204 

Prepared partly on behalf of the 

U.S. Atomic Energy Commission 

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1964 
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

STEWART L. UDALL, Secretary 

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

Thomas B. Nolan, Director 

The U.S. Geological Survey Library has cataloged this publication as follows: 

Olson, Jerry Chipman, 1917-

Geologic distribution and resources of thorium, by J. C. 

Olson and W. C. Overstreet. Washington, U.S. Govt. 

Print. Off., 1964. 

iii, 61 p. diagrs., tables. 24 em. (U.S. Geological Survey. Bulletin 

1204) 

Prepared partly on behalf of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. 

Bibliography: p. 47-61. 

1. Thorium. I. Overstreet, William Courtney, 1919- joint 

author. II. Title. (Series) 

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printin~ Office 

Washin~ton, D.C. 20402 - Price 25 cents (paper cover) 
CONTENTS 

Page 

Abstract__________________________________________________________ 1 

Introduction______________________________________________________ 1 

Production------------------------------------------------------- 2 

Geologic factors in the concentration of thorium into workable deposits___ 6 

Geologic distribution of thorium resources____________________________ 9 

Igneousrocks------------------------------------------------- 9 

Metamorphic rocks__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2 0 

Epigenetic deposits____________________________________________ 22 

Placer and residual deposits ___________________________ --------- 23 

North America___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 23 

South America _________________________________________ -___ 25 

Africa____________________________________________________ 25 

Europe ___________________________________________ ·------- 2~ 

U.S.S.R ___________ -------------------------- ___________ . 29 

Asia----------------------------------------------------- 29 

Australia, New Zealand, and Antarctica______________________ 34 

Sedimentaryrocks--------------------------------------------- 35 

Thorium resources_________________________________________________ 38 

Categories---------------------------------------------------- 38 

UnitedStates------------------------------------------------- 40 

VVorld-------------------------------------------------------- 44 

Selected bibliography ______________________________ -_-----_________ 47 

ILLUSTRATIONS 

Page 

FIGURE 1. World production of monazite, short tons, 1893-1947-------- 4 

2. Diagram illustrating size and grade of various types of thorium 

deposits---------------------------------------------- 18 

TABLES 

Page 

TABLE 1. VVorld production, in short tons, of monazite concentrates, 

1948-1962_____________________________________________ 5 

2. Thorium content, in parts per million, of igneous and sedimentary rocks, listed by rock type ____________ --_-- ______ ---- 10 

3. Estimated United States Th02 resources, in tons_____________ 40 

4. Known world thorium reserves in relation to areas of Precambrian and other high-grade metamorphic and igneous rocks-__ 45 

m 

GEOLOGIC DISTRIBUTION AND RESOURCES OF 

THORIUM 

By J. C. OLSON and W. C. OVERSTREET 

ABSTRACT 

Thorium is a great potential source of energy. Owing to the small quantity 

of thorium thus far required for reactor development, little exploration has been 

made for it compared to that made for other metals. Concentrations of thorium 

are found chiefly in four geologic environments: (1) placer deposits, source of 

most of the production, which consist of beach, fluviatile, and residual (eluvial) 

concentrations of heavy thorium-bearing minerals; (2) epigenetic deposits, 

which include vein or lode deposits and contact-metamorphic or replacement 

bodies; (3) sedimentary rocks, which comprise ancient placers, thorium-bearing 

dolomite, and deposits in conglomerates; ( 4) igneous and metamorphic rocks, 

which include thorium-rich granite, alkalic rocks, carbonatite, fenite, pegmatite 

and pegmatitic migmatite, and thorium-rich zones in metamorphic rock. 

Known thorium reserves of the United States are estimated at about 100,000 

tons Th02. Total resources are probably much larger for additional thorium will 

no doubt be found in undiscovered districts and at unexplored depths in known 

districts. Known world reserves in high-grade deposits and easily mined placer 

deposits are about 740,000 tons, but total world resources of thorium, including 

undiscovered deposits, may well be at least several million tons Th02. A comparison of crustal abundance of various metals with known reserves suggests, 

as a speculative estimate, that world T'b.Oa resources in high-grade deposits 

and easily mined placer deposits may ultimately be on the order of 10 to 20 

million tons. These deposits must be considered largely as high-cost resources 

until economic conditions and increased geologic and exploratory efforts make 

their discovery possible. Potential low-grade thorium resources are undoubtedly very large. 

INTRODUCTION 

Thorium is a great potential source of energy because the common, 

naturally occurring isotope Th232 can be transmuted into fissionable 

U233• Through bombardment by slow neutrons, Th232 is converted to 

Th233, which decays through Pa233 into U233• In a breeder reactor 

this process yields more nuclear fuel than is consumed. Through 

the utilization of thorium and uranium in breeder reactors, the world's 

supply of energy is vastly increased over that which would be available only from the fossil fuels. 
2 GEOLOGIC DISTRIBUTION AND RESOURCES OF THORIUM 

Reactors have thus far required little thorium; in 1961 only 121 

tons of Th02 was consumed (Baker and Tucker, 1962, p. 1210), and 

over 90 percent of this amount was used in thorium-magnesium alloys 

and gas mantles. The limited demand has discouraged intensive 

prospecting and development of deposits. Consequently, knowledge 

of thorium distribution tends to lag behind that of other more widely 

used mineral commodities. 

The small amount of information obtained directly through thorium 

exploration is augmented somewhat by discoveries made in prospecting for uranium by radiometric surveys, for the thorium series, although somewhat less radioactive than the uranium series, is readily 

detectable by radiometric methods. 

Although qualitative data about the geologic occurrence and behavior of thorium in the earth's crust are rather plentiful, quantitative data on the grade and extent of both high-grade and submarginal 

resources are meager compared to that for many other metals or fuels. 

Little mining has been done, and very few high-grade deposits have 

been explored at depth. Many abnormal concentrations of thorium 

found by radioactivity-detection methods have not yet been thoroughly evaluated. Much is still to be learned about the abundance 

and distribution of thorium in rocks that contain about 0.01 to 0.1 

percent Th02 and are submarginal under current economic and technologic conditions. 

The data assembled for this paper, because of their insufficiency and 

varying degrees of reliability, do not in general justify a sophisticated 

analytical treatment to yield precise resource figures, but they do pernlit rather tenuous extrapolations as to the general order of magnitude 

of thorium resources. 

The present report is an outgrowth of investigations made by the 

Geological Survey on behalf of the Atomic Energy Commission. It 

incorporates data on thorium deposits from numerous sources in the 

literature and from the staffs of the Geological Survey and Atomic 

Energy Commission. Information on thorium in specific areas or 

rocks was contributed by M. R. Brock, David Gottfried, D. C. Hedlund, E. M. MacKevett, George Phair, D. L. Schmidt, Q. D. Singewald, and G. W. Walker of the Geological Survey. R. D. Nininger 

a.nd others of the Atomic Energy Commission provided some of the 

information on known reserves in the United States as well as current reserve estimates of certain countries shown in table 4. 

PRODUCTION 

Total cumulative world production of thorium has been less than 

20,000 tons (U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, 1959). The production of monazite, the principal source material of thorium and rare 
PRODUCTION 3 

earths, is illustrated in figure 1 for the period 1893-1947 and in table 1 

for 1948-62. 

A few tons of monazite was produced in the United States in 1887 

and steady production began in 1893 (fig. 1). The increased world 

production from 1895 to 1921 reflects the demand for thoria and minor 

amounts of ceria for use in the incandescent gas mantle industry. This 

use declined ·after World War I. From 1921 to 1934, little monazite, 

used largely for its rare earth content, was produced, and thoria, used 

in making of gas mantles, was a minor byproduct. From 1950 to the 

present (1964) monazite has again been mined chiefly for its thorium 

content for uses in atomic energy and other fields. During the late 

1950's the United States annually used as much as 11,000 tons of 

monazite containing 6 percent Th02 (Kremers, 1958), but after 1958 

consumption declined. Although at the 11,000-ton rate of consumption the United States undoubtedly could supply its own thorium 

needs for many years, generally higher costs have virtually limited 

production of monazite to that obtained by heavy-mineral dredging 

operations in South Carolina and in Florida. The dredging operations in South Carolina were abandoned in 1958. 

Before 1909 the United States imported no monazite but processed 

its own, although after 1904 it imported thorium nitrate (Pratt, 1916, 

p. 68). Brazil dominated the monazite mining industry from 1895 

untill914 and shipped most of the product to Germany for refining. 

India supplied most of the world's monazite from 1914 until 1946, 

when an embargo was placed on the export of monazite and other 

sources of fissionable materials. Brazil was again a major producer 

during 1947-50, but restricted the export of thorium after January 1, 1951. 

In recent years, sources of supply for thorium and rare earths have 

become increasingly widespread (table 1). Before 1948, thorium 

came chiefly from monazite found in the beach sands of India and 

Brazil, but recently it has been obtained from various minerals in several geologic environments. During 1953-59, a vein deposit at Steenkampskraal, in the Van Rhynsdorp district, South Africa, provided 

most of the free world's monazite; it yielded 16,230.7 tons during 

1953-56 (Pike, 1958). The mine closed in March 1959 but reportedly 

was reopened in 1962. Byproduct thorium and rare earths are obtained from rutile-ziroon deposits in Australia and from placer tinmining operations in Malaya and Indonesia. In 1959, uranium mills 

in the Blind River field, Ontario, began supplying byproduct thorium, 

and it was expected that they would produce from 100 to 200 tons of 

thorium concentrates per year. Since 1955 the Malagasy Republic 

has been one of the greatest sourer~ of thorium. It has annually produced from 250 to 300 tons of thorium metal. in the form of thorium 
8000 

7000 

6000 

5000 

(/) 

~ 4000 

1-

3000 

2000 

1000 

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00 

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! ! 0 

0 

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EXPLANATION 

~ United States 

~ 

Brazil 

I 

India 

~ -Ceylon 

~ Indonesia 

t.n 

N 

~ m ll) 

(\') 

2; ~ ~ 

t.n ,.... ~ ..,. ~ ~ 

FIGURE 1.-World production of monazite, short tons, 1893-1947. Data from U.S. Bureau of Mines, Minerals 

Yearbook, various years, in part summarized by Mertie (1953, p. 6). Data are incomplete after 1938. 

Figures for India for 1940-47, which are based on Krishnan (1951, p. 298), may not be complete. Dashed 

line is total United States production plus imports. 

~ 

0 

t.;j 

0 

t"l 

0 

0 

1-1 

c 

t::::l 

1-1 

Ul 

8 

~ 1-1 

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0 

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0 

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~ 
.::t 

~ 

l r TABI..E~ 1.-World production, in short tons, of monazite concentrates, 1948-62 

~ [From U.S. Bur. Mines, 1963] I Countcy ' ,__.....__,__.,...__,~ l ___ 1'",_j___l":_l 1953 _j ___ 1954_J ___ 1955_J_1~L~~_j 1958 _j___l":_l ___ 1900 L 1961 ~~ North America: United States __ -------------- 1 40 (3) 767 1, 497 2, 229 1. 232 1, 971 1, 219 (3) 

South America: Argentina _________________________________ -------- ________________________________ -------- ________ ________ 1 

BraziL ___________________________________ 41,968 4 2, 387 (•) (•) (5) (5) 2, 976 (5) (5) 

Asia: 

~ 2, 006 2 722 2770 (3) 

__ ;~ 1---~~ ... ---(5) ___ 1,162 1,222 --i;i53-

Ceylon____________________________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ 16 56 51 67 58 150 124 94 370 239 

~!~~e?!~~~=============================== Malaya (exports) _________________________ --------===~ ~=== ===~ ________ ~=== ===~b~=== ________ ====~~~= 84 ---~ 63 3- <~!~ 208 /•:M 391 csl~~ 279 ~!Jo3 707 

Thailand __________________________________________________________________________________ -------- ________ 18 

Africa: 

(5) 4,122 (5) (5) (5) (5) 

(5) (5) (5) (5) 111 153 

392 355 65 11 854 (5) 

