U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1798 

A Review of the Association of 

Petroliferous Materials with Uranium and 

Other Metal Deposits in Sedimentary 

Rocks in the United States 

By LEONARD j. SCHMITT 

A survey of stratabound uranium and other metal deposits in the 

United States to determine if there is evidence that petroleum-derived 

materials are associated 

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1798 
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

DONAlD PAUl HODEl, Secretary 

U.S. GEOlOGICAl SURVEY 

Dallas l. Peck, Director 

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON: 1988 

For sale by the 

Books and Open-File Reports Section 

U.S. Geological Survey 

Federal Center 

Box 25425 

Denver, CO 80225 

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data 

Schmitt, Leonard j. 

A review of the association of petroliferous materials with uranium and other metal 

deposits in sedimentary rocks in the United States. 

(U.S. Geological Survey bulletin; 1798) 

Bibliography: p. 

Supt. of Docs. no.: I 19.3:1798 

1. Petroleum-Geology-United States. 2. Uranium-United States. 3. Rocks, 

Sedimentary. I. Title. II. Series. 

QE75.B9 no. 1798 557.3 s 87-600267 

[TN872.A5] [553.2' 82] 
CONTENTS 

Abstract 1 

Introduction 1 

Previous investigations 2 

Present investigation 3 

Acknowledgments 3 

Geology of uranium districts or deposits that show positive associations with 

petroliferous materials 3 

Cement, Oklahoma 3 

Elk Ridge, Utah 5 

Lance Creek, Wyoming 5 

Lone Tree deposit, San Rafael Swell, Utah 5 

Maybell, Colorado 5 

Palangana salt dome, Texas 5 

Poison Basin, Wyoming 5 

South Texas 6 

Temple Mountain, Utah 6 

Deposits in the Todilto Limestone Member of the Wanakah Formation of 

the Grants area, New Mexico 6 

Geology of uranium occurrences that show positive associations with 

petroliferous materials 7 

Carlsbad, New Mexico 7 

Chalone Creek, California 7 

Edna, California 7 

Ellis, Missouri 7 

Huntsville, Arkansas 7 

Los Alamos, California 7 

McKittrick, California 7 

Southwestern Oklahoma 8 

Sulphur, Oklahoma 8 

Vernal, Utah 8 

Geology of uranium districts that may show positive associations with 

petroliferous materials 8 

Copper Mountain, Wyoming 8 

Crooks Gap, Wyoming 8 

Gas Hills, Wyoming 8 

Lisbon Valley, Utah 9 

Deposits in the Morrison Formation of the Grants area, New Mexico 9 

Rifle Creek, Colorado 9 

Shirley Basin, Wyoming 10 

White Canyon, Utah 10 

Contents Ill 
Geology of uranium districts or mines that apparently show no positive 

associations with petroliferous materials 10 

Anderson mine, Date Creek Basin, Arizona 10 

Cameron, Arizona 10 

Edgemont, South Dakota. 11 

Highland deposit, Powder River Basin, Wyoming 11 

Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania 11 

Monument Hill, Powder River Basin, Wyoming 11 

Monument Valley, Arizona 11 

Orphan mine, Grand Canyon, Arizona 12 

Tallahassee Creek, Colorado 12 

Uravan mineral belt, Colorado 12 

Geology of metalliferous districts other than uranium that show positive 

associations with petroliferous materials 12 

Lake Alice Cu-Ag-Zn district, Wyoming 12 

Picher-Miami field of Tri-State Pb-Zn district, Oklahoma-Kansas 12 

Upper Mississippi Valley Pb-Zn district, southwestern Wisconsin and 

adjoining States 13 

Geology of metalliferous districts other than uranium that may show positive 

associations with petroliferous materials 13 

Bent (Virginia) red-bed(?) Cu deposit, New Mexico 13 

Fredericktown Pb district, Missouri 13 

Silver Reef district, Utah 13 

Geology of metalliferous districts other than uranium that probably do not show 

positive associations with petroliferous materials 13 

Guadalupe (Stauber) red-bed Cu deposit, New Mexico 13 

Pintada Lode red-bed Cu deposits, New Mexico 13 

Sierra Nacimiento Cu deposits, New Mexico 14 

Discussion 14 

Conclusions 14 

References cited 15 

FIGURE 

1. Index map of mineralized localities in the conterminous United States 4 

IV Contents 
A Review of the Association of 

Petroliferous Materials with Uranium and 

Other Metal Deposits in Sedimentary Rocks 

in the United States 

By Leonard J. Schmitt 

Abstract 

The role that petroliferous materials played in the localization of uranium and other metal deposits in sediments was 

assessed. Some of the ways in which petroliferous materials 

may be related to metal deposits in sediments are as follows: 

(a) hydrogen sulfide from oil or gas fields could have migrated 

up faults and fractures and precipitated metals in local traps; 

(b) petroliferous material, such as asphalt, could have 

precipitated metals directly; (c) petroleum may have acted as 

an ore-forming fluid; and, (d) oil field brines may have acted 

as ore-forming fluid~. 

Uraniferous asphaltite is an enigmatic substance whose 

origin has been related to both coal and petroleum. Thucholite, 

a presumably related substance, contains both thorium and 

uranium but is generally not found in sedimentary rocks. 

However, both uraniferous asphaltite and thucholite have been 

subjected to radiation that has altered the materials from their 

original state, which makes their identity and genetic study 

difficult. 

At the Palangana salt dome in Texas, uranium and oil occur in the basal part of the Pliocene Goliad Sand overlying the 

caprock of the salt dome. In the south Texas district, uranium 

deposits show close spatial relations to fault-line oil fields; the 

buried Edwards Limestone of Early Cretaceous age contains 

significant amounts of hydrogen sulfide, a potential precipitant 

for uranium. In the Temple Mountain uranium district, Utah, 

the association of oil or asphalt with uraniferous asphaltite over 

a wide stratigraphic interval suggests a genetic relation. At 

Carlsbad, New Mexico, uraniferous asphaltite nodules and 

patches of residual oil occur in back-reef dolomites of Late Permian age. On the basis of carbon isotope data and geologic 

field relations, an oil-related origin has been proposed for the 

uraniferous carbonaceous nodules of southwestern Oklahoma. 

Natural gas seeps and pockets encountered in drilling, some 

containing hydrogen sulfide, occur in the Gas Hills uranium 

district, Wyoming. In the deposits in the Morrison Formation 

of the Grants uranium area, New Mexico, a dark-colored carbonaceous substance is generally coextensive with primary 

uranium ore, and the origin of the substance has been attributed 

to both asphalt and humic acid. In the Lisbon Valley uranium 

district, Utah, remote sensing of bleaching in the Upper Triassic 

Wingate Sandstone has demonstrated a close spatial relation 

with underlying uranium deposits in the Upper Triassic Chinle 

Formation as well as with oil and gas structures. Petroliferous 

material has been reported from some mines in the district. 

After considering a number of uranium deposits, I conclude that uranium cannot be used to predict the occurrence 

of petroleum, and the occurrence of oil and gas cannot be used 

to predict the occurrence of uranium, although uranium and 

petroleum do tend to occur together in nature. Organic matter, whether petroliferous or coaly, does show a marked 

positive correlation with uranium. 

INTRODUCTION 

A positive relation between carbonaceous material 

and both uranium and other metal deposits in sedimentary rocks has been well established, but the relation between petroliferous materials and both uranium and other 

metal deposits was heretofore uncertain. In part, this 

uncertainty exists because some hydrocarbons are extremely difficult to identify by conventional analysis. In 

addition, oil and gas fields commonly occur close to some 

metal deposits, but a genetic connection is difficult to 

establish. 

Petroliferous materials could form metal deposits 

in sediments in four ways. One way is for hydrogen 

sulfide from oil or gas pools to migrate along faults and 

fractures and precipitate metals in local traps. Hydrogen 

sulfide is an effective reducing agent that can precipitate 

uranium, copper, lead, zinc, and other metals from 

aqueous solutions. Hydrogen could probably substitute 

for hydrogen sulfide but it is generally not as abundant. 

Recognizing hydrogen sulfide as coming from oil or gas 

Introduction 
fields as opposed to other sources presents some difficulty. Asphalt is a petroliferous material that can precipitate 

uranium and other metals. Some asphalts contain 

uranium and other metals in considerably greater 

amounts than most petroleums (Erickson and others, 

1954; Bell, 1960). Uraniferous asphaltite, common in the 

San Rafael Swell area of Utah, is either an indurated 

hydrocarbon, indurated perhaps as a result of radiation, 

or a hardened derivative of coal, perhaps originally a 

humic acid. The evidence is inconclusive. A third way involves petroleum acting as an ore-forming fluid. The 

uranium content of most petroleums is so low that it is 

most unlikely that petroleum could form uranium ore 

deposits; yet other metals, such as vanadium and nickel, 

occur in sufficient quantities in some petroleums that ore 

formation cannot be ruled out. Finally, a fourth way of 

forming metal deposits is with oil field brines. Oil field 

brines have been suggested as ore-forming solutions in 

some Mississippi Valley-type lead-zinc deposits (Sverjensky, 1984). 