549 479 264 47 780 702 

64 1 (5) (5) (5) (5) 

~~~~a.s~e~~~~~li~Y~adagascar)~======== ======== ======== ======== -----~~- -----~~- -----~=- ------~- 12 168 331 -------- -------- ----47i- ----5()3- 702 Mozambique ______________________________ -------- _______________________________________________________________ _ 

Nigeria___________________________________ ________ ________ ________ (5) 6 -------- ________ ________ 86 

South Africa, Republic or_________________ ________ ________ ________ ________ 6 300 6 5, 000 6 9, 000 6 9, 000 6 9, 000 

United Arab Republic (Egypt)___________ 7 3 80 1 7 7 9 1 7 

Oceania: Australia 9--------------------------- 942 1, 510 1, 337 1, 864 129 283 199 216 268 

(8) (8) 1 (8) (5) 

104 64 15 13 8 10 

9,314 8,112 2,402 -------- -------- 5,326 

(5) (5) 6165 (5) (5) (5) 

496 508 401 405 1,839 1, 091 

Total (items listed only) ~---------------1 2, 957 I 3, 900 I 2, 184 I 4, 011 I 3, 668 I 7, 957 I 15,120 I u, 541 I 1o, 517 I 13,406 I 15,649 1 5, 398 1 2, 471 1 5, 264 1 s, 914 

1 Monazite is also produced in U.S.S.R., but data not available. 2 Shipments. 

a Figure withheld to avoid disclosing individual company confidential data. 

'Exports. 

a Data not available. 

•Estimate. 

7 Reported as concentrates containing 45-55 percent of R208; also reported as 30 

percent Ce, which may be high, s Less than 0.5 ton. 9 The data listed represent the total for the three classes: high-grade, low-grade 

concentrate, and concentrate. 

"d 

!_:ij 

0 

tj 

q 

~ 1-j 

0 

z 

01 
6 GEOLOGIC DISTRIBUTION AND RESOURCES OF THORIUM 

nitrate, as a byproduct of uranium extracted from thorianite (Mabile, 

1958}. Carbonatites in several areas in the United States, Africa, 

Scandinavia and Brazil have become potential sources of rare earth-, 

niobium-, and thorium-bearing minerals. Vein deposits of thorite are 

also potential sources of thorium. 

GEOLOGIC FACTORS IN THE CONCENTRATION OF 

THORIUM INTO WORKABLE DEPOSITS 

The thorium content of the earth's continental crust has recently 

been estimated to be about 11.4 ±2 ppm (parts per 1nillion) (Adams 

and others, 1959). Other estimates, made by nine investigators and 

compiled by Fleischer ( 1953), range from 0.00073 to 0.002 percent. 

The greatest part of the thorium is widely disseminated in small quantities which differ in amount according to rock type. The geochemistry of thorium is quite different from that of uranium. Unlike 

many uranium deposits, large thorium deposits have not been formed 

by deposition from low-temperature fluids in a near-surface environment. The principal concentrations of thorium occur as detrital minerals in placer deposits, and in veins, carbonatites, and other rocks 

formed under generally high pressure-temperature conditions commonly associated with residual magmatic fluids. 

In its geochemical cycle, thorium becomes concentrated during 

several episodes-chiefly in magmatic differentiation and associated 

hydrothermal activity, weathering, transportation and deposition of 

thorium-bearing minerals, and metamorphism. Among the most important factors in the formation of workable deposits are (1} the 

composition of igneous rock with which thorium is associated, which 

may be related to magmatic differentiation, (2) the type and grade 

of metamorphism of thorium-bearing rocks, (3} the availability of 

potential source rocks for concentration or reconcentration of thorium-bearing detrital minerals in placer deposits, ( 4) type of weathering of source rocks of detrital thorium minerals, and (5) favorable 

geomorphic features for transportation and deposition of thoriumbearing minerals in placer deposits. 

In the course of magmatic crystallization, some thorium is a constituent of accessory minerals such as apatite, sphene, allanite, thorite, 

monazite, and zircon, and some is deposited in intergranular films in 

the igneous rocks. Because of its large ionic radius and high valence, 

thorium tends to become concentrated in the residual solutions as 

crystallization continues. Thus it is most abundant in the younger 

members of rock series, such as granitic and alkalic rocks, particularly in rocks formed from residual magmatic fluids, such as some 

veins, carbonatites, and pegmatites. 
GEOLOGIC FACTORS IN THE CONCENTRATION OF THORIUM 7 

The composition of the igneous rock with which thorium may be 

associated is a factor in evaluating thorium potential. As shown by 

examples on table 2, the thorium content of igneous rocks is likely to 

be higher in granite than in granodiorite or quartz monzonite. 

Cassiterite-bearing granite typically contains accessory thoriumbearing minerals such as allanite, monazite, or thorite. Bodies of 

cassiterite-bearing granite may well contain more thorium than is 

indicated by their content of thorium-bearing minerals, although 

little cassiterite-bearing granite has been analyzed for total thorium 

content. The thorium content is commonly high in alkalic granites 

and syenites, and it is notable in small alkalic rock complexes with 

which carbonatite is associated. Thus, in evaluation of the potential 

of an area for thorium in low-grade igneous rock sources, or for richer 

concentrations in veins or carbonatite, areas of alkalic rocks, granite, 

or syenite are more favorable than those of most other types of igneous 

rocks. 

In metamorphic and magmatic environments-under the highest 

pressure-temperature conditions-both the abundance and the thorium 

content of monazite in metamorphic rocks increase as the grade of 

metamorphism increases (Overstreet, 1960). Accessory monazite is 

extremely rare in the greenschist facies, rare to sparse in the epidoteamphibolite facies, sparse to common in the amphibolite facies, and 

common to abundant in the granulite facies. 

In rocks in which little or no monazite is present and that have 

undergone only the lower grades of metamorphism, the thorium is in 

allanite and in other common minerals not as readily susceptible as is 

monazite to mechanical concentration in placer deposits. Apparently 

monazite is less common and allanite more common in granite, granodiorite, and syenite formed under low- and intermediate-grade metamorphic conditions than in those formed under high-grade metamorphic conditions. Accordingly, in evaluation of a terrane for monazite 

concentrations in metamorphic rocks and also for placers of potential 

economic value, high-grade metamorphic or related igneous rocks are 

considered to be the most favorable source rocks. Such rocks are also 

likely to have more thorium-bearing veins and pegmatites, although 

thorium-bearing veins are also found in some other areas of igneous 

rocks of alkalic affinities. Because high -grade metamorphic and 

igneous rocks are generally more abundant in Precambrian terrane 

than in areas of younger rocks, the thorium potential of large areas or 

regions is very roughly proportionate to the area of Precambrian rock 

exposed. Relation of thorium reserves of various parts of the world 
8 GEOLOGIC DISTRIBUTION AND RESOURCES OF THORIUM 

to areas of Precambrian and other high-grade metamorphic and 

igneous rocks is shown in table 4. 

The thorium disseminated in rocks of the crust, on weathering of 

the rock, is virtually insoluble and does not migrate appreciably in 

ordinary surface or ground water. The rivers, lakes, and oceans contain very little thorium. Most thorium minerals, on weathering and 

disintegration of the enclosing rock, remain as detrital grains owing 

to their insolubility :and generally high specific gravity. The weathered mantle thus becomes enriched in residual heavy minerals which 

gradually move downslope 'and downstream. Placers are formed in 

places where the stream gradient permits transportation of lighter 

and smaller particles while the heavier and larger particles remain 

behind. Most of the monazite and other heavy minerals that reach 

the sea are deposited near shore at the mouths of rivers. Some 

thorium that is not in the heavy detrital mineral component of the 

bedrocks is apparently adsorbed during weathering in clay minerals 

and after deposition is disseminated in clayey sediments. In marine 

sedimentary rocks, therefore, thorium is found either in detrital minerals deposited in near-shore sands, in which some economic placer 

concentrations occur, or disseminated in claystone or shale in which 

no economic concentrations are known. 

The degree and depth of weathering are important in evaluation 

of thorium resources. Weathering may result in residual concentration of thorium in the soil overlying a deposit ~and in the release of 

resistant grains such 'as monazite. Tropical weathering, during which 

the enclosing minerals are decomposed by chemical processes, is more 

effective in segregating heavy minerals than is the dominantly mechanical weathering of arid climates. The physical decomposition of a 

granular rock, as occurs in arid regions, releases large amounts of 

feldspar and quartz to the sands and thereby dilutes the heavymineral concentration. 

Allanite weathers easily; rare earths are commonly lost and a pulverulent material of low specific gravity is :formed which disintegrates 

readily and is not amenable to gravity concentration. Therefore, in 

humid regions allanite does not form placers. In arid regions where 

rocks undergo mechanical disintegration, unweathered allanite may 

be concentrated locally by transport and deposition in intermittent 

streams, although su<fu allanite placers are not yet known in the United 

States. 

Another :factor that may enhance the thorium potential of a region 

is the possibility that detrital monazite in older sedimentary rocks may 

be eroded and reconcentrated by modern streams or by the sea. 
IGNEOUS ROCKS 9 

In sUIIl1Itary, concentrations of thorium are chiefly of the following 

geologic types: 

Igneous and metamorphic rocks: 

Dikes or layers of alkalic rock 

Carbonatite 

Fenite 

Thorium-rich granite 

Pegmatite and pegmatitic migmatite 

Thorium-rich zones in metamorphic rock 

Epigenetic deposits : 

Vein or lode deposits 

Contact-metamorphic and replacement bodies 

Placer ·and residual concentrations : 

Residual concentrations in place 

Beach placers 

Stream or valley placers 

Sedimentary rocks: 

Ancient placer concentrations 

'llhorium-bearing dolomite 

Thorium-uranium deposits of Blind River type in 

conglomerate 

GEOLOGIC DISTRIBUTION OF THORIUM RESOURCES 

IGNEOUS ROCKS 

The approximate thorium content of various rocks is given in table 

2. The highest concentrations of thorium in a given series of igneous 

rocks generally are found in the youngest members of the series. 

Voluminous data indicate that the closer the natural rooks approach 

petrogeny's residua system as defined by Bowen ( 1937) , which includes 

both quartz-hearing and feldspathoidal types, the higher their Th content ('George Phair and David Gottfried, written commun., 1962). 

For most quartz-bearing silicate rocks, diminishing CaO content is a 

useful index to potential high-thorium igneous :rocks. For example, 

the quartz bostonite dikes of the Central City district, Colorado, which 

contain as much as 400 ppm Th, contain only 0.2 to 0 percent CaO 

(George Phair, written communication, 1962). Among alkalic rock 

types, however, many calcic igneous rocks are known to contain appreciable amounts of thorium. 

Alkalic igneous rocks as a group are rich in thorium but differ considera;bly in thorium content. Many contain thorium in amounts of 

0.02 percent or more, although the extent and content of such rocks 

are inadequately known. In some alkalic complexes the radioactivity 
1 Q GEOLOGIC DISTRIBUTION AND RESOURCES OF THORIUM 

is greatest in carbonatite, if present. In others it is greatest in some of 

the associated silicate rocks; for example in some pyrochlore-bearing 

ca-vbonatite areas in Ontario, the most radioactive rocks are silicate 

rocks 'COntaining rare earth and thorium minerals. 

TABLE 2.-Thorium content, in parts per million, of igneous and sedimentary 

rocks, listed by rock type 

SamContent (ppm) 

Rock type Locality ples Reference 

Range lAverage 

Igneous rocks 

Silicic rocks: 

Riebeckite granite •..•..... Kaffo, Nigeria _________ ------ 200--300 Mackay and Beer 

(1952). Granite (Tokovskii Com- Middle Dnepr region, 101 ------------ 97 Filippov and Komlev 

plex). U.S.S.R. (1959). 

Granite, granophyre, ap- Northern Kirghizia, 126 ------------ 70 Turovskii (1957). 

lite, and pegmatite. U.S.S.R. 

(Variscan age). Granite (Conway Gran- New Hampshire ______ 580 30-110 56 Adams and others 

ite). Mount Whitney, (1962). 

Granodiorite .• ------------ ------------ 52 Rogers and Ragland Calif. (1961). 

Granite •••• ---------------- Westerly, R.L ________ 45-61 52 Stevens and others 

Kzyl-Ompul massif, (1960). 

Alaskite. ------------------ 4 42.7-57.8 50.9 Leonova and others 

Northern Tien- (1961). 

Biotite granite (White 

Shan, U.S.S.R. New Hampshire ______ 12 30-77 46 Butler (1961). Mountain Plutonic-Volcanic Series). Granite __________ ---------- Pikes Peak, Colo •••• -- 2 37-39 38 Whitfield and others 

(1959). 

Granite (Yustyd Com- Tuva, U.S.S.R •••• ---- 6 ------------ 36 Abramovich (1959). plex). Aplite (New Hampshire New Hampshire.----- 5 4.3-57 35 Lyons (1961). 

Plutonic Series). Alkalic granite and rhyo- Big Bend, Tex. _______ 24-45 34 Gottfried and others 

lite. (1962). 

Granite .••. ---------------- Alps_.---------------- ------ ------------ 33 Jeffreys (1952) 

Granite (Precambrian) ••.. Northern Kirghizia, 16 ------------ 33 Turovskil {1957). U.S.S.R. 

Granite (Kirovograd~Zhi- Middle Dnepr region, 100 ------------ 33 Filippov and Komlev 

tomir Complex). U.S.S.R. (1959). 

Granite ••••. ---.----------- Rhode Island •••.•.••• 4 16-64 32 Brown and others 

Do •• ------------------ Kyzyltau massif, Ceo- 59 ------------ (1963). 31 Baranov and DuLieh· 

tral Kazakhstan, 

U.S.S.R. 

t'ien (1961). 

Granite (Lebanon Gran- Lebanon, N.H. _______ 2 28-33 30.5 Rogers and Ragland ite). (1961). 

Granite ••.• --_------------- Finland •. ------------_ ------ ---·--------- 28 Jeffreys (1952). 

Do •• ------------------ Southwestern Maine •. 22 11-78 28 Brown and others 

(1963). Hastingsite granite ________ New Hampshire ______ 2 23-29 26 Rogers and Ragland (1961). Amphibole granite ________ . New Hampshire ______ 5 14-40.5 25.3 Butler (1961). 

Granite (Chingekat Com- Tuva, U.S.S.R. _______ 12 ------------ 24 Abramovich (1959). 

plex). Quartz monzonite (Mas- New Hampshire ______ 4 16-32 Rogers and Ragland coma Group). (1961). 

Granite _____ ---_----------- Massachusetts.------- 9 9-38 19 Brown and others 

Granite (Caledonian age)_ Northern Kirghizia, U.S.S.R. 51 ------------ 19 (1963). Turovskii (1957). 

Biotite-quartz monzonite New Hampshire .••••• ------------ 18.7 Butler (1961). 

of Merrymeeting stock. 

Granite (Cathedral Peak Mount Whitney, 2 16-21 18.5 Rogers and Ragland 

Granite). Calif. {1961). 

Monzonite (White Moun- New Hampshire •••••• 2 14-20 17 Do. 

tain Plutonic-Volcanic 

Series). Leucogranite (Roblar Leucogranite). 

California.-------·--·- ------------ 17 Do. 
IGNEOUS ROCKS 11 

TABLE 2.-Thorium content, in part8 per million, of igneou8 and 8edimentary 

rock8, Zi8ted by rock type-Continued 

Content (ppm) SamRock type Locality ples Reference 

Range [Aver- age 

Igneous rocks-Continued 

Silicic rocks--Con. 

Granite, quartz monzo- New Hampshire _____ _ nite, and granodiorite (Oliverian Plutonic Series). 

Red granite .•• ------------ North America _______ _ 

Granite____________________ Rocky Mountain 

region, United 

States. 

Granite, quartz monzo- New Hampshire _____ _ nite, and granodiorite (New Hampshire Plutonic Series). Microcline granite (Syut- Tuva, U.S.S.R. ______ _ khol Complex). Granite (Precambrian)____ North America _______ _ 

Granodiorite ______________ California and Idaho .• 

Granite and rhyolite______ United States and 

Canada. 

Tonaliteandgranite (Tan- Tuva, U.S.S.R ••••.... nu-ola Complex). Quartz monzonite and New Hampshire _____ _ granodiorite (Highland- croft Plutonic Series). Granodiorite.------------- California ____________ _ 

Granite____________________ Canadian Shield, 

Canada. 

Granophyre_______________ Fairfax County, Va •.. 

Granite (Boundary Peak California ____________ _ 

and Pellisier Granites). Granite (post-Cambrian).. North America _______ _ 

Granite ___________________ _ 

Do.-------------------

Do.-------------------

Granite (Khovaksin Complex). 

West coast of United 

States. 

North America, 

Greenland, Iceland, 

Scotland, Ireland, and Japan. 12 areas, North 

America. Tuva, U.S.S.R _______ _ 

Pegmatite (Oliverian and New Hampshire _____ _ New Hampshire Plutonic Series). 

Alkalic and syenitic rocks: 

Lujavrite__________________ llimaussaq, Greenland. 

Quartz bostonite. --------- Central City, Colo ___ _ 

Granosyenite and quartz Northern Kirghizia, syenite. U.S.S.R. 

Hornblende-albite syenite. Wet Mountains, Colo. 

Syenite ____________________ Northern Kirghizia, 

U.S.S.R. Do ____________________ Kzyl-Ompul massif, 

Northern TienShan, U.S.S.R. Quartz syenite __________________ do ________________ _ 

Nepheline syenite_________ Augusta County, Va •• 

Phonolite and tephrite. ___ Kaiserstuhl, West 

Germany. Cancrinite syenite_________ Kola Peninsula, 

U.S.S.R. 

20 6.2-38 16.3 Lyons (1961). 

13 ------------ 16.2 Whitfield and others 

(1959). 

11 ------------ 15.7 Do. 

48 9.1-28.5 15.7 Lyons (1961). 

21 ------------ 15 