Previous Investigations 

Russell (1958) was one of the first to report a 

general relation between uranium ore deposits and 

petroleum- and gas-bearing structures. He briefly described several uranium districts and deposits in the 

United States in which petroliferous materials are conspicuously present. Grutt (1957) reported the occurrence 

of natural gases containing hydrogen sulfide in certain 

uranium districts of Wyoming and northern Colorado, 

especially in the Gas Hills district, Wyoming. He believed 

that the hydrogen sulfide was responsible for the precipitation of iron disulfide and reduction of uranium. Birdseye (1957) described the relation of the Ambrosia Lake, 

N.Mex., uranium deposits to a preexisting oil pool. He 

believed that the organic material intimately mixed with 

the uranium ore was a petroliferous residue resulting from 

the migration of oil away from the Ambrosia Lake dome. 

Zitting and others (1957) stated that the organic material 

was a humic acid that was thought to have formed by 

oxidation of an asphalt accumulation. 

Bain (1906) studied the lead-zinc deposits of the upper Mississippi Valley district and concluded that 

petroliferous material from a stratum known locally as 

the "oil rock" caused the precipitation of the metals by 

reduction, either directly or indirectly through the formation of hydrogen sulfide. Hess (1922) investigated the 

uraniferous asphaltites located at Temple Mountain, 

Utah, and adjacent areas and suggested that asphaltite 

may react toward uranium in a way similar to other 

carbonaceous material. He further suggested that the 

hardened nature of the asphaltite might be caused by 

the contained metals. Fowler (1933) pointed out the 

2 Petroliferous Materials, Uranium, Other Metals, United States 

.occurrence of liquid petroleum in some lead-zinc mines 

of the Picher-Miami field of the Tri-State mining district. 

As the water table was lowered locally in the mines, oil 

from overlying rock units entered the mine workings. 

Whether the association of oil and ore is fortuitous or 

if a genetic connection exists is unclear in this instance. 

Thucholite, a radioactive mineraloid so named 

because it contains thorium, uranium, carbon, hydrogen, 

and oxygen, was first described from a pegmatite dike 

in the Parry Sound district of Ontario by Ellsworth 

(1928). Although this report is concerned with metalliferous deposits in sedimentary rocks, mention of thucholite 

is appropriate because of its similarity to uraniferous 

asphaltite. Spence (1930) described thucholite from 

another pegmatite locality, the Besner mine, in the Parry 

Sound district, and theorized that the material formed 

by radiation from uraninite acting on oil present in the 

pegmatite. Davidson and Bowie (1951) investigated 

thucholite and related radioactive hydrocarbons from 

several localities and concluded that these materials were 

formed by alpha radiation of methane and other gaseous 

hydrocarbons. Barthauer and others (1953) made a nearly 

complete analysis of thucholite from the Besner mine, 

Parry Sound district, Ontario, and found that the 

thorium content was the lowest reported up to that time, 

suggesting that the composition of thucholite varies widely. Hoekstra and Fuchs (1960) also investigated thucholite 

from the Besner mine, Parry Sound district, Ontario, and 

concluded that it was formed by the action of aqueous 

solutions containing organic material, possibly as an oilwater emulsion. 

Gruner (1955) proposed that asphaltite is derived 

from plant material, largely on the basis of the nearly 

universal association of uranium and fossil plant material 

in sediments. Davidson (1955) disagreed with this view 

and observed that in a single hand specimen may be seen 

a woody hydrocarbon predating pitchblende and a 

thucholite hydrocarbon or asphaltite postdating pitchblende. Breger (1955) concluded that asphaltite and 

related substances were derived from coalified wood. Kerr 

and Kelley (1956, p. 389) believed that the urano-organic 

ores at Temple Mountain in the San Rafael Swell, Utah, 

originated from petroliferous material that was "indurated under hydrothermal conditions." 

Hail (1957) found significant amounts of uranium 

in the ash of oil extracted from asphalt-bearing rocks in 

samples from 7 of 45 areas examined in California, Utah, 

Wyoming, Montana, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, 

and Missouri. Hill (1957) found that spectrographic 

analyses of uranium-bearing carbonaceous nodules occurring along the north flank of the Wichita uplift in 

southwestern Oklahoma showed an assemblage of trace 

metals similar to that found in nearby crude oils. Sims 

(1957) found that Wyoming crude oil is capable of 

extracting uranium from aqueous, acidic solutions by 
solvent extraction. Pierce and others (1958) concluded that 

the uraniferous carbonaceous mineraloids formed from 

substances associated with petroleum and that their 

original structure and composition were altered because 

of radiation. Breger and Deul (1959) concluded from their 

studies that on the Colorado Plateau uranium is 

associated with coalified wood and related substances, not 

with petroliferous materials. 

Hausen (1959) stated that much of the asphaltite 

from Temple Mountain, Utah, was probably derived from 

petroleum, which was polymerized in place by radiation 

from uranium and its daughter products. Bell (1960) stated 

that no evidence exists to support the origin of some 

uranium deposits by deposition by petroliferous fluids. 

He further pointed out that uraniferous asphaltites cannot definitely be classified as petroleum derivatives. Eargle 

and Weeks (1961) suggested that hydrogen sulfide from 

fault-controlled oil fields may have precipitated uranium 

in nearby sedimentary rocks and formed the uranium 

deposits of south Texas. Germanov (1961) related epigenetic uranium mineralization, such as at the Ambrosia 

Lake, N. Mex., deposit, to processes occurring in the 

marginal parts of petroliferous artesian basins. Hyden 

(1961) found that crude oil can leach uranium from sandstone containing uranium minerals such as uraninite and 

carnotite. Pierce and others (1964) reported that uraniferous asphaltite, probably petroleum derived, occurs in 

the cap rock of the Panhandle gas field, Texas, and is the 

source of an abnormally high radon concentration in gases 

from a number of wells. Hawley and others (1965) studied 

the uranium deposits of the Temple Mountain district, 

Utah, and concluded that the uraniferous asphaltites were 

derived from petroleum. 

Haji-Vassiliou and Kerr (1973) studied the uranoorganic materials from several uranium deposits by infrared spectroscopy and organic elemental analysis and 

concluded that decayed vegetation provides the main 

source of the organic matter in all the major uranoorganic deposits. Eargle and others (1975) stated that the 

reducing agents for uranium in the south Texas deposits 

were probably local carbonaceous material and hydrogen 

sulfide or methane that originated in nearby buried 

petroleum accumulations. Handford and Granata (1979) 

studied the uraniferous asphaltite from the cap rock of 

the Panhandle gas field, T~; and agreed with Pierce and 

others (1964) that the asphaltite was derived from 

petroleum. Busche and others (1981) reported on the sulfur 

isotopic compositions of iron disulfide minerals associated 

with some south Texas uranium deposits and determined 

that the ore-stage iron disulfide did not form from faultleaked sour gas. The ore-stage iron disulfide contains 

isotopically light sulfur, whereas the sour gas contains 

isotopically heavy sulfur. Curiale and others (1983) studied 

uraniferous organic-rich nodules from southwestern 

Oklahoma and concluded that their infrared spectra and 

elemental analyses have characteristics of both coal and 

petroleum. They further concluded that carbon isotopic 

data and geologic field relations suggest a relation to oil 

rather than coal. 

Clearly, a review of the literature shows that the subject is controversial and not amenable to simple solution. 

However, regardless of which origin is favored, organic 

carbon played an important role in the formation of 

uranium deposits in sedimentary rocks. 

Present Investigation 

In the present study, no new field or laboratory data 

have been generated. The investigation is limited to a 

critical review of the literature and discussions with 

geologists of the U.S. Geological Survey who are knowledgeable about specific deposits or districts. Each deposit 

or district was categorized into one of three groups: (1) 

deposits or districts that show positive associations with 

petroliferous materials; (2) deposits or districts that may 

show positive associations; and (3) deposits or districts 

that apparently show no positive associations. 

The choice of which districts or deposits to include 

in this study was selective. However, most of the important sandstone-type uranium deposits are included. The 

mineralized localities are shown on a map of the conterminous United States in figure 1. 

Acknowledgments 

For their aid and assistance in this study thanks are 

due C. G. Bowles, K. A. Dickinson, W. I. Finch, H. C. 

Granger, P. L. Hansley, A. R. Kirk, J. S. Leventhal, J. K. 

Otton, J. F. Robertson, E. S. Santos, and R. E. Thaden, 

all of the U.S. Geological Survey. 

GEOLOGY OF URANIUM DISTRICTS 

OR DEPOSITS THAT SHOW POSITIVE 

ASSOCIATIONS WITH PETROLIFEROUS 

MATERIALS 

Cement, Oklahoma 

At Cement in southwestern Oklahoma, a small 

amount of joint-controlled uranium ore has been mined 

from the crest of an oil-producing anticline (Russell, 1958) 

(fig. 1, no. 38). Sandstones of the Upper Permian Rush 

Springs Formation are hosts for the ore and are variably 

bleached in the vicinity of mineralization (Allen and 

Thomas, 1984), with bleaching of the normally red colored sandstone related to hydrocarbon microseepage 

(Donovan, 1974). The close spatial relation between 

uranium, faults and fractures, and oil and gas suggests 

a genetic connection. 