24 ------------ 14 

38 3-24 

12 0-25 13.4 

12 ------------ 13 

Abramovich (1959). 

Whitfield and others 

(1959). 

Rogers and Ragland {1961). 

Evans and Goodman 

(1941). 

Abramovich (1959). 

4 10.6-14.8 12.4 Lyons (1961). 

10-14 

7 ------------ 11 

4 8. 2-13. 1 10 

2 8.2-11 9.6 

25 ------------ 8. 6 

16 ------------ 8. 5 

Rogers and Ragland (1961). 

Whitfield and others 

(1959). 

Larsen and Gottfried 

(1960). 

Rogers and Ragland 

(1961). Whitfield and others 

{1959). 

Do. 

8. 1 Jeffreys (1952). 

12 o. 9-19.3 7. 9 Keevil (1938). 

4 ------------

5 2. 8-5 4 

300-800 

14 100-408 240 

8 ------------ 185 

3 150-200 

97 ------------ 74 

Abramovich (1959). 

Lyons (1961). 

Bondam and Sox-en- sen (1958). George Phair (written commun., 1962). 

Turovskil (1957). 

Christman and others 

(1959); George Phair 

(written commun., 1962). 

Turovskil (1957). 

6 44. 5-92 62. 9 Leonova and others 

(1961). 

6 36. 6-60. 2 50. 3 Do. 11 30-87 48 Gottfried and others 

(1962). 2 42. 5-43. 3 43 Seith (1927). 

------------ 33 Polyakov and 

Volynets (1961). 
12 GEOLOGIC DISTRIBUTION AND RESOURCES OF THORIUM 

TABLE 2.-Thorium content, in part8 per miZZion, of igneou8 and Bedimentary 

rockB, Zi8ted by rock type-Continued 

I Content (ppm) SamRock type Locality ples Reference 

Range lAverage 

Igneous rocks-Continued 

Alkalic and syeniticrocks-Con. Amphibole-biotite syenite_ Belknap Mountains, 

N.H. 2 25-33.5 29.3 Butler (1961). 

Quartz syenite _____________ Pilot Range, N.H _____ ------------ 27 Do. 

Trachyte, trachyandesite, Big Bend N atl. Park, 9. 5-40 15.5 Gottfried and others 

and analcite syenite. Tex. (1962). 

Pyroxene syenite (White 

Mountain Plutonic-VolNew Hampshire ______ 2 9. 5-10.2 9.9 Butler (1961). 

canic Series). Quartz syenite (White _____ do ________ --------_ 2 3. 4-10 6. 7 Rogers and Ragland Mountain Plutonic-Vol- (1961). 

canic Series). Syenite, basalt, sye- Big Bend N atl. Park, 13 2. 6-11 5.1 Gottfried and others 

nodiorite, syenogabbro, Tex. (1962). 

nepheline basalt, and re- latedrocks. 

Intermediate rocks: 

Diorite, quartz diorite, N orthem Kirghizia, 13 ------------ 30 Turovskil (1957). and granodiorite. U.S.S.R. Tonalite ____________ -- __ --_ Mount Whitney, ------------ 24 Rogers and Ragland Calif. (1961). Quartz diorite and tonalite_ New Hampshire ______ 8 2. 9-14.8 8.3 Lyons (1961). Diorite (Tannu-ola Com- Tuva, U.S.S.R ________ 8 ------------ 7 Abramovich (1959). plex). 

Quartz diorite (Mascoma New Hampshire _______ ------------ 6. 2 Rogers and Ragland 

quartz diorite). (1961). Tonalite _________________ -_ California and Idaho __ 17 1.4-18 6. 2 Larsen and Gottfried 

Granodiorite and plagio- (1960). 

Middle Dnepr region, 14 ------------ Filippov and Komlev 

granite. U.S.S.R. (1959). Granodiorite, tholeiite, United States, 6 • 45-10 4.4 Evans and Goodman 

quartz dolerite, trachyte, Canada, and Eng- (1941). 

and dacite. land. 

Tonalite (Bonsall Tonal- California _____________ 3 3.1-4. 2 Rogers and Ragland ite) • (1961). .Andesite, dacite, rhyolite, Strawberry Moun- 8 1. 3-6.4 3. 6 Gottfried and others 

and basalt. tain, Oreg. (1963). Dacite, andesite, basalt, Mount Garibaldi, 13 1-4 2 Do. 

gabbro, and rhyodacite. British Columbia, 

Canada. 

Mafic rocks: 

Melteigite, ijolite, and Kola Peninsula, 4 9-44 23.3 Polyakov and 

ijolite-urtite. U.S.S.R. Volynets (1961). 

Teschenite __ -------------- Augusta County, Va __ 9 7.1-39 19.6 Gottfried and others 

Pyroxenite and (1962). jacu- Kola Peninsula, 11 1.3-28 14.7 Polyakov and 

pirangite. U.S.S.R. Volynets (1961). Picrite _____________________ Augusta County, Va __ 4 7. 8-14.1 11 Gottfried and others 

(1962). Basalt _________________ ---_ North America, ------ ------------ 9.8 Jeffreys (1952). 

Greenland, Iceland, 

Scotland, and Ireland. 

Do_------------------- England, Germany, __ ... ___ ------------ 8.8 Do. 

France, and 

Hungary. Alkalic basalt (Honolulu Oahu, Hawaiian 2.5-10.3 5.4 Larsen and Gottfried 

Volcanic Series). Islands. (1960). Basalt (plateau basalt)- ___ India and Oregon _____ ------ ------------ 5.2 Jeffreys (1952). Basalt ________ ----------- __ Oceanic islands ________ ------ ------------ 4.6 Do. 

Basalt, diabase, and United States, Canada, 17 Q-15 4 Evans and Goodman traprock _________________ and Ireland. (1941). Gabbrodiorite (Torgalyk Tuva, U.S.S.R ________ 4 ------------ 4 Abramovich (1959). Complex). Dunite __ ------ ____________ World _____ ------------ ------ ------------ 3.3 Jeffreys (1952). Gabbro (Tannu-ola Tuva, U.S.S.R ________ 3 ------------ 3 Abramovich (1959). Complex). Basalt _____________________ 11 areas, North 11 1. 6-4.4 2.8 Keevil (1938). 

Americaand U.S.S.R. 

Diabase_------------------ Fairfax, Va ___________ 11 .8-3.1 2.1 Larsen and Gottfried 

(1960). Gabbro and gabbrodio- Northern Kirghizia, 11 ------------ 2.1 Turovskll (1957). rite (Caledonian age). U.S.S.R. 
IGNEOUS ROCKS 13 

TABLE 2.-Thorium content, in parts per million, of igneous and sedimentary rocks, listed by rock type-Continued 

Content (ppm) SamRock type Locality pies Range lAverage 

Igneous rocks-Continued 

Mafic rocks-Con. Basalt and andesite _____ Mariana Islands ________ 26 .4-2.4 1.1 

Monzodiorite and gab· bro (White Mountain 

Plutonic-Volcanic 

New Hampshire ••••.••• 3 .4-2.3 ------

Series). 

Tholeiitic olivine basalt. Hawaii ••••..••••••••.•.• 23 .5-1.4 ------

Gabbro •••• -------------- Belknap Mountains, 

N.H. 

1 ------------ .9 

Do •• ------------------ California and Idaho •••• 9 .2-1.2 ------ Olivinite ________________ Kola Peninsula, 

U.S.S.R. 

2 .5-.8 .7 

Sedimentary and residual materials 

Bauxite_____________________ Central and South 

America. 

Do •• -------------------- United States __________ _ Do .• -------------------- Southern Europe _______ _ Do ______________________ East Indies and India __ _ 

Do.--------------------- Gold Coast. __ ---------- Do._____________________ Oregon _________________ _ Do ______________________ Palau Island ___________ _ 

Clay, shale, and bentonite: Bentonite_______________ North America _________ _ Gray and green shale ____ .•.•• do __________________ _ Black shale ___________________ do __________________ _ 

Red and yellow shale World.-----------------

and residual clay. Clay or shale____________ Russian Platform, 

U.S.S.R. 

Shale (Chattanooga Southeastern United 

Shale). States. 

Shale (Mancos Shale) .. _ Rocky Mountain 

region, United States. 

10 

7 

5 

2 

1 

1 

1 

69 

52 

19 

11 

4, 795 

46 

135 

34.8-132 

34.6-96 

43.8-59.2 

23.2-58.7 

------------

------------

------------

7.2-42 

Q-47 

1.6-28 

7-17 

7.6-14 

8.1-15 

67 

58 

51.5 

41 

21.2 

19.3 

5 

24 

13 

12.6 

12.3 

11 

10.8 

10.2 

Shale____________________ Europe and Japan ______ ------ ------------ 10 

Miscellaneous sedimentary rocks: Uranium ores __________ _ Blind River, Ontario, 

Canada. 

Black-sand deposits Rocky Mountain 

30Q-1, 000 600 

82 ------------ 300 

(Cretaceous age). region, United States. 

Thorium-bearing dolo- McLean Bay, North- ------ ------------ 250 

mite. west Territories, 

Canada. 

Monazite-bearing quartz- Northern Michigan _____ ------ 11Q-370 

ite (Goodrich Quartz- ite). Sandstone_______________ North America _________ _ 

Carbonate rock__________ Russian Platform, 

U.S.S.R. 

Chemical precipitates... United States __________ _ 

Sandstone (orthoquartz- North America (most ite). samples from Galveston, Tex.) Carbonate rock__________ North America _________ _ 

Limestone_______________ United States and 

Canada. 

Chert.------------------ --------------------------

Halite .. ---------------- _____ ---- __ ----- _- __ -- ____ _ Phosphate rock __________ --------------------------

740-134--64----8 

5 1-14.4 

13 1-7.1 

7 . 03-3.9 

16 .8-4 

54 Q-6.5 

4 .16-3 

2 .1-1. 6 

3 .4-.5 

1 ________ ,._..,_ 

5. 7 

2.4 

1.7 

1.7 

3.9 

Reference 

Gottfried and others 

(1963). 

Rogers and Ragland (1961). 

Larsen and Gottfried 

(1960). 

Butler (1961). 

Larsen and Gottfried 

(1960). 

Polyakov and 

Volynets (1961). 

Adams and Weaver 

(1958). 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Baranov and others 

(1956). 

Andrew Brown 

(written commun., 1962). 

Pliler and Adams 

(1959). 

Minami (1935). 

Griffith (1963). 

Dow and Batty (1961). 

Lang (1952). 

Vickers (1956b). 

Adams and Weaver 

(1958). 

Baranov and others 

(1956). 

Adams and Weaver 

(1958). 

Murray and Adams 

(1958). 

Adams and Weaver 

(1958). 

Evans and Goodman 

(1941). 

Adams and others 

(1959). 

Do. 

Do. 
14 GEOLOGIC DISTRIBUTION AND RESOURCES OF THORIUM 

The number of carbonatite areas in the world no doubt exceeds 100. 

At least 60 in Africa are well documented in the literature, and others 

may have been discovered but not yet publicized. Carbonatite districts in other parts of the world include at least 6 in U.S.S.R., 5 in 

the United States, 4 in Europe, 8 in Brazil, and 12 in Canada. More 

than 100 alkalic rocks complexes, with or without carbonatite, have 

been listed by Agard (1956). 

Vigorous exploration for carbonatite since 1950 has resulted in the 

discovery of large deposits of pyrochlore, monazite, and other minerals 

containing rare earths, thorium, and other uncommon constituents. 

Economic interest in carbonatite has centered chiefly on niobium, 

which occurs in pyrochlore and is generally more abundant than 

thorium. Many carbonatites contain thorium in abnormal quantities, 

but little information is available on the percentage. Some bodies 

appear to contain very little, but many probably contain 50-250 ppm 

thorium, and local concentrations in some may be as much as 0.3 percent. Samples of three carbonatite dikes, each about 10 feet thick, in 

the Powderhorn district, Colorado, contain 0.06 to 0.2 percent Th02 • 

The thorium content of carbonatite is, at the present, not sufficient 

for commercial production except as a possible byproduct of mining 

for niobium, apatite, or other products. 

Monazite in carbonatite typically has a very low thorium content, 

commonly less than 1 percent. Of the carbonatite bodies containing 

low-thorium monazite, one of the largest is the Kangkangunde deposit 

in N yasaland; others containing abundant monazite are at Nkumbwa 

inN orthern Rhodesia, Chilwa and Tundulu inN yasaland, and Mrima 

in Kenya. Most of the thorium in these rocks may be in the pyrochlore, in which a thoria content of 2 to 3 percent is common; some 

is in other minerals. According to Pike (1958), the Loolekop carbonatite at Palabora, Transvaal, contains disseminated uranothorianite having a varied thorium-uranium ratio that averages about 3:1, 

but pyrochlore is said to be absent. He also reported that the carbonatite was explored to a depth of 600 feet, and it was penetrated to 

a depth of 1,893 feet in one drill hole. He estimated the reserves to 

be 300 million tons per 1,000 feet of depth and to contain 0.5 lbs. per 

ton equivalent thorium oxide (Pike, 1958). 

Radioactive apatite-rich rocks and nepheline syenite at Araxa and 

Salitre in Brazil are rich in niobium (pyrochlore) and contain abundant thorium and rare earths. The Araxa carbonatite is reported 

( Guimaraes, 1957) to be one of the world's largest niobium deposits, 

and thorium could be recovered as a byproduct. 

In Norway, thorium occurs in carbonatite in the Fen area and in 

thorium-bearing impregnations in syenite in the Langesunds area. 
IGNEOUS ROCKS 15 

The indicated and inferred reserves in these rocks with not less than 

0.01 percent Th02 are said to be extremely large (Parker, 1962, p. 56). 

Five areas containing carhonatite are known in the United States: 

Mountain Pass, Calif., Powderhorn and the Wet Mountains, Colo., 

Magnet Oove, Ark., and Bearpaw Mountains, Mont. In addition, the 

carbonate rocks in the Mineral Hill district, Ida:ho, have some features 

resembling carbonatite. Data on thorium content of the carbonatites 

of all these areas are inadequate but suggest that considerable parts of 

the bodies may contain albout 50 to 300 ppm thorium; hence, the known 

aarbonatites may contain on the order of several hundred tons of thorium per foot of depth. 

Pegmatites are possible sources of small quantities of thorium. Generally they are low in grade and small in size, however, and the thorium minerals disseminated in certain zones in pegmatites are not 

sufficiently concentrated to mine except as a byproduct of mining for 

other pegmatite minerals such as feldspar, mica, and quartz. A few 

exceptional pegmatite areas, particularly alkaline granite or syenite 

pegmatite, contain high concentrations of thorium that might be minable as the principal product, but very few such areas would contribute appreciably to thorium reserves. Some areas of pegmatized 

gneisses probably are large and contain enough thorium to be included 

among the very low gr31de resources. 

Thorium in pegmatite occurs chiefly in such minerals as monazite, 

allanite, thorite, columbates and titanates, xenotime, gadolinite, and 

thorianite. Localities from which small quantities of some of these 

minerals have been produced, in part as a byproduct, include nepheline 

syenite pegm·atite areas in Norway and the l(ola Peninsula, U.S.S.R., 

and granite pegmatite areas in Norway, Sweden, Japan, Korea, and 

Colorado. Pegmatites in the St. Peters Dome area, Colorado, and at 

Wausau, Wis., contain such minerals as thorite, thorogummite, zircon, 

and bastnaesite. Considerable prospecting of these deposits for thorium, niobium, and rare-earth minerals has been done in recent years. 

Data on some ~pegmatite districts in the United States that contain 

thorium minerals lrave been compiled by Olson and Adams (1962). 

The total amount of thorium in all igneous and metamorphic rocks 

in the United States is of course enormous and could be approximated 

by applying a factor of 12 ppm to the tonn·age of igneous and metamorphic rocks. On the basis of about 80 samples from typical calcalkalic suites of rocks underlying rubout 50,000 square miles, the Mesozoic batholiths of the Western United States are estimated to contain 

roughly 6 X 10 9 tons of thorium to a depth of 1 mile (David Gottfried, 

written oommun., 1962). This estim·ate is based on a weighted average 

of 10 ppm thorium ·and 2.5 ppm uranium, which is well below the 
16 GEOLOGIC DISTRIBUTION AND RESOURCES OF THORIUM 

grade of materials included as potential resources in this report. 

Large masses of granite are known that have a thorium content ranging from 'aJbout 30 to 50 ppm; resources of this type of material appear 

virtually inexhaustible. 

Igneous rock bodies known to contain more than 100 ppm thorium 

(fig. 2) are all small, most being less than a square mile in extent. 

Five narrow quartz bostonite dikes in the Central City district, Colorado, for example, are estimated to contain about 16,000 tons of Th02 

from surface to a depth of 1,000 feet, if size and grade remain constant (George Phair, written communication, 1962). 

Among the larger granitic masses in the United States, the Conway Granite of New Hampshire and the Elberton Granite and 

Lithonia Gneiss of Georgia ( Grunenfelder and Silver, 1958) contain 

significant amounts of thorium and have been studied in some detail. 

Adams and others (1962) have shown that the Conway Granite contains 56± 6 ppm thorium, totaling over 3 million tons of thorium 

metal per 100-foot depth in the main Conway batholith alone. The 

Conway Granite contains, in addition, about 13 ppm uranium 

(Butler, 1961.) 

Recovery of thorium from granitic rock has been studied by the 

Chemical Technology Division of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. 

Brown and others (1963) have tabulated the results of studies of 17 

granite samples from various areas in the United States ranging in 

thorium content from 8 to 94 ppm, and in uranium content from 2 

to 19 ppm. The total estimated recovery cost for thorium plus 

uranium in these samples ranged frmn $30 to $590 per pound. Most 

of the recent studies have been of the Conway Granite of New 

Hampshire, chiefly because of its thorium content and process behavior. In 13 Conway Granite samples studied, thorium content 

ranged from 36 to 106 ppn1 and averaged 58 ppm. From 52 to 85 

percent (or an average of 72 percent) of the thorium was dissolved 

by the sulfuric acid leach. Estimated recovery costs ranged from 

$25 to $89 per pound of thorium plus uranium recovered and averaged $57. 

'The Elberton Granite, which underlies an area of more than 300 

square miles in the vicinity of Elberton, Ga., is rich in thorium and 

contains about 0.3 percent allanite (Silver and Grunenfelder, 1957). 

The following information on the Elberton Granite, which was supplied by Leon T. Silver (written commun. 1963), is based on results of research by the Division of Geological Sciences, California 

Institute of Teclmology. Samples from 15 quarries and analytical 

data based on a combination of chemical uranium and radiometric 

total activity cmnparison show that the thorium content of the Elber-
IGNEOUS ROCKS 17 

ton Granite averages 45+15 ppm. The same work shows 

that the thorium content of the nearby Lithonia gneiss has an average 

value of 40 ± 15 ppm in an area of about 5 square miles. 

Experiments show that it is possible, depending on the conditions, to 

leach as much as 95 percent of the thorium in these two rocks. Experiments to leach the radioactive elements preferentially in relation 

to the rest of the rock, however, show the possibility of extracting 

more than 40 percent of the thorium in a total weight of leached 

material representing less than 1 percent of the weight of the granite. 

(See also Brown and Silver, 1956.) 

Among the potentially minable concentrations of thorium in igneous 

rocks in other parts of the world are the thorium- and uranium-rich 

zones in pegmatitic granite and syenite dikes at Bancroft, Ontario 

(Robinson and Hewitt, 1958) ; the thorite-bearing bodies of granite 

in Nigeria, including the Ray.field-Gona columbite-bearing granite 

from which a thoritelike mineral containing 20 to 30 percent thorium 

might be recoverable as a byproduct of columbite mining (Davidson, 

1956a) ; and the laterized granite of Sierra Leone, which might yield 

20 lbs of monazite per ton (Davidson, 1956a; Bowie and others, 1955). 

As much as 0.20 percent Th02 has been found in exceptional granitic 

phases in Rhodesia and elsewhere in Africa (Davidson, 1951). 

Several Nigerian riebeckite granites 'are highly radioactive. Sampling of the granite of Ka:ffo Valley, for example, indicates that one 

area of 195 acres may be conservatively estimated to contain about 

140 tons Th02 per foot of depth, and that it also contains 0.33 percent 

Nb205. Nearly all the thorium is in the mechanically separable mineral pyrochlore, which contains 41.1 percent (Nb, Ta)205, 3.1 percent 

UaOs, and 3.3 percent Th02 (Mackay and Beer, 1952). A little monazite and thorite is also present. To a depth of 1,000 feet, this rock 

probably contains about 140,000 tons Th02, 70,000 tons uranium, and 

1,800,000 tons Nb205. 

Thorium is also associated with niobium and rare earths in banded 

nepheline syenite in the Kola Peninsula, U.S.S.R. There are said to 

be large reserves of the mineralloparite, which constitutes 2 to 20 percent of six different layers of rock, the thicknesses of which range from 

0.5 to 20 meters (Davidson, 1956a). The loparite contains 9 to 12 

percent Nb20 5, 40 percent Ti02, 33 percent rare earths, ~and 0.6 to 0.9 

percent thorium. 

Similar thorium-rich igneous rocks have been reported in Greenland 

(Bondam and Sorenson, 1958). In the Ilimaussaq area, large layerlike bodies of lujavrite contain 300 to 800 ppm thorium. At K vanefjeld in the same area, analcime-rich nepheline syenite bodies contain 

considerable thorium reserves that have an average grade of 1,920 ppm. 
18 GEOLOGIC DISTRIBUTION AND RESOURCES OF THORIUM 

105 

EXPLANATION 

z 

0 

8 v1 

9y 

Vein 

~ E9R ::;: 10 4 

Q: ""' Igneous or metamorphic rock - V2 LJJ 

0.. 

rn 

1-

Q: 

<( 

0.. 

!: 

fl vs •s 

9 vs 8 vJ 

VIO Sedimentary rock 

9 v1 

8 v4 

E9Rl4 Op 

Placer or residual deposit 

f.:' 103 (ij 

0 

0.. 

LJJ 

0 

LL 

0 

1-

z 

I.&J 

1-

z 102 0 

u 

o"' 

..c 

E-< 

10 

V8 

ss• 54 

E9R~ OPI OPJ 

ss• 9V9 E9RS· 51 

E9Rl3 E9Rl\3t •52 PP4 E9R8 R6E9 Rll(G)P2 

E9R7 E9R3 E9R2 

57• •5s 0 Ps ,.,., 

Pl6v R9 

0 E9Rl 

OPll P26 

E9RIO 

0P25 )_ P20 P!O P27 0P6 

P2409o OP22 P21 ~19 PIS DC, P23 Pl2 Cb Pl7 

Pl4cf>Pl3 __;s 0P!8 PS OP7 

10 4 105 106 

Th0 2 CONTENT OF DEPOSIT, IN TONS 

FIGURE 2.-Size and grade of various types of thorium deposits. 

RL----- Conway Granite,1 New Hampshire (based on Adams and others, 1962). 

R2 ______ Hornblende-albite syenite,1 Wet Mountains, Colo. (M. R. Brock, written commun., 

1962). 

R3 ___ _. __ Kaffo Granite,1 Nigeria, 195 acres (Mackay and Beer, 1952),. 

R4 ______ Carbonatite, Araxa, Brazil, to 45-m depth (Guimaraes, 1957). 

R5 ______ Carbonatite,1 Mrima, Kenya (Coetzee and Edwards, 1959). 

R6 ______ Carbonatite,1 Palabora, Transvaal, calculated from Pike (1958)·. 

RL----- 5 quartz bostonite dikes,2 Central City, Colo. (George Phair, written commun., 

1962.). 

R8 ______ Largest of 5 quartz bostonite dikes 1 (George Phair, written commun., 1962). 

R9 ______ Part of Silver Plume Granite,1 Colorado (George Phair, written commun., 1962):. 

R10 _____ Part of Boulder Creek batholith,1 Colorado (George Phair, written commun., 

1962). 

R1L ____ Shonkinite,1 Mountain Pass, Calif., grade assumed from radiometric determinations. 

R12 _____ Monazite-rich zone 1 in gneiss, Worcester, Mass. (Johnson, 1951). 

R13 _____ Monazite-rich zone in gneiss, Southbridge, Mass., to 700-ft depth (Johnson, 

1951). 

R14 ____ ,_ Unanothorianite-bearing parapyroxenite, Malagasy Rebuplic, approximated from 

Roubault (1956), and Lenoble and Gangloff (1958). 

VL _____ Steenkampskraal, Van Rhynsdorp district, South Africa (Pike, 1958). 

V2 ______ Morro de Ferro, Brazil, higher grade portion, assuming 5-m depth (Wedow, 

1961). 

V3______ Morro de Ferro, Brazil, total to depth of 30 m, including lower grade halo 

around V2 (Wedow, 1961). 

V4 ______ Agnew Lake (Canadium Thorium Corp.) deposit, Ontario (Thompson, 1960), 

V5______ Higher grade vein deposits, Powderhorn district, Colorado. 

V6 ______ Nigerian crude tin ore expected to be mined in 20-year period (Davidson, 

1956a). 

V7 ------ Veins exceeding 0.3 percent Th02, Wet Mountains, Colo., to 50-ft depth (M. R. 

Brock, written commun., 1962). 

1 Estimated to 1,000-ft depth. 
IGNEOUS ROCKS 19 

In granitic rocks a significantly high proportion of ·the thorium has 

been found to be in the interstitial material th81t is soluble in HCl (for 

example, see Larsen, 1957, p. 251). In one laboratory study reported 

by Larsen, from 20.4 to 91.0 percent of the thorium in 16 samples of 

syenite, grani·te, granodiorite, quartz monzonite, and other rocks from 

the Front Range, Colo., is leachable. Leaching with HOI dissolved 

from each of the 16 samples a higher proportion of the thorium present than of the uranium. The Th: U ratio is therefore higher in the 

VS ______ Veins exceeding 0.1 percent Th02, Wet Mountains, Colo., to 50-ft depth (M. it. 

Brock, written commun., 1962). 

V9 ______ Pegmatite, Locality A, Bear Mountain, N.Y. (McKeown, 1951). 

V10 _____ Reserves in vein deposits containing 0.5 percent Th02, Lemhi Pass, Idah«>-

Montana (U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, 1962!). 

SL _____ Blind River uranium deposits, Ontario (Griffith, 1960). 

S2 ______ Higher grade parts of Goodrich Quartzite, Palmer, Mich., approximated from 

Vickers (19516a). 

S3 ______ 82 Cretaceous black-sand deposits, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico (l)ow 

and Batty, 1961). 

S4 ______ 33 Cretaceous black-sand deposits, New Mexico (Dow and Batty, 1961). 

S5 ______ 19 Cretaceous black-sand deposits, Wyoming (Dow and Batty, 1961). 

S6 ______ 16 Cretaceous black-sand deposits, Utah (Dow and Batty, 1961)1. 

S7 ------ Conglomerate at Bald Mountain, Wyoming, explored portion (Borrowman and 

Rosenbaum, 1962i). 

S8 ______ Conglomerate at Bald Mountain, Wyoming, high-grade stratum (Borrowman 

and Rosenbaum, 1962). 

P1 ______ Placer deposits, southwestern coast of India (Mahadevan and others, 1958). 

P2 ______ Inland placer deposits of Bihar and West Bengal, India, approximated from 

Bhola and others (1958), and Shirke and Chatterji (1958). 

P3______ Placers, all of Brazil. Grade uncertain and is approximated from Davidson, 

1956a). 

P4 ______ Placers, Pulmoddai Beach, Ceylon, calculated from Davidson (1956a). 

P5 ______ Small headwater placers, southeastern Piedmont, U.S. (Overstreet and others, 

1959). 

P6 ______ Total for 84 flood plains, southeastern Piedmont, U.S. (Overstreet and others, 

1959). 

P1------ Total for all southeastern Piedmont, U.S., placers studied by Overstreet and 

others (1959). 

P8 ______ Total of 13 placers, southeastern Piedmont, U.S. (Ellertson and Lamb, 19·56). 

P9 ______ Placer, Rabun Creek, S.C. (Hansen and Caldwell, 1955). 

P1Q _____ Placer, Hollow Creek, S.C. (Kline, Griffith, and Hansen, 1954). 

Pll _____ Placer, Knob Creek, N.C. (Griffith and Overstreet, 1953b), 

P12 _____ Placer, First Broad River, N.C. (Hansen and Cuppels, 1954). 

P13 _____ Placer, Silver Creek, N.C. (Hansen and White, 1954). 

P14 _____ Placer, South Muddy Creek, N.C. (Hansen and White, 1954). 

Pl5 _____ Beach placer, Hilton Head Island, S.C. (McCauley, 1960);. 

P16 _____ Bauxite, Arkansas; Th content given by Adams and Weaver (1958) assumed to 

be applicable to bauxite reserves estimated by Gordon and others (1959). 

P17 ----- Total for 8 placer deposits in Idaho and 1 in Montana (Eilertson and Lamb, 

1956). 

P18 _____ Placer, Bear Valley, Idaho (Kline and others, 1953). 

P19 _____ Placer, Corral Creek, Idaho (Kline and others, 1955). 

. P20 _____ Placer, Big Creek, Idaho (Kline and others, 1951a). 

P2L ____ Placer, Pearsol Creek, Idaho (Kline and Carlson, 1954). 

P22 _____ Uranothorite placer, Camp Creek, Idaho (Robertson and Storch, 1955). 

P23 _____ Placer, Scott Valley, Idaho (Kline and others, 1951b). 

P24 _____ Placer, Rock Creek, Idaho (Robertson and Storch, 1955b). 

P25 _____ 3 placer deposits in Lee and Burleson Counties, Tex. (Hahn and others, 1961). 

P26 _____ Beach sands, Egypt, higher grade (Higazy and Naguib, 1958). 

P2·7 ----- Beach sands, Egypt, lower gtade (Higazy and Naguib, 1958). 
20 GEOLOGIC DISTRIBUTION AND RESOURCES OF THORIUM 

interstitial soluble material than in the resistant accessory minerals of 

these rocks. 

U.S. Geological Survey studies of thorium and uranium contents 

of igneous rock series (David Gottfried, written communication, 1962) 

are yielding information on areas and rock types that are low in 

amounts of these elements and are, therefore, unlikely places for 

thorium deposits. For example, 30 samples of basalt and andesite 

from 6 islands in the Marianas Arc range in thorium content from 

0.4 to 2.4 ppm and in uranium from 0.09 to 1.5 ppm, significantly lower 

than similar rocks from other tectonic settings. Chemically these 

rocks are distinguished by high content of Al20 3 and extremely low 

content of 1(20. Volcanic rocks from the Pacific Northwest having 

similar chemical characteristics also have unusually low Th contents. 

METAMORPHIC ROCKS 

Thorium-rich zones in metamorphic rocks are known in many parts 

of the world, but specific information on size and grade is scarce. 

Many of the zones are migmatitic, pegmatitic, or biotite-rich, and 

contain monazite, thorite, uranothorite, allanite, xenotime, or brannerite. Such zones in the United States include those at Worcester 

and Southbridge, Worcester County, Mass. (Johnson, 1951); Passaic 

County, N.J. (Markewicz and others, 1957); San Bernardino and 

Riverside Counties, Calif. (Walker and others, 1956); Central City, 

Colo. (Young and Sims, 1961); Mesquite, Nev.; and Culpeper and 

Albemarle Counties, Va. (Stow, 1955). Similar zones in many parts 

of the world have been described. (For example, see Bowie and 

others, 1955; Davidson, 1956a; Mawdsley, 1958.) 

Total resources of thorium in low concentrations in metamorphic 

rocks cannot be estimated but they probably are large. For example, 

some monazite-rich zones in lateritic granite gneiss, such as those in 

Sierra Leone described by Bowie and others (1955), may be as much 

as 1 mile wide and 10 to 20 miles long. The average Th02 content 

of a zone of this size is not known, but if it were as much as 100 ppm, 

50,000 tons of Th0 2 may be present above a depth of 20 feet. 

One of the largest thorium-bearing zones in metamorphic rooks, 

as described by Davidson (1956a), is a garnet-biotite schist zone about 

100 feet wide and nearly 1 mile long in a belt in which pegmatitic 

rock is associated in l{erala, India. Davidson estimated that this 

zone possibly contained 100 to 200 tons Th02 per foot of depth. Five 

grab samples of richer ore averaged 17.9 percent monazite, which contains 10.7 percent Th02 • These data suggest that potential thorium 

resources in deposits of this type may be large. 
METAMORPIDC ROCKS 21 

Rocks o:f the charnockite series occupy the southwestern part o:f 

Ceylon, and all the acid members o:f the series contain accessory monazite which becomes especially common, possibly reconcentrated, in 

graphite-bearing shear zones (Coates, 1935, p. 138). Interlayered with 

the charnockite is sillimanite-garnet-orthoclase granulite that contains 

about 0.1 pound o:f thorium-rich monazite per cubic yard (Imperial 

Institute, 1916, p. 353). 

Northwest of Fort-Dauphin, Malagasy Republic, uranothorianite 

occurs in veinlike bodies o:f calcite, phlogopite, and anorthite, and in 

masses o:f disseminated grains in and closely associated with metasedimentary pyroxenite masses and lenses interlayered in Precambrian 

schist. The deposits have been described by Roubault (1956) and 

Lenoble and Gangloff (1958). .About 100 of these deposits are reported to be from a few hundred to more than 150,000 tons in size, 

and to contain 0.1 to 0.6 percent uranothorianite. Reserves in the 

region of Mandrare are said to be about 2,000 tons of uranothorianite 

(Roubault, 1956). Lentils in the pyroxenite masses contain monazite, 

which locally makes up as mueh as 30 percent of the lentil, and apatite. 

The mineralized lentils are commonly masked by eluvium; therefore 

their size has not been well defined (Roohe and others, 1956, p. 154-

156). Because the mineral composition of the monazite-apatite lentils 

resembles that of the great vein deposit at Steenkampskraal in South 

Africa, considerable seareh has been made in the southeastern part of 

the Malagasy Republic :for large monazite-apatite deposrits, but none 

had been found as of 1960. Thorianite deposits like those in the Malagasy Republic have not been found in the United States. A favorable geologic setting in which to search for this type of deposit is that 

of pyroxenite and other metasedimentary rocks formed by high-grade 

metamorphism in the granulite facies. 

Considerable reserves of thorium in metamorphic rocks are lmown 

in North Africa (Gangloff, 1959), but to the present (1964) they have 

not been exploited. In the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, 

accessory monazite is disseminated in quartz~feldspar granulite near 

Dedza, in garnetiferous biotite-quartz gneiss near Masamba, and in 

epidotized bands of gneiss north of Zomba (MeN aughton, 1958a, p. 26; 

1959, p. 47). 

Less common types of thorium occurrences in metamorphic rocks 

are the allanite- and parisite-bearing contact-metamorp1hic zone at 

Nixon Fork, Alaska (Bates and Wedow, 1953), and the low-thorium 

monazite occurrences in ca:rtbonate-rock layers in metamorphic rocks 

in the Mineral Hill district, Idaho (.Abbott, 1954; Anderson, 1958), 

which may be related to carbonatite. Low-thorium monazite is disseminated with apatite in corundum-mica schist in the Flinders Range, 

South Australia (Mawson, 1916, p. 263-264). 

740-134-64---4 
22 GEOLOGIC DISTRIBUTION AND RESOURCES OF THORIUM 

EPIGENETIC DEPOSITS 

Thorium-bearing veins in several areas in theW estern United States 

have been known since 1949 and are among the important reserves of 

low cost thorium ore in the United States. In these veins the thorium 

minerals of greatest economic interest are thorite and thorogummite, 

but in veins elsewhere in the world other minerals, su~h as monazite, 

are also important. Common associates of the thorium and rare-earth 

minerals in many of these veins are quartz, carbonates, barite, fluorite, 

hematite, goethite, and pyrite. 

Typical high-grade thorium veins range in thickness from a fraction of an inch to more than 20 feet and contain several tenths percent 

thoria and generally similar amounts of rare-earth oxides. Selected 

samples contain from 1 to 6 percent or more Th02. One of the richest veins is the unique Steenkampskraal monazite vein in South 

Africa, in which 7,500 to 15,000 tons of thorium is contained in ore 

of about 3- to 6-percent thorium grade (Pike, 1958.) This vein is 

60 to 75 percent monazite, and it contains quartz, apatite, and other 

minerals; it is about 900 feet long and in most places is 2 to 6 feet 

thick. From 1953 to 1959, the Steenkampskraal deposit was a major 

source of the world's thorium production. 

In the Letitia Lake area, Labrador, low-grade niobium-thoriumrare-earth deposits are related to intrusions of alkali syenite into 

schistose, porphyritic volcanic and sedimentary rocks (Brummer and 

Mann, 1961). The radioactive zone is along a complex of amphibolite and albite bands, representing a shear zone, and is at least 1,800 

feet long and 500 feet wide. Radioactive minerals were identified 

as allanite and monazite, and grab samples yielded 0.44 to 2.30 

percent Th02 (Brummer, 1960). A similar zone more than 8,000 feet 

long was found 2% miles along the strike of the shear zone to 

the west. 

Lodes and veinlike segregations of monazite occur in granite north 

of Fort-Dauphin in the extreme southeastern part of the Malagasy 

Republic. Locally the veinlike segregations are high grade, containing thoria-rich monazite, but they are small and .therefore are not 

economic sources of monazite (Besairie, 1948, p. 120; 1953, p. 146; 

Lecoq, 1957, p. 592). Other examples of similar hard-rock deposits 

are the scattered disseminations and small veins of monazite, thorite, 

and davidite in Precambrian gneiss and schist at Thackaringa, 

Broken Hill district, New South Wales, Australia (Rayner, 1955, 

p. 62-69). 

The principal areas of tliorium-bearing veins and other hard-rock 

deposits in the United States are shown by Olson and Adams (1962). 

A comparison of this map with the geologic map of the United States 
PLACER AND RESIDUAL DEPOSIT'S 23 

shows the close association of deposits of this type with the areas of 