Uranium Deposits, Districts, Positive Associations 3 
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Figure 1. Index map of mineralized localities in the conterminous United States. 

1. Chalone Creek, Calif. (U) 18. Copper Mountain, Wyo. (U) 

2. Edna, Calif. (U) 19. Gas Hills, Wyo. (U) 

3. Los Alamos, Calif. (U) 20. Crooks Gap, Wyo. (U) 

4. McKittrick, Calif. (U) 21. Monument Hill, Powder River Basin, Wyo. (U) 

5. Silver Reef, Utah (Ag) 22. Highland deposit, Powder River Basin, Wyo. (U) 

6. Orphan mine, Grand Canyon, Ariz. (U) 23. Edgemont, S. Oak. (U) 

7. Cameron, Ariz. (U) 24. Lance Creek, Wyo. (U) 

8. Anderson mine, Date Creek Basin, Ariz. (U) 25. Shirley Basin, Wyo. (U) 

9. Lake Alice, Wyo. (Cu-Ag-Zn) 26. Poison Basin, Wyo. (U) 

10. Vernal, Utah (U) 27. Maybell, Colo. (U) 

11. Lone Tree deposit, San Rafael Swell, Utah (U) 28. Rifle Creek, Colo. (U) 

12. Temple Mountain, Utah (U) 29. Tallahassee Creek, Colo. (U) 

13. Uravan mineral belt, Colorado (U) 30. Sierra Nacimiento deposits, New Mexico (Cu) 

14. Lisbon Valley, Utah (U) 31. Uranium deposits in the Morrison Formation of the Grants 

15. Elk Ridge, Utah (U) area, N. Mex. (U) 

16. White Canyon, Utah (U) 32. Uranium deposits in the Todilto Limestone Member of the 

17. Monument Valley, Ariz. (U) Wanakah Formation of the Grants area, New Mexico (U) 

33. Pintada Lode red-bed deposits, N. Mex. (Cu) 

34. Guadalupe (Stauber) red-bed deposit, N. Mex. (Cu) 

35. Bent (Virginia) red-bed(?) deposit, N. Mex. (Cu) 

36. Carlsbad, N. Mex. (U) 

37. Southwestern Oklahoma (U) 

38. Cement, Okla. (U) 

39. Sulphur, Okla. (U) 

40. South Texas (U) 

41. Palangana salt dome, Texas (U) 

42. Ellis, Mo. (U) 

43. Picher-Miami field of Tri-State district, OklahomaKansas (Pb-Zn) 

44. Huntsville, Ark. (U) 

45. Fredericktown, Mo. (Pb) 

46. Upper Mississippi Valley district, southwestern Wisconsin and adjoining States (Pb-Zn) 

47. Mauch Chunk, Pa. (U) 
Elk Ridge, Utah 

The Elk Ridge uranium area (fig. 1, no. 15) is 

located in the eastern part of the White Canyon uranium 

district (fig. 1, no. 16) in southeastern Utah in San Juan 

County. The Elk Ridge area is on the north end of the 

Monument upwarp, a broad, low, north-trending arch 

48-65 km (30-40 mi) wide. The eastern side of the upwarp is bounded by the steeply dipping Comb monocline. 

Uranium ore was produced almost exclusively from 

fluvial sandstone beds at the base of the Upper Triassic 

Chinle Formation where they fill shallow paleostream 

channels in the top of the Lower and Middle(?) Triassic 

Moenkopi Formation (Lewis and Campbell, 1965). An 

unconformity between the Chinle and Moenkopi may 

have served as a conduit for mineralizing solutions. 

Carbonaceous material, interstitial blebs of asphaltite(?), and liquid hydrocarbons are locally abundant in 

the Chinle beds. Uranium-bearing asphaltite(?) is abundant in many mines and appears to be a major ore constituent (Lewis and Campbell, 1965). Uraninite, coffinite, 

uranophane, and tyuyamunite are the main ore minerals 

found in the area. Samples from which uraniferous 

asphaltite(?) has been mechanically concentrated invariably show uraninite X-ray patterns (Lewis and Campbell, 1965). 

The Elk Ridge area is similar in some respects to 

the Temple Mountain district in the San Rafael Swell, 

Utah (fig. 1, no. 12) in that organic materials of 

petroliferous origin occur with ore in both districts. 

Lance Creek, Wyoming 

The Lance Creek uranium occurrences are located 

on the flanks of the Lance Creek anticline in eastern 

Wyoming (fig. 1, no. 24). The Lance Creek anticline is 

an oil structure with multiple producing horizons. 

Uranium deposits in the area occur in and adjacent to 

fractures in conglomeratic sandstone lenses of the 

Oligocene White River Formation and in coal beds in the 

Paleocene Fort Union Formation (Bromley, 1955). The 

uranium minerals in the deposits are metatyuyamunite, 

uranophane, metazippeite, and schroeckingerite. 

Fracturing and faulting have allowed hydrocarbons 

to migrate into favorable host sediments. The geologic 

setting at Lance Creek suggests an interaction between 

oil and gas and uranium. 

Lone Tree Deposit, San Rafael Swell, Utah 

The Lone Tree uranium deposit is located along the 

west side of the San Rafael Swell, Emery County, Utah 

(fig. 1, no. 11). The San Rafael Swell is a large, asymmetrical anticline about 160 km (1 00 mi) long and about 

80 km (50 mi) wide. The uranium deposits are in the basal 

part of the Upper Triassic Moss Back Member of the 

Chinle Formation. 

The main ore zone is a brown, coarse sandstone 

0.3 m (1 ft) thick, containing numerous closely spaced 

seams and blebs of uraniferous asphalt, overlying a 

1.5 mm (1/16 in.) seam of pyrite (Reyner, 1950). Pellets 

of asphalt are widely scattered outside the main ore zone. 

Maybell, Colorado 

The Maybell uranium district is located in northwestern Colorado (fig. 1, no. 27) not far south of the 

Poison Basin uranium district in Wyoming (fig. 1, no. 

26). The two districts do not differ greatly in geologic 

settings or in relations to petroliferous materials. 

Uranium production in the Maybell district is from 

the gently dipping or horizontal Browns Park Formation 

of Miocene age located in an area of considerable highangle faulting (Grutt, 1957). Gas seeps, asphaltic materials, and asphaltite have been reported from within and 

near the district (Grutt, 1957; Russell, 1958; Sears, 1924). 

Asphaltic material occurs along some faults, suggesting 

that hydrocarbon migration was active in the area. Carbonaceous plant material is almost entirely absent. 

Palangana Salt Dome, Texas 

The Palangana salt dome, located on the coastal 

plain of southern Texas, contains one of the most unusual 

deposits of uranium (fig. 1; no. 41). The uranium occurs 

as uraninite, coating grains of sand in the basal part of 

the Pliocene Goliad Sand overlying the caprock of the 

salt dome. The basal Goliad is composed of highly 

calcareous clay-ball conglomerate interbedded with 

friable fine to medium sand locally impregnated with 

small amounts of oil (Weeks and Eargle, 1960). 

A positive relation between petroliferous material 

and uranium deposits may be nowhere more evident than 

at the Palangana salt dome. Uranium ore formed where 

uraniferous solutions encountered pockets of hydrogen 

sulfide that originated in the caprock of the salt dome. 

During 1928 and 1929,6,600 barrels of oil were produced from the sands that form the uranium ore zone 

(Russell, 1958). The uranium deposit contains more than 

0.9 million metric tons (1 million short tons) of ore. 

Poison Basin, Wyoming 

The Poison Basin uranium district is located in 

southern Wyoming near the town of Baggs (fig. 1, no. 

26). The uranium deposits are in a small synclinal outlier 

of the Miocene Browns Park Formation that overlies an 

Uranium Deposits, Districts, Positive Associations 5 
eroded anticline developed in the Paleocene and Eocene 

Wasatch Formation (Russell, 1958). The anticline, known 

as the South Baggs anticline, is a gas-bearing structure 

whose gases have permeated the Browns .Park Formation 

along faults and permeable zones (Turner, 1955; Grutt, 

1957). The Browns Park Formation is composed of fineto medium-grained gray and buff sandstones, tuffaceous 

sandstones, tuffs, and thin limestone beds. The source 

of the uranium was inferred as the tuffaceous material 

in the Browns Park Formation, and the uranium was 

probably precipitated by hydrogen sulfide as gas or 

dissolved in ground water (Grutt, 1957). Carbonaceous 

plant material is sparse or absent. Pyrite is abundant in 

the unoxidized zone. 

South Texas 

The south Texas uranium district is located on the 

coastal plain of south Texas (fig. 1, no. 40) and includes 

a number of widely scattered deposits. The ore deposits 

are of the roll type with large envelopes of altered rock 

and occur in tuffaceous, zeolitic sandstone and mudstone 

beds of the upper Eocene Whitsett Formation, the 

Oligocene(?) Frio Clay, and the Miocene Catahoula Tuff 

and Oakville Sandstone (Eargle and others, 1975). The 

beds strike northeastward and dip gently southeastward. 

The Catahoula Tuff is believed to be the principal source 

for uranium and other elements in the deposits. The 

uranium deposits show a close spatial relation to faultline oil fields. The buried Edwards Limestone of Early 

Cretaceous age contains significant amounts of hydrogen 

sulfide, which could have migrated upward along faults 

and served as a precipitant for uranium (Eargle and 

Weeks, 1961). 

Studies of the sulfur isotopic compositions of iron 

disulfides (pyrite and marcasite) associated with the 

uranium deposits show that pre-ore and post-ore sulfides 

probably formed from sour gas derived from the Edwards 

Limestone (Busche and others, 1981; Goldhaber and 

others, 1979; Ludwig and others, 1982; Reynolds and 

Goldhaber, 1978), but ore-stage iron disulfide has 

isotopically light sulfur, unlike the sour gas of the 

Edwards. Some of the deposits contain carbonaceous 

material; in these deposits, carbonaceous material may 

have served as a food source for sulfate-reducing bacteria, 

which can generate isotopically light sulfide. Such sulfide 

can combine with iron to form pyrite with isotopically 

light sulfur. 

Temple Mountain, Utah 

The Temple Mountain uranium district is located 

in central Utah on the southeast flank of the San Rafael 

6 Petroliferous Materials, Uranium, Other Metals, United States 

Swell, a large anticlinal structure (fig. 1, no. 12). Temple 

Mountain is the site of a collapse structure that is conspicuously bleached and otherwise altered and mineralized. Mineralization in the collapse structure has a wide 

stratigraphic range. Adjacent to the collapse is a uranium 

mineral belt confined to the Upper Triassic Moss Back 

Member of the Chinle Formation. The lithology of the 

Moss Back is conglomeratic sandstone interbedded with 

mudstone. The distribution of mineralization in the 

mineral belt suggests an oil-water interface (Keys and 

White, 1956). 

One of the earliest reports of uraniferous asphaltite 

was from Temple Mountain (Hess, 1922). Asphaltite is 

found in the collapse structure as well as in the mineral 

belt. Uraniferous asphaltite is an enigmatic substance that 

is not clearly related either to coal or petroleum; however, 

Breger (1955) and Breger and Deul (1959) concluded from 

their studies that asphaltite is related to coal and not to 

crude oil. It resembles thucholite in many respects (Davidson and Bowie, 1951; Ellsworth, 1928) but lacks thorium. 

Infrared spectra of asphaltites, characterized by small absorption peaks and low transmittance of infrared radiation, do not conclusively prove either a coal or a 

petroleum relation (Hawley and others, 1965), but 

association of oil or asphalt with asphaltite over a wide 

stratigraphic interval suggests a genetic relation. Although 

carbonaceous plant material is present in the district, it 

is not as abundant as oil. The geologic relations indicate 

that a closer connection exists between asphaltite and oil 

than between asphaltite and carbonaceous plant material. 

Deposits in the Todilto Limestone Member of the 

Wanakah Formation of the Grants Area, New 

Mexico 

The Middle Jurassic Todilto Limestone Member of 

the Wanakah Formation contains uranium and vanadium 

in northwestern New Mexico near the town of Grants (fig. 

1, no. 32). The Todilto averages about 9 m (30 ft) in 

thickness and consists of a basal platy zone, a medial 

crinkly zone, and an upper massive zone. Intraformational folds of various types are developed in all zones 

but are best expressed in the basal platy and medial crinkly zones. 

Primary Todilto ore consists of uraninite, haggite, 

purple and black uraniferous fluorite, pyrite, and barite 

(Bell, 1956; Weeks and Truesdell, 1958). Some of the ore 

is very high grade. 

The rock has a fetid odor and is believed by Bell 

(1956) and Weeks and Truesdell (1958) to contain 

petroliferous material. Weeks and Truesdell (1958) also 

noted the presence of altered, brittle, asphaltic material 

in recrystallized calcite. 
GEOLOGY OF URANIUM OCCURRENCES THAT 

SHOW POSITIVE ASSOCIATIONS WITH 

PETROLIFEROUS MATERIALS 

Carlsbad, New Mexico 

Uraniferous asphaltite nodules occur in back-reef 

dolomites of Late Permian age near Carlsbad in southeastern New Mexico (fig. 1, no. 36). The mineralized 

rocks contain patches of residual oil. 

Radiation damage to the nodules has caused 

physical and chemical changes such as infusibility, insolubility, dehydrogenation, and cross-linking of carbon 

atoms (Charlesby, 1954; Pierce and Rosholt, 1961), which 

makes the nature of the original material indeterminate; 

the original material was probably oil or asphalt. 

Chalone Creek, California 

The Chalone Creek uranium occurrence is located 

in San Benito County in western California (fig. 1, no. 

1). An asphalt-bearing arkose bed crops out along a small 

tributary of Chalone Creek and dips 40° E. The arkose 

is the basal part of an unnamed Pliocene marine formation. Three samples of the arkose were tested and averaged 11.18 percent oil, 0.48 percent ash in oil, and 0.182 

percent uranium in ash (Hail and others, 1956). Although 

the uraniferous asphalt is not ore, it exemplifies the close 

correlation that can exist between oil and uranium. 

Edna, California 

The Edna uranium occurrence is located in San Luis 

Obispo County in southwestern California (fig. 1, no. 2). 

Deposits of asphalt-bearing sandstone occur in the Pismo 

Formation of late Miocene and Pliocene ages. The Pismo 

is composed of conglomerate, arkosic sandstone, 

diatomaceous sandstone, sandy and silty shale, 

diatomaceous shale, siliceous shale, and chert. ''The 

asphalt is irregularly distributed in lenticular and discontinuous beds of arkosic sandstone which range in 

thickness from a few feet to almost 300 feet," according 

to Hail (1957, p. 64). 

The uranium content of seven asphalt-bearing sandstone samples ranges from 0.035 to 1.9 percent and 

averages 0.376 percent in the ash of the extracted oil 

(Hail, 1957). This is an excellent example of the affinity 

of uranium for asphalt. 

Ellis, Missouri 

The Ellis uranium occurrence is located in a quarry 

in Vernon County in western Missouri (fig. 1, no. 42). 

Asphalt deposits occur in lenticular sandstone beds in the 

Middle Pennsylvanian Cherokee Shale. The rock containing the asphalt is mainly fine-grained micaceous quartzose sandstone (Hail, 1957). Three samples of asphaltic 

rock were tested and averaged 4.64 percent oil, 0.62 percent ash in oil, and 0.145 percent uranium in ash (Hail 

and others, 1956). 

Huntsville, Arkansas 

The Huntsville uranium occurrence is an asphaltic 

sandstone located in Madison County in northwestern 

Arkansas on the southern side of the Ozark Dome (fig. 

1, no. 44). Preliminary analyses of the asphaltic sandstone show 2.51 percent oil, 1.11 percent ash, 12 ppm 

uranium in oil, and 0.11 percent uranium in ash (Beroni, 

1954). The asphaltic material occurs in a coarse-grained 

sandstone of the Lower Pennsylvanian Hale Formation. 

Little is known about the geology of the occurrence, but 

a positive relation apparently exists between asphalt and 

uranium. 

Los Alamos, California 

The Los Alamos uranium occurrence is located in 

Santa Barbara County in southwestern California (fig. 

1, no. 3). Thick beds of asphalt-bearing sandstone crop 

out along the front of the San Rafael Mountains (Hail, 

1957). The asphalt-bearing beds are in the Sisquoc Formation of Miocene and Pliocene ages. The Sisquoc Formation is composed mostly of medium- to fine-grained 

sandstone with thin beds of conglomerate. The asphaltbearing beds are estimated to underlie an area of at least 

13 km2 (5 mi2) (Hail, 1957). Tests of seven samples of 

asphalt-bearing rock averaged 12.40 percent oil, 0. 78 percent ash in oil, and 0.081 percent uranium in ash (Hail 

and others, 1956). The highest concentration of uranium 

in oil was 27.4 ppm. 

McKittrick, California 

The McKittrick uranium occurrence is located in 

Kern County in southwestern California (fig. 1, no. 4). 

Large deposits of asphalt in the form of asphalt-bearing 

sandstone, asphalt-bearing alluvium, oil seeps, and vein 

asphalt crop out near McKittrick (Hail, 1957). The 

deposits occur in the Miocene Monterey Shale, the 

Pliocene Etchegoin Formation, the Pliocene and Pleistocene Tulare Formation, and Holocene alluvium. The 

rocks are highly folded and faulted, and the asphalt 

deposits, as well as a small producing oil field, are associated with these structures (Hail, 1957). Five samples 

tested averaged 26.91 percent oil, 1.66 percent ash in oil, 

and 0.047 percent uranium in ash (Hail and others, 1956). 