igneous and metamorphic rocks. The principal districts are in areas 

of Precambrian rocks. The deposits are also commonly associated 

with alkalic igneous rocks, as in the Powderhorn, Wet Mountains, 

and St. Peters Dome districts in Colorado, and Mountain Pass, 

Calif. In the Lemhi Pass district, Idaho, however, alkalic rocks have 

not been found, and genetic relationships of the veins are obscure. 

The known thorium veins that appear to have the greatest potential 

are in the Lemhi Pass district in Idaho and Montana and in the Wet 

Mountains, Oolo. Other districts that have produced small quantities 

of thorium from vein or replacement bodies, or contain promising deposits, include Powderhorn 'and St. Peters Dome, Colo. : Bokan Mountain, Alaska; Porthill, Idaho; and Mountain Pass, Calif. Districts 

containing thorium veins of uncertain, perhaps small, potentialities 

include San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, Calif.; Mineral Hill, 

Idaho; Duck Creek 'Pass, Deer Creek, and Bearpaw Mountains, Mont.; 

Salmon Bay, Alaska; Bear Lodge Mountains, Wyo.; Virgin Mountains 

and Cottonwood, Ariz.; Capitan Mountains, Gallinas Mountains, and 

Chico Hills, N. Mex.; Magnet Cove, Ark.; Wausau, Wis.; Hicks Dome, 

TIL; 'and Easton, Penn.-N.J. Districts from which thorium minerals 

have been or might be obtained as a byproduct of other hard-rock 

mining include Dover, N.J., Mineville, N.Y., and Climax, Colo. 

Because of the present limited demand fur thorium, exploration of 

veins has been directed toward finding veins with several tenths percent Th02 or more. In general, the lower grade vein material, containing less than 0.1 percent, has not been evaluated, but the total 

amount of thorium in veins of grade 0.03 to 0.1 percent Th02 would 

add significantly to our total thorium resources. In the Wet Mountains, Colo., for example, numerous broad zones of potassium feldspar 

produced by hydrothermal alteration, associated with the thoriumrich veins, contain more than 300 ppm Th (M. R. Brock, written 

commun., 1962). Similar low-grade veins occur in the Powderhorn 

district, Colorado. 

PLACER AND RESIDUAL DEPOSITS 

NORTH AMERICA 

In the United States, monazite-bearing placers are found in all Western States, in the Southeastern States and in Alaska. The deposits 

of greatest potential are in Idaho, Montwa, North and South Carolina, 

Georgia, and Florida. 

Placers in the Carolinas supplied all United States monazite during 

1893-1909. The Carolina Piedmont placers are richest near the headW8iters of the streams; the placers become larger downstream but are 

leaner because of admixture of monazite-free material from other 
24 GEOLOGIC DISTRIBUTION AND RESOURCES OF THORIUM 

tributaries (Mertie, 1953; Overstreet and others, 1956). One placer 

deposit on Horse Creek near Aiken, S.C., was dredged during the middle 1950's for rutile, ilmenite, monazite, zircon, and staurolite, but 

operations ceased in March 1958 (U.S. Bureau of Mines, 1959, v. 3, 

p. 894). This deposit was formed when the Cretaceous sedimentary 

rocks, in which the heavy minerals had previously been concentrated, 

were eroded and the heavy minerals were reconcentrated in the fluviatile placer deposit. The deposit on Horse Creek was thought by 

Perry ( 1957, p. 4) to be matched in size and quality by deposits along 

Shaw Creek and the South Fork Edisro River in northeastern Aiken 

County, S.C., but these placers have not been fully explored. Guillou 

and Schmidt ( 1960, p. Bl20) noted that the rocks in the Coastal Plain 

adjacent to the Horse Creek placer are less radioactive than Coastal 

Plain sediments in other nearby parts of northeastern Aiken County 

and Lexington County, S.C.; this relation suggests that the more 

radioactive areas may also be favorable for placers. 

Monazite has been found in beaches along the Atlantic Coast from 

the Carolinas to the tip of Florida and on the Gulf Coa:st, particularly 

in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama shores. Beach sands or raised 

beaches are being mined at Jacksonville and Trail Ridge, Fla., and 

other monazite-bearing beach sands have been developed along the 

Atlantic and Gulf Coasts. The Florida beach sand deposits contain 

only about 4 percent heavy minerals, of which only a fraotion of a percent is monazite, and are considerably leaner in heavy minerals and in 

monazite than those mined elsewhere in the world. Beach sands along 

the Atlantic Coast of the Carolinas and Georgia have been explored 

by the U.S. Bureau of Mines and by others, and some black-sand deposits were found from which monazite could be produced in conjunction with other heavy minerals. 

In Idaho, placer mining for monazite began on a small scale about 

1903 and continued to 1910 ( Santmyers, 1930, p. 15). After a lapse 

of nearly 40 years, mining resumed about 1948. The monazite content is greatest in placers derived from weathered quartz monzonite 

in parts of the Idaho batholith that were not glaciated during Pleistocene time. The thoria content of the Idaho monazite, somewhat 

lower than that of most commercial monazite, commonly ranges from 

3.2 to 4.8 percent Th02, and rarely reaches 6 percent (Kauffman 

and Baber, 1956, p. 6). In addition to monazite in placer deposits 

in the Cascade, Boise Basin, and other regions in Idaho, radioactive 

black mineral&-such as euxenite in the deposits in Bear Valley and 

uranothorite in the Hailey area-are very important (Mackin and 

Schmidt, 1956). Under the same economic conditions prevailing in 

1952, when the price of monazite was about $350-$375 per ton, a 

deposit in Idaho may be economically dredged if it has a monazite 
PLACER AND RESIDUAL DE.POSITS 25 

content of 1 lb per cubic yard, provided all other conditions are 

ideal for dredging operations (Kline, 1952). 

SOUTH AMERICA 

Brazil's production of thorium minerals, second only to that of 

India, has been from beach sands, along 1,000 miles of coastline, that 

were formed chiefly by reworking of the Cretaceous and lower Tertiary sedimentary rocks by Recent wave action. The coastal area 

has undergone repeated emergence and submergence, and some of the 

largest reserves are in elevated beaches and bars behind the present 

coastline ('Gillson, 1950). The content of heavy minerals in Brazilian 

black sands is reported to be 20 to 40 percent, of which 2 to 5 percent 

is monazite (Davidson, 1956a). The monazite contains 5 to 6 percent Th02 • Reserves of monazite along the coast of Rio de Janeiro, 

Espirito Santo, and Bahia were estimated by Leonardos (1950, p. 

137) to be at least 100,000 to 150,000 tons, and the total reserves in 

Brazil are very conservatively estimated to be about several hundred 

thousand tons (Davidson, 1956a). Individual deposits are commonly 

about 10 to 40 feet wide, 6 to 12 feet thick, and 75 feet to as much 

as 2 miles long. Placer deposits are also known along streams, but 

in general they are thought to be small compared to the beach-sand 

deposits. Attempts have been made to mine monazite from river 

sand in the interior of Sao Paulo~ but the mining was abandoned 

because the raw sand contained only 2 percent or less monazite (Gottsschalk, 1915, p. 903). 

In Uruguay, black sands on the beaches contain ilmenite and small 

amounts of monazite. The richest concentrates are from beaches 25 

miles east of Montevideo. Monazite has been reported in beach and 

stream placers in Argentina, and in 1961 it was stated (Engineering 

and Mining Journal, 1962, p.112) that 30 million tons of sand containing 4 percent monazite had been found in Cordoba Province, but the 

nature of the occurrence was not described and the deposits are not 

known to be minable under present technology. 

Some mining companies were reported in 1956 (Mining World, 

1956, p. 68) to be investigating monazite placers near the boundary 

between British Guiana and Brazil, but no monazite had been produced in British Guiana as of 1958. Monazite is a possible accessory 

mineral in fluvio-marine gold placers on the Isla de Chiloe, Chile 

(Falke, 1936, p. 588). 

AFRICA 

Monazite is present in many parts of Africa, and it is likely that 

monazite-bearing placers will be found in many more areas than are 

now known. 
26 GEOLOGIC DISTRIBUTION AND RESOURCES OF THORIUM 

In South Africa, beach placers on the Natal coast contain from 5 

to 90 percent heavy minerals in the raw sand, but monazite rarely 

constitutes more than 1 percent of the concentrate (Partridge, 1939, 

p. 175; Kent, 1939, p. 31-36). Fluvial sands of the Breede River, 

Cape of Good Hope Province, contain detrital monazite (Coppenhagen, 1945, p. 153-157). The banks of the Sandspruit about 8 miles 

south of Steynsdorp in the Transvaal have been reported to have a 

little detrital monazite, and nearby, possibly in the Swaziland Protectorate, about 3.5 tons of monazite was recovered in the Oshoek tinfields prior to 1918 (Hall, 1918, p. 309, 316). The output referred to 

the Oshook tinfields may be the same as that credited to the cassiterite 

placers at Mbabane, Swaziland Protectorate (Bond, 1930, p. 342). 

The alluvial monazite of the Mbabane tinfields is regarded as being of 

no economic importance. Although no production has been reported 

through 1962 in Mozambique, monazite containing 5 percent ThOz 

makes up as much as 1 percent of the black-sand deposits at Marracuene (Davidson, 1956a). Other monazite-bearing sands occur at the 

mouth of the River Rovuma. 

In Rhodesia, monazite and thorite, rarely in amounts as high as 2lbs 

monazite :per cubic yard, are present in the alluvium of some rivers, 

but no production has been reported. Widespread occurrences of detrital monazite in the streams in N yasaland were noted as early as 1906, 

but none was an eoonomic source for the mineral (Dunstan, 1908, p. 

10-35). Concentrates from streams at 70 localities in area.s underlain 

by crystalline rocks in southern N yasaland 'are monazite-bearing 

(Dixey, 1930, p. 11). Of 40 samples of river sand studied in the 

Tambani region, Nyasaland, according to Davidson (1956c, p. 207-

209), thorium-bearing minerals were found in the following number 

of samples: monazite, 39; thorite, 25; pyrochlore and (or) betafite, 

25; uranothorianite, 11. Beach placers along the shores of Monkey 

Hay and elsewhere around Lake Nyasa contain monazite. The Lake 

Nyasa beaches were being prospected in 1957, but no deposits had been 

mined by 1958 (McNaughton, 1958b, p. 28). 

In the Central African Republic, monazite containing 6 percent 

ThOz occurs in diamond-bearing concentrates from the Oheniandaka 

River (Brustier, 1934, p. 435), and detrital monazite containing 7 percent Th02 has been reported from Jakundu (Marble, 1949b, p. 90). 

Some of the Tertiary sedimentary rocks of Tanganyika are monaziterich (Davidson, 1956a), and workable placers may be discovered, especially where reconcentration might occur by erosion of these rocks. 

The presence of monazite in the coastal Tertiary sedimentary rocks 

indicates a far more general ·distribution of monazite in Tanganyika 

than the few known occurrences show. The highly met.amoJ:1>hesed 
PLACER AND RESIDUAL DEPOSITS 27 

rocks o:f the basement system and migmatite and gneissose granite de--

veloped from them underlie 70 percent of tJhe area of the country. 

Surficial mantle, fan detritus, fluvial sediments, and lake deposits derived from these plutonic rocks are likely to contain monazite. Monazite is widely distributed in the gold placers in the U gand'a Protectorate, but some is low in Th02 (Wayland, 1933, p. 21-22; Marble, 1949b, 

p. 91) , and it has not !been recovered economically. Black sand at 

the mouths o:f the Galana and Tarra Rivers on the Indian Ocean coast 

of Kenya ( Pulfrey, 1948, p. 297; 1954, p. 25) and along the coast of 

Patta Island near the border between Kenya and tJhe Somali Republic 

(Hintze, 1922, p. 344) contains minor 'amounts of monazite. 

In the Somali Republic, ilmenite sand containing 0.06 percent 

monazite is concentrated on the seaward side of a belt of coastal dunes 

near the mouth of the Guiba River (Mining Journal, 1915, p. 759; 

Holmes, 1954, p. 66). The amount of monazite is too small to be recovered economically at the present time. 

In Ruanda-U rundi in the valleys of the Rukarara, Binana, Ruyobora, and Agafugoto Rivers, monazite placers of undescribed size are 

known (Fontainas and Ansotte, 1932, p. 25; Congo Beige Bull. 

Officiel, 1933, p. 517, 524, 527; Miller, 1939, p. 9). 

Placer monazite has been found in gold- or cassiterite-bearing 

streams in many parts of the Republic of the Congo, particularly 

the northeastern part ( Corin, 1931, p. 151; Congo Beige Bull. Officiel, 

1926a, p. 489-493; 1926b, p. 788, 790). A small tonnage of monazite 

was produced in the Republic of the Congo from 1951 through 1956 

(table 1) , but the source is not known. 

In Nigeria, both monazite and thorite occur in tin and columbite 

concentrates, and could be recovered if prices were sufficiently high. 

Concentrates containing thorite, zircon, and monazite were exported 

in 1956, 1957, and 1958 for their thorium content (Parker, 1962, 

p. 56). Davidson (1956b) reported that 75 tons of thoria, in crude 

tin ore averaging 0.4 per cent equivalent thoria, annually passes 

through Nigerian tin sheds, and that reserves of 1,000 to 2,000 tons 

thoria are in the crude tin ore that is likely to be mined over a 20-year 

period. Thorite is more important than monazite as a source of 

thorium in Nigerian tin placers. Slags from British tin smelters, 

which treat a mixture o:f Bolivian and Nigerian ores, were reported 

by Davidson (1956a) to contain about 0.1-0.2 percent Th02. 

Small amounts of monazite were reported in streams in the Republic of Cameroun (Tattam, 1938, p. 8-9; Marble, 1949a, p. 37; 

Miller, 1939, p. 10; Wright and others, 1938, p. 68), in placers near 

Beyla, Republic of Guinea (Echo des Mines et de la Metall., 1935, 

p. 178-179), and in sands of the Casamance River in the Republic 

of Senegal (l\filler, 1939, p. 10; Wright and others, 1938, p. 68). 
, 28 GEOLOGIC DISTRIBUTION AND RESOURCES OF THORIUM 

The sand bars and beaches on the Sierra Leone coast, which have 

been investigated for titanium minerals, very likely contain considerable amounts of monazite, derived from erosion of monazite-bearing 

n1igmatite. Many streams in the interior have been cited as monazitebearing, but workable placers have not been found (Dixey, 1954, 

p. 74; Holmes and Cahen, 1955, p. 29-30; Junner, 1929, p. 5-11). 

Monazite in low concentrations has been found in stream gravels at 

1nany places in Ghana, but it is not known to be abundant enough to 

form workable deposits or to be recovered from gold or diamond 

placers (Kitson and Felton, 1930, p. 13-48; J unner, 1943, p. 21). 

Beach and dune sands between Port-Etienne and Saint-Louis on 

the Atlantic coast of the Mauritanian Islamic Republic locally contain monazite (Dropsy, 1943, p. 251-263). The dominant heavy mineral is ilmenite at the few examined localities along this long coast. 

Monazite is generally sparse, but it probably could be recovered as a 

byproduct if the ilmenite were mined. 

In Egypt, a little monazite has been produced from placers of the 

Nile River delta, and resources, including low-grade material, hn.ve 

been estimated to be about 200,000 tons of monazite (Higazy and 

Naguib, 1958). Inasmuch as a large part of the heavy mine:vals annually transported by the Nile to its mouths originate on the Abyssinian Plateau, the Aswan High Dam may ultimately slow or halt this 

transport. Minor detrital monazite occurs in the sediments of the 

Dacata River at Errer, Ethiopia (Usoni, 1952, p. 70). 

The Malagasy Republic produced 1.6 tons of monazite, as a byproduct of gold mining of the stream placers, in 1923 (Turner, 1928, 

p. 82) , and exported 1.3 tons of euxenite and monazite in the first 

quarter of 1924 (Madagascar Director of Mines, 1924, p. 139). 

Beach sands in southeastern Malagasy Republic were first mined 

in 1954, and monazite was produced at least through 1962 (table 1; see 

also Lecoq, 1957, p. 591). Monazite-bearing marine sand forms a belt 

1,000 to 5,000 feet wide along the south~astern coast of the Malagasy 

Republic, and in the vicinity of Fort-Dauphin the sand extends inland for several miles (Roche and mhers, 1956, p.147-152). The present beaches are 35 to 160 feet wide and locally contain very rich concentrations of monazite. Inland from the present beaches are old 

raised beaches, and further inland are modern and old dunes. A barren overburden buries rich monazite placers in the old beaches. The 

modern dunes constitute large-volume, low-tenor monazite placers, and 

the old dunes large-volume, intermediate-tenor placers. Placers in 

the old dunes are less rich than those in the beaches, but they contain 

25 to 30 percent of heavy minerals including 1.2 to 1.5 percent mona.-

zite. More tha.n 80 percent of the known reserves of monazite along 

the southeastern coast are in the old dunes. South of the Manana.ra 
PLACER AND RESIDUAL DEPOSITS 29 

River, 11 explored beaches contain an estimated 3,000 tons of monazite, 

and 16 old beach and dune deposits 35,000 tons of monazite, which 

contains 5.3 to 9 percent Th02 (Roche and others, 1956, p. 151-153). 

EUROPE 

For many years the beach placers on the Galician coast of northwestern Spain annually yielded small quantities (about 20 tons) of monazite containing about 5.6 percent Th02 (Davidson, 1956a). 

Beach sands along the Tyrrhenian coast of Italy were reported by 

Ippolito (1956) to contain uraniferous thorite, monazite, and a new 

thorium-bearing mineral, perrierite. The total black-sand deposit 

above sea level has been estimated to consist of 444,000 tons containing 

710 tons of thorium-bearing minerals, which average 3.5 percent Th02, 

or 27 tons (60 ppm) Th02 (Ippolito, 1956). Because perrierite appears to be associated with rhyolitic lava, the possibility exists that 

elsewhere in the world similar lava that is thoroughly weathered 

may be the source of detrital perrierite. 

U.S.S.R. 

Numerous placer occurrences of monazite are known in the U.S.S.R., 

but none are known to be extensive or productive, although monazite 

is probably recovered as a byproduct of gold dredging in some areas. 

Some of the potential placer areas are the Alichur Valley in the Pamir 

Range of Tadzhikistan, the shores along Lake Baikal, the Y enisei and 

Lena Rivers, the gold-producing areas of the northern Ural Mountains, the Altai-Sayan Mountains, and some of the streams in Transbaikal and eastern Siberia. According to Davidson ( 1956a), monazite and thorite may be present in the titanomagnetite-bearing black 

sand between Batum and Gagry on the Georgian coast of the Black 

Sea. The reserves of black sand in this area have been estimated at 

about 10 million tons. 

ASIA 

Beach placers on the west coast of India have been the world's principal source of monazite, owing to a combination of monazite-bearing 

source rocks, deep lateritic weathering, initial concentration in coastal 

sandstones, and natural sorting of the heavy minerals accumulated in 

beach sands. During the monsoon season, when greatest concentration is accomplished, the minable sands contain 40 to 95 percent heavy 

minerals. Monazite makes up from less than 1 to about 2 percent of 

the ilmenitic black sand. Because of its abundance, Indian monazite 

has even been considered as a possible source of phosphate for fertilizer 

(Kartha, 1955, p. 53; Nair and Moosath, 1955, p. 63). Monazite was 

discovered here in 1909, and a few hundred to 5,200 tons per year was 

740-134~64----5 
30 GEOLOGIC DISTRIBUTION AND RESOURCES OF THORIUM 

exported during 1911-45, after which the export of fissionable material was prohibited. 

Principal deposits are in Kerala, but smaller deposits are also 

known on the west coast as far north as the mouth of the N arbada 

River. Recently discovered deposits on the east coast are of lower 

tenor but larger size than those on the west coast, and probably contain a greater total amount of monazite. Reserves of monazite in 

the Kerala-Cochin sector of the west coast have been estimated by 

Wadia (1956) as a little more than a million tons. In this deposit 

and others on Indian beaches, Wadia estimated, probably very conservatively, the following thorium reserves: 

1. 150,000 to 180,000 tons in monazite sand, easily and economically 

extractable. 

2. A smaller tonnage from less concentrated deposits scattered in 

beach and dune sands and on the beds of lagoons and stream 

courses. 

In the Ranchi and Purulia districts in Bihar and West Bengal, 

large alluvial deposits of monazite were found in the late 1950's 

which add greatly to the thorium resources of India (Bhola and 

others, 1958; Shirke and Chatterji, 1958). Small amounts of monazite occur in sandstone intercalated in the Deccan flows. Streams 

in the charnockite areas of the Kadur and Hassan districts, Mysore, 

were widely prospected for monazite in 1916-17, and small amounts 

were found at many places, but no workable deposits were discovered (Memminger, 1917, p. 681). Streams reaching the coast 

of Andhra Pradesh from theW altair Highlands are monazite-bearing 

(Mahadevan and Sathapathi, 1948, p. 297). 

The interesting possibility, apparently as yet unexplored, exists 

that in the ~Gulf of Mannar area, shallow-water deposits along Adams 

Bridge between India and Ceylon may contain monazite. Beach 

placers are present on opposite shores of the Gulf. Currents setting northeastward through the Gulf may effect along-shore transport 

of monazite and concentrate it, as a great natural riffle, on the beaches 

near and in the shallow water in the Adams Bridge area. 

Ceylon has produced several hundred tons of monazite from beach 

deposits and a few tons of thorianite from stream placers and decomposed pegmatite. Several small monazite-rich beaches on the 

west coast produced monazite in the early 1920's. A deposit of at 

least 3 million tons in northeastern Cey Ion, at Pulmoddai, contains 

72 percent ilmenite, 18 percent zircon and rutile, and 0.3 to 0.4 

percent monazite (Davidson, 1956a). Ceylon monazite contains about 

9 percent Th02 • Small deposits of thorianite and thorite, which are 

recovered in gem mining, occur in interior Cey Ion in stream gravels. 
PLACER AND RESIDUAL DEPOSITS 31 

The sources of these minerals are decomposed gneiss, pegmatite, and 

other granitic rocks. The principal deposits are in the Ratnapura 

district, but several other districts also contain these minerals in 

stream placers. 

In Pakistan, no economic deposits of monazite had been found as 

late as 1959 though isolated occurrences of this mineral had boon reported from the Indus and Hunza Rivers in West Pakistan (Danilchik and others, 1959, p. 5). In 1962 radioactive beach sand was reported to occur intermittently for 100 miles between Chittagong and 

Teknaf on the Bay of Bengal, East Pakistan (Schmidt and Asad, 

1962). Apparently the 'monazite is accompanied by radioactive black 

n1inerals, and the monazite alone accounts for less than half of the 

total radioactivity. The placers, which have not been fully appraised, 

are tens to hundreds of feet wide, hundreds to thousands of feet long, 

and as much as several feet thick. 

A concentrate from alluvium of the Bra:hmaputra (Tsangpo) River 

near Chaksam in southeastern Tibet is reported to contain monazite 

(La Touche, 1918, p. 390). 

The placer tin deposits of the Malay Peninsula (Fermor, 1940, 

1950; Harris and Will bourn, 1940), Burma, and Thailand contain 

considerable monazite hut generally it has not been recovered in the 

tin mining. Monazite rarely makes up as mu~h as 50 percent of the 

heavy sands at Kuala Trengganu on the east side of Malaya (Engineering and Mining Journal, 1906). Malayan monazite resources 

probably ·are greater than those of Burma, Thailand, or Indonesia. 

Malayan monazite contains 3.4 to 9.4 percent Th02 and is therefore 

a richer source for thorium than the Indonesian mineral. It is likely 

that 100 to 200 tons of Th02 passes through Malayan tin-concentrating plants annually (Davidson, 1956a). A small amount of monazite 

is reputed to have been produced in 1914 at Sungei Badang in the 

Ganibang placer tin field in Pahang (Fitch, 1952, p. 111), and about 

1930 some mixed concentrates containing monazite were shipped. 

During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese in Malaya produced 220 tons of 

monazite and 200 tons of a mixed monazite-zircon concentrate from 

Ca;Ssiterite tailings (Fermor, 1950, table 2). In the mu Sempan area 

of Pahang, Malaya, placer concentrates contain columhite and monazite (Scrivenor, 1907, p. 42). In the Puket-Pangnga region of Thailand, the tailings from tin mining also 'ha.ve uranium- and thoriumbearing nidbates and titanates (D•avidson, 1956a) such as euxenite 

and brannerite. 

Placer concentrates from Wan Hpa-lan in the southern Shan States, 

Burma, contain abundant monazite ( Chhihher, 1934, p. 240). Cassiterite placers in the Tavoy district have various amounts of monazite 
32 GEOLOGIC DISTRIBUTION AND RESOURCES OF THORIDM 

(Heron, 1917, p. 180). Apparently unfounded reports early in 1948 

stated that large deposits of thorium-bearing minerals had been discovered in central and eastern Burma (Engineering and Mining 

Journal, 1948a, b) . 

Monazite occurs along the coasts and in streams at many places in 

southern, eastern, and northeastern China. Economically valuable 

amounts of monazite are said to be associated with cassiterite in the 

tin placer district of southwestern Hunan Province and northeastern 

Kwangsi Province (Peng, 1947, p. 111-115). The placer monazite is 

derived from cassiterite-hearing granite that intrudes Carboniferous 

limestone and is unconformably overlain by Cretaceous sedimentary 

rocks (Hsieh, 1943, p. 82), a mode of occurrence that is suggestive 

of low-thoria monazite. Although detrital monazite has not been 

reported in the Cretaceous sedimentary rocks, it probably occurs 

there. Extensive heavy-mineral deposits, probably monazite-bearing, 

occur along the coast in southern K wangtung Province, but details 

are lacking (Zenkovich, 1960, p. 355). The beaches of the coastal 

islands of Fukien Province and stream sand in Ho-pei Province contain detrital monazite, and beach placers are found along the coast of 

Shantung Province and Liaotung Peninsula (Wong, 1919, p. 215; 

Tsieh, 1926, p. 238-239). Monazite is also reported in Heilungkiang 

Province, Manchuria, near the Amur River. No evaluation of the 

rnainland deposits has been presented, but probably the amount of 

monazite in the Hunan and Kwangsi tin districts is moderately large. 

The coastal areas probably have large low-tenor concentrations of 

detrital monazite more like those along the Atlantic coast of the 

United States than those of Brazil or India. 

Monazite and thorite occur in stream and beach placers on Taiwan 

( Shen, 1956), and monazite in beach sands on Quemoy. One deposit 

in northwestern Taiwan is reported to contain 4.5 percent heavy minerals in the beach sand, of which 3.4 percent is monazite. Total 

Taiwan beach-sand reserves are estimated by Shen as 7,500,000 metric 

tons, from which 200,000 tons (2.7 percent) heavy sand containing 4.4 

percent monazite oan be recovered. 

Monazite occurs in stream and beach placers in Korea, and is by 

no means rare in some of the richest gold -dredging ground in the 

country, where it is accompanied by allanite, xenotime, euxenite, fergusonite, nnd samarskite. Before 1942 these minerals received no attention, but from 1942 through 1945 many hundreds of tons of monazite 

was produced by hand methods. The valley o:f the Kum-gang alone 

yielded 2,200 tons of mixed zircon-monazite concentrate. Beginning 

in 1952 a variable but persistent output was achieved (table 1). The 

Korean First Five-Year Economic Plan, 1962-66, which uses 1960 
PLACER AND RESIDUAL DEPOSITS 33 

(10 metric tons monazite produced) 'as 'a base year, gives the proposed 

monazite production in metric tons as: 1962, 300; 1963, 350; 1964, 400; 

1965, 500; 1966, 600. Data on monazite reserves for several localities 

have been published. As estimated by Kim and others Cl958, p. 169-

170), five stream placers in Cholla-namdo contain 70,000 tons of monazite; stream placers at Munbaek-myon in Ch'ungch'ong-pukto contain 

1,200 tons, and ~at Chonghowon-up in Kyonggi-do, 18,700 tons. Beach 

placers on the coast of Kangwon-do, which are rich in ilmenite but lean 

in monazite, are conservatively estimated to contain 1,600 tons of monazite ( Y oon and others, 1958, p. 206). There is much more monazite 

in Korea than these few figures on reserves suggest. 

In Japan, thorium minerals occur in pegmatites and granitic rocks 

and in placers derived from both. Deposits are small and there has 

been no significant production, although in the N aegi district monazite- and thorite-bearing cassiterite deposits were mined on a small 

scale during World War II. 

Indonesia has produced monazite as a byproduct of tin placers, 

principally on the islands of Singkep, Billiton, and Bangka off the 

east coast of Sumatra. Small but unrecorded amounts of monazite were shipped from Singkep, the largest monazite producer, in 

1894-96, and 1,565 tons in 1936-40. Billiton produced smaller 

amounts in the years 1896 and 1909. Two samples of Singkep monazite assayed only 3.4 and 3.27 percent Th02 (Davidson, 1956a); the 

Billiton monazite is also low in thorium (Hintze, 1922, p. 342, 370) . 

Indonesia achieved a sporadic production of monazite in the 1950's 

(table 1). 

Monazite has also been reported in beach sands of Borneo, northern 

and western Sumatra, and in stream placers near Bengara, Borneo. 

Streams on the northern and northeastern flanks of Gunong Lesong 

in Sarawak are notably rich in monazite (Haile, 1952, p. 14; 1954, 

p. 35, 102; Wilford, 1953, p. 33). Monazite has been found in concentrates from the Sungei Entabai and from the delta of the Batang 

Rajang (Roe, 1958, p. 20-21). Marine black sand with small amounts 

of monazite extends along the Sarawak beach for 2%, miles near the 

mouth of the Batang Bintulu, but the deposits are not economic 

sources for monazite (Wilford, 1953, p. 33). Small deposits of detrital monazite are known at three localities in North Borneo (Roe, 1958, 

p. 128). 

In the Philippine Republic, radioactive stream and beach sands, 

some containing monazite, have been reported from 17 localities but 

have not been evaluated economically (Bacon, 1910, p. 277-278). 
34 GEOLOGIC DISTRIBUTION AND RESOURCES OF THORIUM 

AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND, AND ANTARCTICA 

Small amounts of monazite have been reported from every State 

in Australia and from New Zealand. Monazite is produced (table 1) 

as a byproduct of the Australian beach-sand industry, which furnishes much of the world's zircon and rutile (Gardner, 1955). The 

heavy minerals occur in large deposits sporadically present from the 

mouth of the Johnstone River to Batemans Bay, New South Wales, 

in southern Queensland, and in western Australia. J\ilonazite averages no more than 0.3 percent of the commercial heavy minerals, and 

contains an average of 6.6 percent Th02. 

Small, or less well known, beach deposits occur at the Hey River 

estuary near Weipa Mission on the Gulf of Carpentaria, Queensland (Baker and Edwards, 1957, p. 1); Kangaroo Island, south 

Australia, where the monazite contains more than 8 percent Th02 

(David and Browne, 1950, p. 317}; the east coast of Tasmania and 

King Island between Tasmania and Victoria (Wylie, 1950, p. 165, 

N ye and Blake, 1938, p. 96) ; and the beaches of eastern and southern 

Victoria of which the leanest are the southern beaches. No doubt 

beach placers will be discovered elsewhere along the coasts of 

Australia. 

Stream placers mined for cassiterite, wolframite, or gold contain 

monazite at many places in Queensland and New South Wales. Intermittent attempts have been made to market monazite from the cassiterite placers, but the efforts failed because of the low tenor in thoria. 

Monazite-bearing fluvial cassiterite placers are known in Queensland 

at Cairns, the Russell River, Walsh, Tinaroo, California Creek, Emu 

Creek, Nettle Creek, Bamford, Ord, Coolgara, and the Annan River 

(MacDonald 1912, p. 15; Dunstan, 1913, p. 733; Ball, 1915, p. 7; SaintSmith, 1915, p. 556-557). Similar placers in New South Wales are 

at Vegetable Creek, Emma ville, Torrington, Deepwater, The Gulf, 

Black Swamp, and Stannum (Mingaye, 1909, p. 283; Carne, 1912, p. 

91; Raggatt, 1925, p. 16; David and Browne, 1950, p. 316). In Tasmania, low-thoria monazite occurs in cassiterite placers on the Ringarooma River, in the Scottsdale district, the Forth River area, the 

Stanley River region, the North and South Heemskirk fields, Mount 

Bischoff, Mount Stormont, the Yell ow Band Plains, and at the foot of 

the Meredith Range (Petterd, 1910, p. 121; Nye, 1925, p. 28; Reid, 

1919, p. 47-48; Waterhouse, 1914, p. 113-114). Fluvial monazite 

localities in Victoria include the Bonang district, the Koetong area, 

the Mitta Mitta River southeast of Albury, Bethanga, the LaTrobe 

River, Stawell, and Nhill (Copland, 1905, .p. 3-6; David and Brown, 

1950, p. 316; Baker, 1959). Monazite is quite common in the cassiterite placers at Shaw, Cooglegong, Moolyella, and Greenbushes, 
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS 35 

Western Australia (Simpson, 1912 p. 94). It is also present in cassiterite-free alluvium from the Deep River and the Swan River. 

Detrital minerals such as monazite, uranothorite, and allanite, have 

been found at various places in the stream gravels and beach sands of 

New Zealand, principally South Island and Stewart Island. The 

most frequently cited monazite occurrences are in the western and 

northwestern parts of South Island, particularly alluvial and fluvioglacial deposits in the basin of the Grey River and littoral and stream 

deposits along the coast from Cape Foulwind to Westport (Hutton, 

1950, p. 697), but no deposits are known from which commercial production of rare earths and thorium is expected (Henderson, 1924, 

p. 14). 

Along the coast of Antarctica ice-rafted detrital monazite has been 

reported in the beach sand of a small island about 110 miles north 

of Cape Royds and near vocanic Mount Erebus (Fitzau, 1909, p~ 480). 

Trace amounts have been found between Cape Adare and Gaussberg 

(Mining and Engineering Review, 1911, p. 192). No large deposits 

are known. 

SEDIMENTARY ROCKS 

The thorium content of common sedimentary rocks is roughly about 

5 ppm for sandstone (Joly, 1910), 10-12 ppm for clay and shale 

(Joly, 1910; Minami, 1935), and 1 ppm for limestone (Evans and 

Goodman, 1941). In sandstone and conglomerate much of the 