Uranium Occurrences, Positive Associations 7 
Southwestern Oklahoma 

Uraniferous carbonaceous nodules are found in 

Kiowa County in southwestern Oklahoma on the northeast flank of the Wichita Mountains (fig. 1, no. 37). They 

occur in red beds of the Permian Hennessey Shale. The 

nodules are black and botryoidal, have a dull luster, and 

range to 4.5 em (1.8 in.) in diameter (Curiale and others, 

1983). The irradiation of original organic material by 

uranium contained in the nodules has altered the physical 

and chemical properties of the organics beyond 

recognition. 

Oil seeps are common in Kiowa County, but local 

coal deposits or preserved plant debris are not in evidence. 

Spectrographic analyses of the nodules show an assemblage of trace metals similar to that found in local crude 

oils, namely uranium, vanadium, aluminum, iron, nickel, 

cobalt, lead, arsenic, and yttrium (Hill, 1957), and infrared spectra of the nodules show features indicative of 

both coal and petroleum. X-ray patterns show that the 

nodules contain smaltite, uraninite, and possibly coffinite 

(Hill, 1957). On the basis of carbon isotope data and 

geologic field relations, Curiale and others (1983) proposed an oil-related origin for the uraniferous nodules. 

Sulphur, Oklahoma 

The Sulphur uranium occurrence is located in Murray County in southern Oklahoma (fig. 1, no. 39). 

Asphalt-bearing sandstone and limestone beds crop out 

about 8 km (5 mi) south of Sulphur over an area of about 

2.6 km2 (1 mP) (Hail, 1957). Most of the asphalt occurs 

in the Middle Ordovician Oil Creek Formation. The major structure in the area is a complexly faulted, northeastward-trending anticline (Hail, 1957). Seven samples 

tested averaged 4.56 percent oil, 0. 70 percent ash in oil, 

and 0.043 percent uranium in ash (Hail and others, 1956). 

Vernal, Utah 

The Vernal uranium occurrence is located in Uintah 

County in northeastern Utah (fig. 1, no. 10). Asphalt 

deposits occur mainly in the basal part of the Eocene 

Uinta Formation and are exposed along Asphalt Ridge 

in the Uinta basin (Hail, 1957), although some of the 

asphalt-bearing beds may be in the upper part of the Upper Cretaceous Mesaverde Formation (Hail, 1957). The 

Uinta Formation lies unconformably on the Mesaverde 

and consists of shale, sandstone, and coarse siliceous conglomerate. The upper part of the Mesaverde Formation 

consists mainly of medium-grained sandstone. Twenty-one 

samples of asphaltic rock gave an average oil content of 

8.10 percent, average ash in oil of 2.68 percent, and average 

uranium in ash of 0.028 percent (Hail and others, 1956). 

8 Petroliferous Materials, Uranium, Other Metals, United States 

GEOLOGY OF URANIUM DISTRICTS THAT 

MAY SHOW POSITIVE ASSOCIATIONS 

WITH PETROLIFEROUS MATERIALS 

Copper Mountain, Wyoming 

The Copper Mountain uranium district is located 

in north-central Wyoming on the southeast flank of the 

Owl Creek Mountains (fig. 1, no. 18). The district gets 

its name from the small, late 1800's and early 1900's, copper, gold, and silver mines that exploited the quartz veins 

in the area's Precambrian rocks. 

Uranium occurs in two different units: (1) in the 

conglomeratic and bentonitic Eocene Teepee Trail Formation and (2) in Precambrian rocks mostly associated 

with fractures. Asphaltic material is reported from both 

units, but little is known about its occurrence. Carbonaceous plant material is abundant in the Teepee Trail 

where uranium is present. 

Uranium minerals reported from the area are 

autunite, meta-autunite, coffinite, uraninite-sooty pitchblende, and uranophane (Yellich and others, 1978). 

Crooks Gap, Wyoming 

The Crooks Gap uranium district is located in 

south-central Wyoming in the northeastern part of the 

Great Divide basin (fig. 1, no. 20). The host for the 

uranium deposit is the Paleocene and Eocene Battle 

Spring Formation (Pipiringos, 1955), which is composed 

of moderately dipping arkosic sandstone, conglomerate, 

and mudstone. The Battle Spring is overlain by a conspicuous sequence of nearly horizontal boulder beds 

known as the Eocene Crooks Gap Conglomerate (Love, 

1970). 

Uranium deposits are of the roll type and seem to 

be closely associated with carbonaceous material 

(Stephens, 1964). Bleaching and red hematitic alteration, 

intimately related to the roll deposits, are conspicuous 

features of the district. Petroliferous materials have not 

been reported from the uranium deposits, but oil fields 

are nearby. The oil fields could have provided hydrogen 

sulfide or other petroliferous materials that would serve 

as uranium reductants. However, note that the oil fields 

may or may not bear a relation to the uranium deposits. 

Gas Hills, Wyoming 

Located in central Wyoming, the Gas Hills district 

is one of the most productive uranium areas of the United 

States (fig. 1, no. 19). It is situated in the southern part 

of the Wind River basin due north of the Crooks Gap 

district. 
Uranium occurs in the upper part of the gently dipping Eocene Wind River Formation. The part of the Wind 

River Formation that is environmentally favorable to uranium has been included in the Puddle Springs Arkose Member (Soister, 1968). Large volumes of bleached rock are 

spatially related to roll-type ore deposits. Carbonaceous 

material is present in the deposits but not in abundance. 

The Gas Hills anticline exposes rocks that are older 

than the Wind River Formation, and oil and gas tests in 

the vicinity of the anticline have proven noncommercial. 

However, several natural gas seeps have been reported and 

at least one contains hydrogen sulfide (Grutt, 1957). 

Natural gas pockets are often encountered during drilling for uranium, which suggests that they may be widespread. If natural gases containing hydrogen sulfide were 

discharged in sufficient quantity into ground water, an 

effective precipitant for iron disulfide and uranium would 

have been available. The role of natural gases in the formation of these deposits is speculative because direct 

evidence is lacking. 

Lisbon Valley, Utah 

The Lisbon Valley uranium district is located in 

southeastern Utah near the Colorado State line (fig. 1, 

no. 14). This highly productive district yields ore from the 

Lower Permian Cutler Formation, the basal part of the 

Upper Triassic Chinle Formation, and the Salt Wash 

Member of the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation, 

although the largest quantity of ore has come from the 

Moss Back Member of the Chinle Formation. 

Lisbon Valley is situated along an elongate, longitudinally faulted, breached, salt-cored anticline, a part of the 

Paradox fold and fault belt. The uranium ore deposits in 

the Chinle Formation follow structure contours in such a 

way that they could indicate a paleo-oil-water interface 

(Lekas and Dahl, 1956). An oil field is located at depth on 

the western side of the northwest-trending anticline, nearly underlying some of the uranium deposits in the Chinle 

and Cutler Formations. Remote sensing of bleaching of 

the Upper Triassic Wingate Sandstone has shown that a 

close spatial relation exists with underlying uranium deposits in the Chinle as well as with oil and gas structures (Conel 

and Niesen, 1981). Sour gas leakage could be responsible 

for these relations, suggesting a genetic connection between 

uranium and oil and gas. Carbonaceous material is usually abundant in or near the Chinle ore deposits. Petroliferous 

material is uncommon but has been reported from some 

mines in the district (Conel and Niesen, 1981). 

Deposits in the Morrison Formation of the Grants 

Area, New Mexico 

Uranium deposits in the Upper Jurassic Morrison 

Formation of the Grants area are located along the 

southern margin of the San Juan Basin in the vicinity of 

the town of Grants in northwestern New Mexico (fig. 1, 

no. 31). The Grants uranium region comprises several 

uranium districts, including Ambrosia Lake, Church 

Rock, Poison Canyon, and others. Only the deposits of 

the Morrison Formation are considered here; deposits in 

the Middle Jurassic Todilto Limestone Member of the 

Wanakah Formation (fig. 1, no. 32) are treated in a 

separate section. The Morrison in the area is divided into 

three members: the Recapture, the Westwater Canyon, 

and the Brushy Basin. Uranium ore is found in fluvial 

sandstones of the Westwater Canyon Member and in the 

basal and upper parts of the Brushy Basin Member. 

Two major types of ore are in the region: primary 

or trend ore is characterized by tabular, peneconcordant 

ore bodies that are rich in amorphous insoluble organic 

material; whereas the secondary ore is referred to as 

redistributed or stack ore and is characterized by discordant relations with the host rock, spatial association with 

faults, roll-front geometry, and generally low content of 

amorphous organic material. 