thorium is in heavy detrital minerals and, because these are unevenly 

distributed in the rock, the thorium content is variable. The thorium 

content of 46 samples of the Chattanooga Shale, which is abnormally 

rich in uranium, ranged from 8.1 to 15 ppm and averaged 10.8 

ppm (Andrew Brown, written commun., 1962), approximately the 

average of many other common shales. 

Abnormally large amounts of thorium, although uncommon in 

sedimentary rocks, are found chiefly in the following types of 

deposits: 

1. Ancient placers. 

2. Ancient conglomerates rich in thorium and uranium, such as the 

Blind River, Ontario, deposits, the origin of which has not been 

definitely determined. 

3. Thorium-bearing dolomite, which is known in at least one area, 

the McLean Bay area of Great· Slave Lake, Northwest Territories. 

Ancient placers were formed by the same processes as the modern 

placers; the placers were subsequently buried by other sediments, were 

elevated in some places by tectonic movements, and were then exposed or inade accessible by partial erosion of the overlying material. 

Several ancient placers have a rare-earth and thorium-minerals con-
36 GEOLOGIC DISTRIBUTION AND RESOURCES OF THORIUM 

tent that equals or exceeds that of the modern placers. Examples of 

ancient placers that contain abundant monazite are found in the 

Deadwood Formation of Cambrian age, Bald Mountain district, 

Sheridan County, Wyo.; the 'Goodrich Quartzite of Precambrian age 

in the Palmer area, Marquette County, Mich.; the Tuscaloosa Formation of Late Cretaceous age in the Southeastern Coastal Plain; and 

the black-sand concentrations in Upper Cretaceous sedimentary rocks 

in the Rocky Mountain region. 

In the Bald Mountain district, Wyoming, detrital monazite is concentrated in an ancient placer deposit at Bald Mountain in the 

conglomerate near the base of the Deadwood Formation, overlying 

the Precambrian granite. At least 20 million tons of material averaging about 2.5 lb monazite per ton is present, and one high-grade 

stratum contains at least 675,000 tons averaging 13.2 lb per ton 

(Borrowman and Rosenbaum, 1962). The Th02 content of the monazite is 8.8 percent. This part of the Deadwood Formation in other 

places in northeastern Wyoming and in the Black Hills, S. Dak., 

has varied slight anomalous radioactivity. Although other deposits 

as rich as those in the Bald Mountain district may be present in the 

Deadwood Formation, this possibility is uncertain and unpredictable 

without more information than is now available. 

Fossil placer monazite concentrations whose Th02 content is in the 

15-30-ppm range probably occur in Cretaceous, Tertiary, and Quaternary sediments of the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains. There is 

no information to indicate that fossil placers of this grade occur in 

the Gulf Coastal Plain below the unconformity between sediments 

of Quaternary and Tertiary age, but they possibly occur at and above 

that unconformity in the Gulf Coastal Plain. In the Atlantic Coastal 

Plain, fossil placers may be found at the unconformities between rocks 

of Quaternary and Tertiary age, of Tertiary and Cretaceous age, and 

of Cretaceous and Paleozoic or Precambrian age. Probably some 

fossil placers at these unconformities, particularly the lowest, are 

also in the >30-ppm grade. 

In the Upper Cretaceous sandstone beds of Utah, Wyoming, New 

Mexico, and Colorado there are at least 82 black-sand deposits having 

a total Th02 content of 9,010 tons and an average grade of 0.03 percent 

Th02 (Dow and Batty, 1961). Detrital thorium-bearing minerals 

were concentrated in these beach-sand deposits by the sorting action 

of waves and currents along the shoreline of the regressive Cretaceous 

sea. Many additional similar black-sand deposits undoubtedly are 

present in unexposed parts of these formations. These undiscovered 

deposits probably contain at least several times the resources of the 

known deposits. 
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS 37 

Detrital grains of monazite are abundant in the matrix of pebble 

conglomerate of the Goodrich Quartzite in the Palmer area, Michigan 

(Vickers, 1956a, 1956b). The monazite-rich rocks extend over an area 

about a mile long and half a mile wide. Sam piing and radiometric 

surveys indicate an average monazite content of at least 2.9lbs per ton, 

although some individual beds are considerably richer. A rough calculation using these figures indicates that a block 6,000 feet long, 850 

:feet thick, and 1,000 feet downdip may contain as much as 46,000 tons 

Th02 at a grade of 110 ppm. Within this block are higher-grade 

layers containing 10 lbs or more monazite per ton. The average grade 

of monazite-bearing quartzite that would be amenable to open-pit 

mining methods is not known, but Vickers ( 1956a) believed that large 

tonnages are available that would contain about 10 lbs of monazite 

per ton (about 370 ppm Th02). Additional exploration would be 

necessary to determine the amount and grade of monazite-bearing rock 

present. 

The Goodrich Quartzite crops out over an area of several hundred 

square miles in northern Michigan, but the main concentrations of 

monazite have been found near Palmer in an area of about 3 square 

miles. About 12 miles southeast of Palmer small local concentrations 

of monazite have been found in an outlier of Goodrich Quartzite. 

Because monazite in the Goodrich Quartzite seems to be restricted to 

a small area, the mineral is believed to be derived from a local source 

(Vickers, 1956a). Although there is considerable potential for the 

discovery of other concentrations like those at Palmer, such deposits 

are undoubtedly of local extent and represent only limited parts of the 

Precambrian quartzites of the region. 

In other parts of the world, ancient placers have been found, particularly through exploration by radiation detection methods (for 

examples, see N el, 1959; Gangloff, 1959; Davidson, 1951; Bowie and 

others, 1955; O'Brien, 1958; Ponsford, 1955), but very little quantitative data have been published regarding such occurrences. 

In North America one of the greatest potential sources of thorium 

is in conglomerate in the Matinenda Formation in the Blind River 

district, Ontario, Canada (Roscoe, 1957; Griffith, 1963) . The ratio 

of thorium to uranium ranges mostly from 3: 1 to 1: 4. The uranium 

deposits average about 1 part Th02 for 2 parts UsOs; an annual 

production rate of 13,000 tons of U 30 8 might yield from 5,000 to 6,000 

tons of Th02 (U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, 1959), about 10 times 

the present thorium production of the world. The Rio Tinto Dow 

plant, which began operation in 1959, is designed to recover about 

150-200 tons of thorium salts annually as a byproduct of uranium 

production. 
38 GEOLOGIC DISTRIBUTION AND RESOURCES OF THORIUM 

The thorium in the Blind River deposits is largely contained in 

monazite, brannerite, and uraninite which, along with smaller amounts 

of thucholite, constitute the chief uranium ore minerals. The bulk 

of the thorium appears in the leach liquors from the uranium recovery 

process, from which it is obtainable at moderate cost. 

I£ an average figure of 0.06 percent Th02 for the Blind River 

uranium ores is used, an estimated 200,000 tons of Th02 exists in the 

uranium deposits to a maximum depth of 3,700 feet. Estimates of 

the amount of high-thorium, low-uranium ore in the region have not 

been published, but the thorium reserves of the region may be significantly increased when data are available on ores that are low in 

uranium relative to thorium content. 

Uraninite from the Rand, South Africa, has been reported to contain as much as 2.70 percent Th02 (Liebenberg, 1958), and monazite 

is also present in places. In the uranium- and gold-bearing reefs of 

Jacobina, Brazil, thorium has been reported in trace amounts (Bateman, 1958}. In both the Rand and Jacobina, the proportion of 

thorium is much smaller than in the Blind River deposits and has not 

been recovered commercially. 

Large uranium-thorium deposits similar to those at Blind River 

have not been found in the United States. Similar conglomerate beds 

of Precambrian or possible Paleozoic age in the United States may 

contain comparable deposits and thus have potential thorium and 

uranium resources of uncertain magnitude, but there is no basis on 

which a valid numerical estimate of this potential can be made. 

Considerable exploration of areas that seem favorable, on the basis of 

paleogeologic interpretations, probably will be required to find such 

deposits in this country. 

Thorium-bearing dolomitic limestone at McLean Bay on the southeastern shore of ·Great Slave Lake, Northwest Territories, has been 

explored (Lang, 1952, p. 63-65). A zone of Precambrian dolomite 

that shows concentric structure of possible algal origin is stained 

with hematite and contains small quantities of thorium and uranium 

in the ratio of about 5 :1. The deposits have been known for several 

years but apparently they have not been mined. 

THORIUM RESOURCES 

CATEGORIES 

Many factors determine what constitutes recoverable resources. 

Among these are the grade or percentage of thorium, the mineralogic 

composition, the minimum size of deposit that may be exploitable, the 

location, and the proportion of the metal recoverable by the mining 

and milling methods employed. Economic and technologic develop-
CATEGORIES OF THORIUM RESOURCES 39 

ments have a strong influence on what constitutes ore and what is 

commercially recoverable. In order to achieve a common basis for 

resource estimates without regard to these variable factors, the 

thorium tonnage figures used in this report refer to the total thorium 

in the rock or deposit rather than the proportion that may ultimately 

be recoverable. 

Resources of thorium may be divided into (1) identified or known 

resources, and (2) unidentified or undiscovered resources. Identified, or known, resources are those in areas known to contain amounts 

of thorium that can be estimated with reasonable assurance, and 

are defined to include both indicated and inferred ore in these areas. 

Unidentified or undiscovered resources include resources of the same 

grade or workability whose existence is surmised on the basis of geologic reasoning, but whose specific location is not known. This category allows for unexposed and undiscovered deposits occurring at 

depth in areas of known mineralization and also for districts and 

isolated occurrences yet to be found in environments similar to those 

of known occurrences. Total potential resources of thorium are the 

sum of the known and the undiscovered resources. The terms "measured," "indicated," and "inferred" are used with conventional meaning 

to describe the degree of certainty of estimates of reserves, although 

owing to inadequacy of exploration very little ore can be classed as 

measured or indicated; marginal and submarginal resources are not 

well enough explored to be classed as other than inferred. 

All thorium in the earth's continental crust, about 11.4 ppm, totals 

about 10 12 tons to a depth of 1,000 feet. A more realistic appraisal 

of resources, however, is attained by discriminating only those materials that are well above the background thorium content or might 

conceivably be exploitable at some future time. Categories of resource 

estimates used in this report are, in parts per million, >3,000, 300-

3,000, and 30-300 for hard-rock deposits, and >15 and <15 for placer 

deposits. Although little if any thorium is now being mined in the 

United States, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission has estimated 

that Th02 might be available at a price $5 or less per pound from 

Lemhi Pass thorite ore having a grade of about 0.5 percent (U.S. 

Atomic Energy Commission, 1962). A concentration of 300 ppm 

Th02 is, with few exceptions, the approximate upper concentration 

limit of known igneous rock bodies of sufficient size to be quarried. 

Placer deposits containing more than 15 ppm Th02 in the sand might 

be exploitable in the United States if the price of thorium were about 

$10 per pound. Lower grade categories are included as marginal 

and submarginal resources. 
40 GEOLOGIC DISTRIBUTION AND RESOURCES OF THORIUM 

UNITED STATES 

Estimates o:f thorium resources of the United States, by geologic 

occurrence and by grade, are given in table 3. Data on which :fully 

reliable resource estimates can be made are not available, and the 

estimates shown in these tables, based on fragmentary information 

o:f varying degrees of reliability, will no doubt be revised, probably 

upward, as geologic mapping, exploration, and development proceed. 

The resources listed in table 3 are divided into :four geologic types 

and five grade categories, expressed in parts Th02 per million. They 

are :further classed as (1) identified or known resources; (2) undiscovered or unidentified resources in areas of known thorium occurrences, where the geologic setting permits extrapolation to greater 

depth; and ( 3) possible undiscovered and unidentified resources in 

areas not now known to contain thorium deposits. The existence of 

some undiscovered deposits may be reasonably surmised, for geologic 

environments generally similar to those o:f known occurrences are 

present, but the location of such deposits is unknown. 

TABLE 8.-FJstimated United States Th02 resources, in tons 

Known or identified Potential 

Approximate cost Grade (indicated resources Type of deposit category (ppm) and in known 

inferred) areas 

Vein.------------ __ Low cost ($3-$10 

per lb). >3,000 100,000 1400,000 

High cost_ ________ 300-3,000 20,000 1500,000 

Placer •• _---------- Low to moder- >15 70,000 230,000 

ately high cost, 

dependent on byproducts in 

part. 

High cost (low <15 10,000 Large, not grade). estimated. 

Igneous and met- ....• do _____________ 300-3,000 15,000 3 20,000 

amorphic rock. _._ .• do •••••. _ .•.• _. 30-300 40,000,000 335,000,000 

Sedimentary rock •• ---.• do •••••.•. _____ 300-3,000 20,000 3 60,000 ___ .• do •.•••.. ______ 30-300 55,000 8 300,000 

1 Extrapolated to 3,000-ft depth. s Probably at least as great as potential resources in previous columns. a Extrapolated to 1,000-ft depth. 'Probably several times the total in preceding column. 

Speculative 

estimate of 

additional 

potential 

resources in 

Total districts that are undis· 

covered or unidentified 

1500,000 (2). 

1500,000 (2), 

300,000 Not estimated. 

Large, not estimated. Large, not estimated. a 35,000 8 75, 000, 000 

(f), 

Very large, not estimated. a 80,000 

1350,000 

(2). 

Large, not estimated. 

Identified or known resources include those in districts or areas for 

which some quantitative information is available. Only a small 

amount o:f the resources in this category can be classed as measured 

ore, but indicated and inferred ore are included. Resources are generally estimated to a depth o:f 1,000 feet for large bodies of igneous 

rock, or to a depth equal to half the surface length for smaller de-
THORIUM RESOURCES IN THE UNITED STATES 41 

posits such as veins. The sizes of placer deposits in the knownresources category are fairly well established by physical exploration. 

In the undiscovered or unidentified resources category, veins are 

estimated to a depth of 3,000 feet. Resources in igneous and sedimentary rocks are estimated to a depth of 1,000 feet, although in 

most districts included in these estimates, geologic conditions would 

permit extrapolation of the low-grade resources to at least 3,000 feet. 

Estimates shown for the igneous and sedimentary rocks could therefore be trebled with reasonable likelihood that the tonnages of thorium 

present at those depths will be comparable, on the average, to those 

at the surface. The estimates for placer deposits, on the other hand, 

cannot be projected to great depth, although additional placer deposits will no doubt be found in some now untested areas. Potential 

resources inferred to occur in the epigenetic deposits at depths of 

several hundred feet or more will require costly exploration for their 

discovery and evaluation. Very little subsurface exploration of 

thorium veins has been carried out thus far. 

There is no satisfactory basis on which to make meaningful estimates of possible undiscovered and unidentified resources, particularly of veins and other epigenetic deposits, in areas not known to 

contain thorium deposits and in large areas in which unfavorable 

sedimentary or volcanic rock types obscure more favorable host rocks 

at depth. Accordingly these estimates are, for the most part, expressed qualitatively in the tables. Potential resources undoubtedly 

exist in this category, and present a challenge to exploration in the 

future. 

Concentrations of 3,000 ppm or more are found almost exclusively 

in vein-type deposits, and veins containing this much thorium were of 

commercial interest at prices prevailing in the 1950-60 period. Recorded thorite production (U.S. Bureau of Mines, 1957-59) from 

veins in the Western States was chiefly in the 1957-59 period but has 

probably aggregated less than 1,000 tons. A large part of this was 

in 1958, when production of 650 tons of upgraded thorite concentrate, 

valued at $35,000, was reported in Colorado (Kelly, 1962). Known 

near-surface vein deposits of a grade of about 0.5 percent would presumably be economically workable at a price of about $3 to $5 per 

pound Th02. The workability is of course determined by many factors in addition to the Th02 content of the material; hence the grade 

expressed here in parts per million is only an approximate guide to 

amount of Th02 in deposits minable at a given price. 

The identified resources in veins are largely in the Lemhi Pass district, Idah()-Montana, for which the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission 

(1962) has estimated reserves of a;bout 100,000 tons at 0.5 percent 
42 GEOLOGIC DISTRIBUTION AND RESOURCES OF THORIUM 

Th02. Other districts with smaller Imown high-grade resources, but 

fur which some data are availa;ble, include the Wet Mountains and 

Powderhorn districts, Colo. ; Porthill, Idaho; Bokan Mountain, 

Alaska; Mountain Pass, Calif.; and Capitan Mountains, N.Mex. The 

known reserves are approximated from available data by projecting 

the better known deposits to depths equal to half their lengths. Undiscovered resources in those 'areas known to contain thorium deposits 

are estimated by extrapolating this figure to a depth of 3,000 feet, for 

the veins are commonly found over areas having a relief of 1,000 to 

8,000 feet. The figure obtained by this method for the seven districts 

gives a minimum potential for veins in the United States. To this 

may be added other districts, which have promise as potenti'al sources 

of thorium but which have not yet been adequately evaluated, such as 

the Bear Lodge Mountains, Wyo.; Wausau, Wis.; Ohico Hills and 

Gallinas Mountains, N. Mex.; St. Peters Dome, Colo.; Cottonwood 

area, Ariz.; Salmon Bay, Alaska; Hicks Dome, Ill.; several iron 

deposits in New Jersey and New York; and various small showings 

in other areas, chiefly in the Western States. 

The amount of thorium in veins in undiscovered districts is prolr 

lematical. Known thorium veins are chiefly in areas of Precambrian 

rocks or are associated with small intrusive bodies commonly of Tertiary age. These geologic environments are extensive, and the seven 

districts for which some reserve data are available make up only about 

800 square miles or less than one-half percent of the total area of such 

rocks. Mu~h of the remaining area has been prospected by radiometric methods, and negative results tend to diminish the potential, 

but new discoveries will probably be made by more thorough exploration. It is ·conjectured that new discoveries and further eXjJ)loration of 

other occurrences already known but inadequately evaluated could increase by a factor vf 2 or more the resources of thorium in veins. 

Placer deposits are of considerable economic interest at 30 ppm Th02, 

which is approximately equivalent to 2 lbs monazite per cubic yard as 

mined commercially in Idaho from 1950 to 1955. Even 15 ppm, roughly the Th02 content of 1lb monazite per cubic yard, or less, is potential· 

ly minable by low-cost dredging methods. Placer deposits represented 

in the known or identified resources in table 3 are those in the Piedmont, 

Coastal Plain, and beaches of the Southeastern United States, and in 

the Idaho batholith area. Undiscovered potential resources of placer 

deposits include potential areas not yet evaluated in these same regions, 

together with a small potential estimated for other placers that may be 

found in the Western States, including Alaska. 

An estimate of the monazite content of the middle shoal off the mouth 

of Appalachicola River, Fla. (Tanner and others, 1961), indicates a 
THORIUM RESOURCES IN THE UNITED STATES 43 

possible 5 X 105 cubic meters of monazite, or about 137,500 short tons 

Th02, in this one shoal. As this shoal has not been fully tested by subsurface exploration, it has been included in table 3 in potential resources 

in known areas, at a grade exceeding 15 ppm Th02. If similar quantities of monazite occur in other shoals along the coast of the Southeastern States, the total resources in this type of deposit may be large. 

Other thorium-bearing surficial materials, which have been included 

in the estimates for placers, are residual deposits such as bauxite. The 

undiscovered resources in known districts in the 30-300 ppm range inelude 8,400 tons Th02 for Arkansas bauxite, based on an average of 93 

ppm Th02 for two samples (Adams and Weaver, 1958; Gordon and 

others, 1959). 

Low-grade resources that would presumably be submarginal, or only 

in part marginal, at a price of $10 per pound of Th02, are included in 

table 3. Some of this material may become workable through improved technology or higher prices. Very large tonnages of submarginal resources can be found at the low grades represented by table 3 in 

igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks and in placer deposits. 

The estimates shown in the table are in part qualitative, and they are 

but a small part of what might be listed if more quantitative data 

were available on these low-grade materials. 

Veins containing less than 3,000 ppm Th02, which would be marginal 

at a price of $10 per pound of Th02, may become of economic interest if 

demand for thorium increases sufficiently. These veins are chiefly in 

the Wet Mountains, Lemhi Pass, and Powderhorn districts. They 

have been estimated to a 3,000-foot depth, by assuming that in known 

districts such veins are as plentiful at that depth as they are at the 

surface. 

Exploration of placer deposits provides some basis for a least minimum estimates for the Idaho batholith placers containing less than 15 

ppm Th02, but present information does not justify an estimate, 

although it could be large, for such low-grade placers that may be present but undiscovered in other regions. 

The estimates in table 3 of low-grade resources in igneous and metamorphic rocks include about 300 square miles each of Conway Granite, 

New Hampshire, and Elberton Granite, Georgia; small bodies of 

igneous rock in the Wet Mountains, Front Range, and Powderhorn 

districts, Colorado; small parts of the Silver Plume and Boulder Creek 

Granites, Colorado; the Mountain Pass and Rock Corral are;as in 

southern California; and meta.morphic rock zones at Southbridge, 

Mass., all of which contain thorium in the range of 30-300-ppm Th02. 

The small tonnage tabulated as known in rock exceeding 300-ppm 

Th02 represents a pegmatitic facies of the albite syenite stock in the 

Wet Mountains, Colo., and 1a zone in metamorphic rock near Worcester, 
44 GEOLOGIC DISTRIBUTION AND RESOURCES OF THORIUM 

Mass. Other small bodies of similar rock probably exist, however r 

The tonnages in igneous and metamorphic rock have, for consistencyt 

been calculated to a uniform depth of 1,000 feet, although there is little 

question that most could reasonably be extrapolated to greater depth. 

Igneous rocks with less than 30 ppm (less than 3 times the average 

crustal abundance of thorium) are plentiful but are not included as 

resources because of low grade. The amount of thorium in areas 

other than those listed would no doubt vastly increase the resources 

in igneous and metamorphic rocks in the 30-300-ppm Th02 range if 

more quantitative data were available. 

Resources in sedimentary rocks shown in table 3 are based largely on 

information about the Goodrich Quartzite in northern Michigan 

(Vickers, 1956a), the Cretaceous black-sand deposits in the Rocky 

Mountain region (Dow and Batty, 1961), and the conglomerate of the 

Deadwood Formation at Bald Mountain in northern Wyoming (Borrowman ~and Rosenbaum, 1962). The Cretaceous and Tertiary sediments of the southeastern Coastal Plain contain, in the aggregate, very 

large tonnages of thorium in low concentrations (Dryden, 1958), although little is known about the average grade of material in bodies 

of minable size. 

The Chattanooga Shale, like most shales, contains ·about 10 ppm 

Th02, but the uranium content is 6 times as great. The Gassaway 

Member of the Chattanooga Shale contains '7 to 9 ppm thorium, and in 

the area of about 5,000 square miles in which uranium reserves were 

estimated it contains about 1,100,000 tons of thorium (Andrew Brown, 

written commun., 1962). If the shale were mined for uranium and 

other valuable constituents in low concentration, some thorium might 

be recoverable as a byproduct, but, because of its low ooncentrrution, 

this thorium has not been included in table 3. 

Other possible resources of thorium in sedimentary rocks are suggested by the large uranium and thorium reserves in conglomerate 

and quartzite in the Blind River district in southern Ontario. Inasmuch as the Blind River district contains the largest uranium and 

thorium reserves in North America, similar conglomerate or quartzite beds elsewhere must be assigned a considerable potential. However, deposits of this type, other than the Goodrich Quartzite deposits 

near Palmer, Mich., have not been discovered in this country, despite 

extensive radiometric prospecting. 

WORLD 

Current estimates of known high-grade thorium reserves of the 

world, totaling about 7 40,000 tons, are shown in table 4. These 

estimates are compared to the approximate areas of Precambrian 

rocks and other metamorphic and igneous rocks as an indication of 
WORLD THORIUM RESOURCES 45 

relative thorium potential that is more realistic than would be obtained by comparing total land areas. Precambrian and other metamorphic and igneous rocks in the United States comprise roughly 

2.8 percent of exposed areas of such rocks in the world. Because the 

United States is one of the more thoroughly prospected countries, this 

ratio, applied to the reserves and potential resources estimated for 

the United States, may give some idea of the potential of less 

thoroughly prospected parts of the world. 

TABLE 4.-Known wor'U thorium reser'IJes in relation to areas of Precambrian 

and other high-grade metamorphic and igneous rocks 

P, placer deposits; R, concentrations in igneous and metamorphic rocks; S, concentrations in sedimentary rocks; V, veins. 

Country 

North America ...••••••••••••.••• United States ••.•.••..•••..•• 

Canada.-·-··--·-··--·····-·· Other ...••.••••••.•••••.•.••• :South America ••.•••.•.•.•..••... BraziL •••••••••••••.•••••••.. 

Other········-····-----······ Asia ________ ----·-··--------·-···· India- Ceylon- Nepal- Pakistan-Afghanistan. China _____ ----_. ______ .•.•• __ 

Other··············---------- Africa ... ______ ... _______ ._-· _____ 

Malagasy Republic •..••••••• West Africa .•••••.••••••••••• Nyasaland ___________________ 

South Africa.----------------

Egypt ..••••••••. --·----------

Other------------------------ ~urope and U.S.S.R _____________ 

U.S.S.R. and eastern Europe_ 

Other------------------------ _Australia _____ ••••••• ____ ---------

World total ________________ 

Thorium reserves (short tons) 

High-grade deposits (figures rounded) 

300,000 

100,000 

200,000 

Small 

30,000 

130,000 

Small 2 250 000 

' 2 250,000 

Small 

Small 

50,000 

10,000 

15,000 

10,000 

10,000 

10,000 

Small 

100,000 

100,000 

Small 

10,000 

2 740,000 

Per sq mi of 

Precambrian 

and other 

high.grade 

metamorphic 

and igneous 

rocks 

0.1 

.3 

.1 Small .02 

.02 

Small 

.2 

• 5 

Small 

Small . 01 

• 07 

• 02 

.1 

.06 

• 25 

Small .08 

• 1 Small .02 

0.06 

Principal 

types of 

deposits 

V,P 

S,R 

P,R 

p 

P,R 

R,P 

p 

v 

p 

R,P 

P,V 

----------

References 

U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (1962). Griffith (1963). 

U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (1959). 

Do . 

McKinney (1960) • Roubault (1956) • Bowie (1959) • Do. 

Pike (1958). 

Higazy and Naguib 

(1958). 

McKinney (1960) . 

Parker (1962). 

------------------------

t Figure includes known and assumed additional reserves. In addition to the figures shown for Brazil, 

130,000 tons of thorium in the low-grade (0.07 percent Th02) carbonatite at Araxa might be recoverable as a coproduct of columbium mining (Guimaraes, 1957). 2 An additional 250,000 tons is possible in the inland placers of Bihar and West Bengal, which have not been thoroughly explored. 

Although thorium occurrences in the United States are not typical 

·of those known in other parts of the world, this extrapolation leads 

to a figure of 3,600,000 tons for potential resources for the world in 

·high-grade deposits comparable to those 1nined under economic conditions of the 1950...:60 period. This figure is probably underestimated, 

:for it is based on known reserves only and takes no account of undis-
46 -GEOLOGIC DISTRIBUTION AND RESOURCES OF THORIUM 

covered deposits at depth and in districts yet to be found. Furthermore, at least one of the geologic factors controlling the concentration of thorium-chemical weathering to release heavy minerals for 

concentration in placer deposits-has not operated in the United 

States to nearly the degree that it has in the tropical regions of 

the world. 

If India, rather than the United States, were used for comparison, 

the resulting world total would be 6 to 12 million tons (table 4, footnote 23). This figure is not really tenable, however, because in India 

a particularly fortuitous combination of geologic conditions has 

effected the concentration of thorium in deposits. Table 4 brings out 

the favorability of Africa for discovery of additional reserves, because 

the tonnage (0.01) per square mile for known reserves is small for 

an area that otherwise seems geologically favorable for thorium 

deposits. 

McKelvey (1960) used a method to estimate the extent of undiscovered resources based on the fact that the reserves of many elements in the conterminous United States that have been sought and 

n1ined for a long time are roughly equal to their abundance (A) in 

the earth's crust in percent times a billion or ten billion. Known 

world reserves of elements long sought and mined are also closely 

related to their crustal abundance, and are roughly equal to A X 109 

to 1010 X 17.3 ( 17.3 is the factor used to extrapolate United States 

reserves to the world in proportion to area of land surface) . This 

relation provides a means of estimating the reserves of lesser known 

elements that we might expect to be developed when exploration for 

them has reached a stage comparable to that for elements long sought 

and mined. 

The estimates made by this method tend to undervalue the total 

potential because the total resources, even of elements long sought and 

mined, must be much greater than reserves known at the present stage 

of exploration, and this low figure is the only one available for extrapolating reserves of the lesser known elements; furthermore, estin1ates made hy this method make no allowance for low-grade resources 

that may be minable some time in the future. Accordingly, the estimates made by this method yield minimum figures probably well 

below the tonnages that may be found by thorough future exploration. 

McKelvey's method of crustal abundances indicates that the world 

reserves of thorium, in potentially minable concentrations greater 

than about 0.05 percent in hard-rock deposits and in easily mined 

placer deposits, should be on the order of 10 to 20 million tons when 

exploration for thorium reaches a stage as advanced as that for other 

elements. 
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 47 

The estimates in table 4 are for known high-grade reserves only, 

and are considerably less than the expectable total potential resources 

of similar material based on the relation between crustal abundance 

and the reserves of other elements. This disparity may result in part 

from the fact that because thorium is not as soluble in hydrothermal 

solutions as uranium and some other metals, more of it is dispersed 

in common rocks. The scarcity of high-grade concentrations found 

thus far is somewhat compensated by the fact that thorium minerals 

occur widely in placer deposits, from which small concentrations can 

be recovered cheaply. Of the known reserves shown in table 4, 

roughly one-half is in placer deposits. Thorium-bearing veins of the 

type found since 1950 in the United States and South Africa may, 

however, be discovered in other parts of the world. The numbers 

and sizes of veins present at depths of 1,000 to 3,000 feet may be assumed to be similar to those at the surface. Thus the various estimates presented in tables 3 and 4 may be extrapolated to yield an 

estimate of potential world resources that is of the same order of 

magnitude as that based on average crustal abundance of thorium. 

The discovery and development of much of these undiscovered resources will require very costly exploration and expensive mining; 

thus these resources must be considered largely high cost potential 

resources until economic conditions, teclmical advancement, and increased geologic and exploratory efforts make their discovery 

possible. 

Resources of thorium in low-grade submarginal materials are very 

inadequately known. Shown in figure 2 are some estimates of tonnages in a few deposits, but data are inadequate to extrapolate from 

these to total potential United States or world resources. Enough 

examples are known, however, to show that low-grade resources of 

thorium are very large. 

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50 GEOLOGIC DISTRIBUTION AND RESOURCES OF THORIUM 

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