In the Ambrosia Lake district, unoxidized ore is 

composed of coffinite and is ubiquitously associated with 

a dark-colored carbonaceous residue. Zitting and others 

( 1957) reported that the residue is a humic acid that was 

believed to be formed by the oxidation of asphalt. Birdseye (1957) believed that the Ambrosia Lake dome was 

the site of a preexisting oil pool that migrated down structure and provided the carbonaceous residue seen in the 

ores. Researchers generally agree that the carbonaceous 

material precipitated the uranium in the ores. Granger 

(1968) stated that the carbonaceous residue is coextensive with primary or trend Uranium ore and probably had 

its origin in humic acids or humates. He found no 

evidence that petroleum played any role in its development. Jacobs (1970) studied the carbonaceous residue by 

a number of sophisticated analytical techniques and concluded that the material is of coaly origin and related to 

humic acids. Although these features describe the 

Ambrosia Lake district, they apply to the primary ores 

in most other districts in the Grants area as well. 

Rifle Creek, Colorado 

The Rifle Creek vanadium-uranium district is 

located on the Grand Hogback monocline in northwestern Colorado a short distance northeast of the town 

of Rifle (fig. 1, no. 28). The deposits are in the moderately 

dipping Upper Triassic to Lower Jurassic Glen Canyon 

Sandstone and Middle Jurassic Entrada Sandstone, which 

are composed mostly of clean, fine-grained sandstone. 

The Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation also contains 

vanadium-uranium deposits locally. 

Carbonaceous plant material is absent in the Glen 

Canyon and Entrada deposits but present in the Morrison 

Uranium Districts, Possible Positive Associations 9 
deposits. Petroleum residue occurs in parts of the Entrada 

and Morrison, and small blebs of asphaltite are scattered 

along fracture walls in a few places (Fischer, 1960). 

The ore deposits occur in three parallel tabular 

layers separated by barren sandstone:· (a) a vanadiumuranium ore layer, (b) a thin galena-clausthalite layer, and 

(c) a chromium-bearing layer. The ore minerals in these 

deposits are the vanadium mica roscoelite, vanadiumbearing mixed layer mica-montmorillonite, vanadiumbearing chlorite, montroseite, tyuyamunite or carnotite, 

and bayleyite (Fischer, 1960). 

Shirley Basin, Wyoming 

The Shirley basin uranium district is located in 

southeastern Wyoming (fig. 1, no. 25) due east of the 

Crooks Gap uranium district (fig. 1, no. 20) and is a major producer of uranium in the United States. The Eocene 

Wind River Formation, host rock for the uranium 

deposits, consists of poorly consolidated gravel, sand, silt, 

and clay of continental origin. The Wind River is overlain 

unconformably by tuffaceous claystone, siltstone, and 

sandstone of the Oligocene White River Formation 

(Harshman, 1961). 

Two mineralized tongues form a belt located just 

west of a buried ridge of the Wall Creek Sandstone 

Member of the Upper Cretaceous Frontier Formation. 

The buried ridge is believed to have exerted control on 

the favorable lithology of the Wind River Formation. The 

Wall Creek Sandstone may also have contributed 

hydrogen sulfide or other petroliferous material to the 

Wind River Formation. 

The deposits are of the roll type and are associated 

with large tongues of greenish-yellow altered rock 

(Harshman, 1972). Carbonaceous material is present in 

and near ore; uraninite is the chief ore mineral. 

White Canyon, Utah 

The White Canyon uranium district is located in 

southeastern Utah on the gently dipping west flank of 

the Monument upwarp (fig. 1, no. 16). The host rock for 

the uranium deposits are mostly the sandstones and conglomerates of the Shinarump Member of the Upper 

Triassic Chinle Formation. Most of the uranium deposits, 

which have associated copper minerals, occur in 

Shinarump channels cut into the Lower and Middle(?) 

Triassic Moenkopi Formation. 

The principal uranium ore minerals are uraninite, 

uranophane, metatorbernite, phosphuranylite, metazeunerite, and a zippeite-like mineral {Thaden and 

others, 1964). Sulfide minerals associated with the uranium are pyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, galena, bornite, 

10 Petroliferous Materials, Uranium, Other Metals, United States 

chalcocite, covellite, and marcasite. The best known and 

largest productive mine in the district was the Happy 

Jack, which started as a copper mine and subsequently 

became a uranium mine. 

Fossil plant material is present in most of the 

deposits in the district and is partly replaced by uraninite 

and sulfides. Near their pinchouts, some beds of the 

Lower Triassic Hoskinnini Member of the Moenkopi Formation, which underlie the Shinarump Member of the 

Chinle Formation, are impregnated with a black 

hydrocarbon that may be stagnant inspissated petroleum 

{Thaden and others, 1964). This hydrocarbon is not 

mineralized with uranium. 

GEOLOGY OF URANIUM DISTRICTS OR MINES 

THAT APPARENTLY SHOW NO POSITIVE 

ASSOCIATIONS WITH PETROLIFEROUS 

MATERIALS 

Anderson Mine, Date Creek Basin, Arizona 

The Anderson uranium mine is located in the northeastern part of the Date Creek basin in western Arizona 

(fig. 1, no. 8) and is the largest uranium deposit in the 

Basin and Range physiographic province. Mineralization 

has occurred in two lacustrine carbonaceous units that 

form part of the gently dipping Miocene Chapin Wash 

Formation. The mineralized Chapin Wash is composed 

of tuffaceous mudstones, fine-grained sandstones, and 

silicified marlstones. Uranyl-bearing opaline silica and 

colloform coffinite have been identified as the main ore 

minerals (Mueller and Halbach, 1983). Molybdenum, 

sulfur, vanadium, and organic carbon are concentrated 

with the products of uranium mineralization (Sherborne 

and others, 1979). 

Fossil plant material is abundant and uranium occurs principally in thinly bedded siltstones rich in carbonaceous or silicified plant material (Otton, 1977). The 

organic material may have served as a food source for 

sulfate-reducing bacteria that could generate hydrogen 

sulfide, a potential precipitant of uranium. Petroliferous 

materials have not been reported from the area. 

Cameron, Arizona 

The Cameron uranium district is located in northcentral Arizona along the southwest flank of the Black 

Mesa basin (fig. 1, no. 7). Uranium deposits are mainly 

in the Petrified Forest Member of the Upper Triassic 

Chinle Formation; a few small deposits are in the 

Shinarump Member. 

Uraninite, meta-autunite, carnotite, zippeite, 

uranophane, and metatorbernite have been identified 
as ore minerals (Hinckley, 1955). Carbonaceous material 

commonly occurs with ore, but petroliferous material has 

not been reported. In a study by Hinckley (1955), the 

distribution of molybdenum was found to be the best 

geochemical index of an environment favorable to the 

occurrence of uranium. 

Edgemont, South Dakota 

The Edgemont uranium district is located in the 

southern Black Hills in extreme southwestern South 

Dakota (fig. 1, no. 23). All important uranium deposits 

in the area are in the gently dipping Lower Cretaceous 

Inyan Kara Group, which is characterized by alternating 

sandstone, siltstone, and mudstone. Black shales, carbonaceous trash, and arkosic pebble conglomerates are 

common (King, 1956). Structural terraces are broad ore 

controls for these deposits. 

Primary ore contains uraninite and coffinite. 

Secondary ore includes carnotite, tyuyamunite, metatyuyamunite, corvusite, and rauvite (Robinson and Gott, 

1958). 

Pink sandstone is commonly associated with the ore 

deposits. White bleached sandstone is commonly associated with dark uranium and vanadium minerals (Bell 

and Bales, 1955). 

Carbonized plant material is abundant in some 

deposits and absent in others. Asphaltic material has not 

been reported from the Inyan Kara rocks, but petroliferous material has been recorded from other units. 

Hydrogen sulfide has been found in artesian waters in 

the lnyan Kara by Gott and others (1974), but its origin 

has been attributed to action by sulfate-reducing bacteria 

rather than to oil fields. 

Highland Deposit, Powder River Basin, Wyoming 

The Highland uranium deposit is located in the 

southern part of the Powder River basin, northeastern 

Wyoming (fig. 1, no. 22). The Powder River basin is a 

large asymmetric syncline. The nearly flat lying arkosic 

sandstones of the upper part of the Paleocene Fort Union 

Formation or the lower part of the Paleocene and Eocene 

Wasatch Formation are hosts for the ore body, which is 

closely associated with red, yellow, and yellowish-brown 

oxidized strata and with light-gray to gray-buff reduced 

strata. The ore body is composed of uraninite and coffinite and forms rolls, tabular deposits, and elliptical or 

dish-shaped deposits (Langen and Kidwell, 1974). 

Organic material in the form of carbonized wood 

and lignite is commonly associated with ore. Petroliferous 

material has not been reported from the deposit. 

Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania 

The Mauch Chunk (Jim Thorpe) uranium occurrence is located in eastern Pennsylvania in the border zone 

between the main folded belt of the Appalachians and 

the relatively undisturbed Pocono Plateau (fig. 1, no. 47) 

(McCauley, 1957). The Mauch Chunk occurrence at Mt. 

Pisgah is found in a coarse graywacke conglomerate near 

the base of the Lower to Middle Pennsylvanian Pottsville 

Formation (Klemic and Baker, 1954). 

The deposits consist of oxidized and unoxidized ore 

minerals, but carbonaceous material is present and probably acted as an ore control. Petroliferous material has 

not been reported from the area. 

Monument Hill, Powder River Basin, Wyoming 

The Monument Hill uranium district is located in 

the southern part of the Powder River basin in northeastern Wyoming (fig. 1, no. 21). The deposits are in 

nearly flat lying fluvial arkosic sandstone units of the 

lower part of the Paleocene and Eocene Wasatch Formation. Although the ore bodies form rolls, variations 

of the C-roll or S-roll are common and stair-step rolls 

are present (Davis, 1969). Adjacent to the roll front is 

a limonite or bleached zone, and adjacent to the limonite 

zone is a hematite zone. The red to pink hematite zone 

is distinctive and has been used as a guide to ore deposits 

(Sharp and Gibbons, 1964). 

Organic carbon is present near ore, but petroliferous material has not been reported. The ore minerals 

in the oxidized zone are carnotite, tyuyamunite, liebigite, 

zellerite, uranophane, autunite, and, in the reduced zone, 

uraninite (Sharp and Gibbons, 1964). 

Monument Valley, Arizona 

The Monument Valley uranium-vanadium district is located in southeastern Utah and northeastern 

Arizona along the southern part of the- Monument 

upwarp, a large asymmetric, north-trending anticline 

(fig. 1, no. 17). The uranium-vanadium deposits are 

all in scour channels of the Shinarump Member of the 

Upper Triassic Chinle Formation which cut into the 

Lower and Middle(?) Triassic Moenkopi Formation or 

the De Chelly Sandstone Member of the Permian Cutler 

Formation. 

A close spatial relation exists between pockets of 

uranium ore, channel fill, and carbonized plant material 

(Witkind and Thaden, 1963). Petroliferous material is apparently absent. 

Uranium Districts, Mines, No Positive Associations 11 
Orphan Mine, Grand Canyon, Arizona 

The Orphan uranium-copper mine is located on the 

south rim of Grand Canyon National. Park in northcentral Arizona (fig. 1, no. 6). The ore body is confined 

to a breccia pipe that probably originated through solution collapse of sediments. The Orphan pipe is not the 

only mineralized pipe in the Grand Canyon country; a 

number of unmineralized pipes also occur. The Orphan 

pipe penetrates more than 457 m (1 ,500 ft) of Permian 

Coconino Sandstone and Hermit Shale, Permian and 

Pennsylvanian Supai Group, and perhaps the upper part 

of the Mississippian Redwall Limestone (Gornitz and 

Kerr, 1970). 

Metallic minerals in the ores include uraninite, 

chalcocite, digenite, covellite, chalcopyrite, bornite, tennantite, pyrite, marcasite, sphalerite, galena, niccolite, 

and rammelsbergite (Gornitz and Kerr, 1970). Carbonaceous material is present in some of the ore (C. G. 

Bowles, oral commun., 1984), but petroliferous material 

has not been reported. 

Tallahassee Creek, Colorado 

The Tallahassee Creek uranium district is located 

in Fremont County in south-central Colorado (fig. 1, no. 

29) and lies in the southern part of the Echo Park graben. 

Host rocks for the ore bodies are the upper Eocene Echo 

Park Alluvium and the lower Oligocene Tallahassee 

Creek Conglomerate. Uranium was transported in ground 

water to favorable sites where it was deposited in a reducing environment controlled by carbonaceous material and 

associated pyrite (Dickinson, 1981). Reserves of U3

0 8 

are greater than combined reserves and production at the 

Schwartzwalder deposit in the Ralston Buttes district in 

Jefferson County, Colo. (Dickinson, 1981). The main ore 

minerals are uraninite and coffinite (Cyprus Mines Corporation, 1980). Petroliferous material has not been 

reported from the district. 

lJravan Mineral Belt, Colorado 

The Uravan mineral belt is located in southwestern 

Colorado (fig. 1, no. 13) and consists of carnotite deposits 

in the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation that have a 

closer spacing, larger size, and higher grade than those 

in adjoining areas (Fischer and Hilpert, 1952). Vanadiumuranium deposits, fossil logs, and ore rolls have a dominant orientation normal to the mineral belt. 

Exploration for ore is guided by thickness and color of the ore-bearing sandstone, color of mudstone 

associated with the sandstone, and the presence of abundant carbonaceous plant material within the ore-bearing 

12 Petroliferous Materials, Uranium, Other Metals, United States 

sandstone (Weir, 1952). A minimum thickness of 12m 

(40ft) is considered favorable for ore-bearing sandstone. 

The sandstone is mostly pale to light yellowish brown, 

speckled with limonite stain; a pronounced red color is 

generally indicative of unfavorable strata. Mudstone 

associated with the ore-bearing sandstone is gray or 

greenish gray instead of the normal red color. The 

presence of carbonized plant remains is indicative of 

favorable strata and suggests the proximity of ore. 

Petroliferous material has not been reported from the 

Uravan mineral belt. 

GEOLOGY OF METALLIFEROUS DISTRICTS 

OTHER THAN URANIUM THAT SHOW 

POSITIVE ASSOCIATIONS WITH 

PET ROLl FE ROUS MATE RIALS 

Lake Alice Cu-Ag-Zn District, Wyoming 

At the Lake Alice district in western Wyoming 

(fig. 1, no. 9) and at two other locations more than 80 km 

(50 mi) to the north, copper, silver, and zinc occur at or 

near the top of the Nugget Sandstone of Triassic(?) and 

Jurassic(?) age (Love and Antweiler, 1973). All localities 

are within the thrust belt of western Wyoming. Mineralization is in sandstone that was originally red but was 

subsequently altered to gray, brown, black, and green. 

No fossil plant material is present in the Nugget 

Sandstone, but its presence is well documented in many 

red-bed copper deposits in the western United States. No 

oil has been reported from the Nugget within the Lake 

Alice area, but its original presence is suggested by 

bleaching and the oil content at several places in the 

overlying limestone and dolomite breccia. Bleaching and 

oil staining may be useful guides to prospecting for 

metallic mineral deposits in certain types of sedimentary 

rocks (Love and Antweiler, 1973). 

Picher-Miami Field of Tri-State Pb-Zn District, 

Oklahoma-Kansas 

The Picher-Miami field of the Tri-State Pb-Zn 

district is located in extreme northeastern Oklahoma and 

extreme southeastern Kansas (fig. 1, no. 43). The TriState district has been a major producer of lead and zinc 

in the United States. The ore bodies occur in the 

Mississippian Boone Formation, a carbonate sequence 

composed of limestone, dolomite, and chert. 

In the Picher-Miami field, oil occurs in the 

underground mine workings and appears to have its 

origin in the rocks overlying the ore bodies. The oil reservoirs are found in traps beneath shale, ordinarily at the 

tops of domes (Fowler, 1933). The relation of oil and ore 

may or may not be genetically controlled by structure. 
Upper Mississippi Valley Pb-Zn District, 

Southwestern Wisconsin and Adjoining States 

The upper Mississippi Valley Pb-Zn district is 

located in southwestern Wisconsin, northwestern Illinois, 

and northeastern Iowa (fig. 1, no. 46). The ore is generally 

fracture controlled. The rocks in the district dip very 

gently to the southwest. The main ore-bearing stratigraphic unit is the Galena Dolomite of Middle Ordovician age. The basal part of the Galena Dolomite contains 

layers of organic shale, or "oil rock," that burn with a 

petroliferous odor. The organic shale is believed by Bain 

(1906) to be the agent responsible for the precipitation 

of lead and zinc sulfides, and Barton (1967) believed that 

methane or other related organic material played an important role in the precipitation of Mississippi Valley ores. 

Cox (1911) held that the Upper Ordovician Maquoketa 

Shale, which overlies the Galena Dolomite, was the source 

of the lead and zinc ores. 

The primary minerals in the deposits are galena, 

sphalerite, marcasite, pyrite, and chalcopyrite. Secondary 

minerals are smithsonite, hydrozincite, calamine, cerussite, anglesite, sulphur, wad, limonite, and melanterite. 

Gangue minerals are calcite, dolomite, selenite, barite, 

and quartz. 

GEOLOGY OF METALLIFEROUS DISTRICTS 

OTHER THAN URANIUM THAT MAY SHOW 

POSITIVE ASSOCIA liONS WITH 

PETROLI FE ROUS MATE RIALS 

Bent (Virginia) Red-Bed(?) Cu Deposit, New Mexico 

The Bent, or Virginia, copper deposit is located in 

northern Otero County in southern New Mexico near the 

Bent post office (fig. 1, no. 35). Copper minerals occur 

in a sandstone bed, probably in the Permian Chupadera 

Formation, a term abandoned and replaced by Artesia 

Group, as well as in veins in an underlying diorite intrusive (Soule, 1956). The association with an intrusive 

suggests that these copper deposits may not be of the redbed type. Chalcocite, malachite, and azurite are the main 

ore minerals. A black, resinous hydrocarbon was reported 

in the ores. 

Fredericktown Pb District, Missouri 

The Fredericktown lead-mining district is located 

in Madison County, southeastern Missouri (fig. 1, no. 

45). Uraniferous albertite, which is reported from the 

district, contains 3. 79 percent uranium in 20.42 percent 

ash (Hill, 1953). In the Glossary of Geology and Related 

Sciences (1960, p. 6), albertite is defined as "a black variety of bitumen with a brilliant luster that has a conchoidal 

fracture and is practically insoluble in alcohol.'' The 

albertite is apparently not genetically related to fresher, 

more viscous oil that occurs in small quantities as cavity 

fillings in the Upper Cambrian Bonneterre Dolomite, 

which overlies the albertite deposits (Hill, 1953). 

Silver Reef District, Utah 

The Silver Reef district is located near Zion National Park in Washington County, southwestern Utah 

(fig. 1, no. 5). The district is unique in the United States 

in that commercial silver ore is associated with minor copper, uranium, vanadium, and selenium minerals in sandstone (Proctor, 1953). Silver ore is found in the Silver 

Reef sandstone of Proctor (1953), an informal unit in the 

Upper Triassic Chinle Formation, on the limbs and noses 

of folds. 

Cerargyrite is the dominant ore mineral in the 

district, but malachite, azurite, chalcocite, and carnotite 

are also present (Proctor, 1953). The ore minerals, 

especially copper minerals, are closely associated with 

plant fossils including fossil tree trunks. Genesis of the 

deposits is uncertain but likely is similar to the genesis 

of the uranium-vanadium deposits of the Colorado 

Plateau. Petroliferous material has not been reported 

from the district, but the association of mineralized rock 

with an anticlinal structure suggests a relationship with 

oil or gas. 

GEOLOGY OF METALpFEROUS DISTRICTS 

OTHER THAN URANIUM THAT PROBABLY DO 

NOT SHOW POSITIVE ASSOCIATIONS WITH 

PETROLI FE ROUS MATE RIALS 

Guadalupe (Stauber) Red-Bed Cu Deposit, 

New Mexico 

The Guadalupe (Stauber) copper deposit is located 

i:p Guadalupe County in east-central New Mexico near 

the town of Santa Rosa (fig. 1, no. 34). -Copper 

mineralization occurred in the generally flat lying Santa 

Rosa Sandstone at the base of the Upper Triassic Dockum 

Group (Soule, 1956). The ore minerals are chalcocite, 

malachite, azurite, and copper pitch. Replacement of carbonaceous material reportedly appears to be unimportant in these deposits (Soule, 1956). Petroliferous 

materials have not been reported. 

Pintada Lode Red-Bed Cu Deposits, New Mexico 

The Pintada Lode copper deposits are located in 

Guadalupe County in east-central New Mexico near Santa 

Metalliferous Districts, No Positive Associations 13 
Rosa (fig. 1, no. 33). The Pintada Lode deposits are about 

8 km (5 mi) northwest of the Guadalupe copper deposits. 

Copper mineralization occurred in fine-grained, flat-lying 

sandstone members of the Permian Chupadera Formation (now called Artesia Group) (Soule, 1956). Chalcocite 

and malachite are moderately abundant. Neither carbonaceous nor petroliferous materials have been reported 

from the area. The mechanism of precipitation of the ore 

minerals is not known. 

Sierra Nacimiento Cu Deposits, New Mexico 

The Sierra Nacimiento copper deposits are located 

in northern New Mexico east of the San Juan Basin near 

the town of Cuba (fig. 1, no. 30). Copper minerals are 

closely associated with fossil logs in the Agua Zarca Sandstone Member of the Upper Triassic Chinle Formation. 

Small amounts of native silver are also present. The Agua 

Zarca consists of white to buff, fine- to very coarse 

grained, thick-bedded, quartzose sandstone sandwiched 

between red beds (Woodward and others, 1974). 

Carbonaceous plant material appears to have been 

the most important factor in controlling mineralization 

(Woodward and others, 1974). Petroliferous materials 

have not been reported. 

DISCUSSION 

Can the occurrence of uranium be used to predict 

the occurrence of petroleum? The answer to this question is a qualified no. There are certainly some good examples of uranium and petroleum occurring together: 

Cement, Okla.; McKittrick, Calif.; Palangana salt dome, 

Texas; and Temple Mountain, Utah. Furthermore, some 

petroleum explorationists claim that oil fields have 

radioactive halos and the detection of these halos is an 

exploration guide. However, many cases also exist where 

uranium shows no apparent connection with petroleum; 

some examples are the Anderson mine, Date Creek basin, 

Arizona; Edgemont, S.Dak.; Mauch Chunk, Pa.; Monument Hill, Powder River basin, Wyoming; Monument 

Valley, Ariz.; Orphan mine, Grand Canyon, Ariz.; 

Tallahassee Creek, Colo.; and Uravan mineral belt, Colorado. A positive relation exists between uranium and 

organic matter, and the organic matter may be either carbonaceous plant or petroliferous material. Where 

uranium exists in sedimentary rocks with neither carbonaceous nor petroliferous material is a rare circumstance. 

Can the occurrence of oil and gas be used to predict 

the occurrence of uranium? The answer is a definite no. 

Numerous examples exist of oil and gas fields with no 

associated uranium throughout the United States but 

especially in the midcontinent region. 

14 Petroliferous Materials, Uranium, Other Metals, United States 

Is uraniferous asphaltite petroleum-derived or coalderived material? Some studies have concluded that 

uraniferous asphaltite is coal derived, largely on the basis 

of infrared spectroscopy and organic elemental analysis. 

Others have concluded that the material is petroleum 

derived on the basis of geologic relationships and carbon 

isotopic analyses. Therefore, a case can be made for 

either-although perhaps more convincingly for coalderived material. Uraniferous asphaltite may possibly be 

derived from either petroleum or coal, depending on 

availability and chemistry. 

CONCLUSIONS 

A number of uraniferous and nonuraniferous 

metallized localities show positive associations with 

petroliferous materials. Some of the uraniferous localities 

are mining districts or deposits, and some are simply 

isolated occurrences of uranium. The districts or deposits 

are Cement, Okla.; Elk Ridge, Utah; Lance Creek, Wyo.; 

Lone Tree deposit, San Rafael Swell, Utah; Maybell, 

Colo.; Palangana salt dome, Texas; Poison basin, 

Wyoming; south Texas; Temple Mountain, Utah; and 

deposits in the Jurassic Todilto Limestone Member of the , 

Wanakah Formation of the Grants area, New Mexico. 

The occurrences are Carlsbad, N. Mex.; Chalone Creek, 

Calif.; Edna, Calif.; Ellis, Mo.; Huntsville, Ark.; Los 

Alamos, Calif.; McKittrick, Calif.; southwestern 

Oklahoma; Sulphur, Okla.; and Vernal, Utah. The 

nonuraniferous metallized localities that show positive 

associations with petroliferous materials are the Lake 

Alice Cu-Ag-Zn district, Wyoming; the Picher-Miami 

field of the Tri-State Pb-Zn district, Oklahoma-Kansas; 

and the Upper Mississippi Valley Pb-Zn district, 

southwestern Wisconsin and adjoining States. 

Some uranium districts and nonuraniferous 

metallized localities show possible positive associations 

with petroliferous materials. The districts are Copper 

Mountain, Wyo.; Crooks Gap, Wyo.; Gas Hills, Wyo.; 

deposits in the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of 

the Grants area, New Mexico; Lisbon Valley, Utah; Rifle 

Creek, Colo.; Shirley basin, Wyoming; and White 

Canyon, Utah. The nonuraniferous localitites are Bent 

(Virginia) red-bed(?) Cu deposit, New Mexico; 

Fredericktown Pb region, Missouri; and Silver Reef, 

Utah. 

Some uranium districts and nonuraniferous 

metallized localities show no known positive associations 

with petroliferous materials. The uranium districts or 

mines are the Anderson mine, Date Creek basin, Arizona; 

Cameron, Ariz.; Edgemont, S.Dak.; Highland deposit, 

Powder River basin, Wyoming; Mauch Chunk, Pa.; 

Monument Hill, Powder River basin, Wyoming; Monument Valley, Ariz.; Orphan mine, Grand Canyon, Ariz.; 
Tallahassee Creek, Colo.; and Uravan mineral belt, Colorado. The nonuraniferous localities are the Guadalupe 

(Stauber) red-bed Cu deposit, New Mexico; the Pintada 

Lode red-bed Cu deposits, New Mexico; and the Sierra 

Nacimiento Cu deposit, New Mexico. 

Several deposits contain the enigmatic material 

known as uraniferous asphaltite. Uraniferous asphaltite 

may be either coal-derived or petroleum-derived material. 

A more definitive origin does not seem warranted by the 

available data. 

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* U.S. GPO: 1988 r::i13...fA7/fiJJ2.7