GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CIRCULAR 219 

RECONNAISSANCE OF URANIUM AND 

COPPER DEPOSITS IN PARTS OF 

NEW MEXICO, COLORADO, UTAH 

IDAHO, AND WYOMING 

By Garland B. Gott and Ralph L. Erickson 

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Oscar L. Chapman, Secretary 

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

W. E. Wrather, Director 

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CIRCULAR 219 

RECONNAISSANCE OF URANIUM AND COPPER DEPOSITS IN PARTS OF 

NEW MEXICO, COLORADO, UTAH, IDAHO, AND WYOMING 

By Garland B. Gott and Ralph L Erickson 

Thia report COilC8l'D8 work doDe oa behalf of tbe 

U. S. Atomic Enerp Commiaion 

and is publiahed with the~ of the Commiuion 

Waahiqton, D. C1 196t 

Free on applieation to the Geolocical Survey, Wllhiqton 26, D. C. 

RECONNAISSANCE OF URANIUM AND COPPER DEPOSITS IN PARTS OF 

NEW MEXICO, COLORADO, UTAH, IDAHO, AND WYOMING 

CONTENTS 

Page 

Abstract ....... · ............•.•.............. 1 

Introduction .........••..................... 1 

Acknowledgments ............................ 2 

The copper and uraniurr, deposits ............. 2 

New Mexico ............................ 2 

Cuba, Abiquiu, and Gallina districts .... 2 

Jemez Springs district. .............. 4 

Zuni Mountain and Scholle districts .... 4 

Pintada-Pastura district. ............ 4 

Tecolote district . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 

Guadalupita district. ................ 4 

San Acacia district .................. 4 

Colorado ............................... 4 

The copper and uranium deposits--Continued 

Colorado--Continued 

Page 

The Cashin mine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 

Utah ........................•........ 5 

The Big Indian mine .......•........ 5 

Torrey district . . . . . . . . • . . . • . . . . . . . 5 

The San Rafael Swell district. . . . . . . .. 5 

Source of the uranium in the 

asphaltites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 

Idaho .................................. 8 

Wyoming .............................. g 

Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 

Literature cited .. ~· . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 9 

ILLUSTRATION 

Page 

• 

Figure 1. Some copper and uranium deposits in parts of New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming........ ~ 

TABLES 

Tabl'e 1. Radiometric and chemical analyses of samples from some uranium and copper deposits Page 

in sandstone ........................................................................... 10 

2. Spectrographic analyses of some crude oils, asphalts, and carbonaceous shales ................ 16 

ABSTRACT 

Because of the common association of uranium 

and copper in several of the commercial uranium 

deposits in the Colorado Plateau province, a reconnaissance study was made of. several known deposits 

of copper disseminated through sandstone to determine 

whether they might be a source of uranium. In order 

to obtain additional information regarding the relationship between copper, uranium, and carbonaceous materials, some of the uraniferous asphaltite deposits in 

the Shinarump conglomerate along the west flank of 

the San Rafael Swell were also investigated briefly. 

Dl.ll"ing th,is reconnaissance 18 deposits were 

examined in New Mexico, 8 in Utah, 2 in Idaho, and 

1 each in Wyoming and Colorado. 

Commercial grade uranium is not associated 

with the copper deposits that were examined. The 

uraniferous asphaltites in the Shinarump conglomerate 

of Triassic age on the west flank of the San Rafael 

Swell, however, are promising sources of commercial 

uranium. 

Spectrographic analyses of crude oil, asphalt, 

and bituminous shales show a rather consistent ~uite 

of trace metals including vanadium,. uranium, nickel, 

copper, cobalt, chromium, lead, zinc, and molybdenum. 

1 

The similarity of the metal assemblage in the San 

Rafael Swell asphaJ.tites to the metal assemblage in 

crude oil and other bituminous materials suggests that 

these metals were concentrated in the asphaltites from 

petroleum. However, it is possible that uranium 

minerals were already present before the hydrocarbons 

were introduced and that some kind of replacement of 

uranium minerals by carbon compounds was effected 

after the petroleum migrated into the uranium deposit. 

The widespread association of uranium with 

asphaltic material suggests that it also may have been 

concentrated by some agency connected with the formation of petroleum. The problem of the association of 

uranium and other trace metals with hydrocarbons 

should be further studied both in the field and in the 

laboratory. 

INTRODUCTION 

Copper, in varying proportions, is associated 

with uranium in many of the sandstones on the Colorado 

Plateau. This association is thought to have resulted 

from the deposition of these two metals under similar 

chemical conditions. To test this theory and to search 

for new sources of uranium, a reconnaissance was made 

of some of the known.copper deposits in sandstones of 

other areas on and adjacent to·the plateau. 
This reconnaissance was made on behalf of the 

Atomic Energy Commission during the summer of 

1951 in parts of New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, 

and Wyoming. The results are summarized in this 

report. 

The location, age of host rock, mineralogy, 

radioactivity, chemical analyses, and a brief description of the deposits that were examined are tabulated 

in table 1. Arbitrary numbers have been assigned to 

each deposit and these numbers refer to the same 

deposits m both table 1 and figure 1. The information 

about the deposits in each State is briefly summarized 

below. 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

The writers wish to express their appreciation 

to Charles B. Read of the Geological Survey, for unpublished maps and reports of many of the deposits 

that were examined during this investigation. They 

are also indebted to various members of the u. s. 

Geological Survey, Denver laboratory, for spectrographic, chemical, and radiometric analyses. 

A. T. Myers, spectr0grapher, and C. A. Horr, chemist, 

who are responsible for the analyses of hydrocarbons, 

are carrying out investigations concerning the association of uranium and other metals with hydrocarbons, 

which will be the subject of a later report. 

THE COPPER AND URANIUM DEPOSITS 

The deposits examined during this investigation 

are in northern New Mexico, southeastern Utah, southwestern Colorado, southeastern Idaho, and southwestern 

Wyoming. Within this region post-Cretaceous intrusive 

and extrusive rocks cover large areas and pre-Cambrian 

rocks are exposed in many of the major Paleozoic 

orogenic belts. However, late and post-Paleozoic 

sedimentary rocks, principally of continental origin, 

are most abundant. Thousands of feet of varicolored, 

but predominantly reddish, aeolian and fluvial sandstones and conglomerates that alternate with lesser 

amounts of shales, sandy shales, and clays are the 

most prominent components of the sedimentary sequence. 

The rocks of this sequence range in age from Pennsylvanian to Recent. 

The copper deposits appear to fit a classification 

consisting of two general types: deposits in which the 

controlling factors of deposition appear to have been 

the presence of carbonaceous material and relatively 

high porosity, and deposits in which the predominant 

controlling factor appears to have been faulting or 

fracturing. 

The deposits, for the most part, range in size 

from a few cubic inches of sandstone containing a 

small amount of copper to many thousands of tons of 

copper-bearing rock. Some of the deposits have been 

intermittently mined in the past, but under present 

conditions it is doubtful if any of them could be mined 

profitably. 

The copper minerals are most abundant in lightgray, fluvial, carbonaceous, argillaceous, porous 

sandstones of Permian and Triassic age. Chalcocite 

is probably the primary copper mineral of most of 

the deposits in their present form. It occurs as a 

replacement of carbonized plant remains, as interstitial 

2 

grains and nodules disseminated through the sandstones, 

and as fracture fillings. The secondary carbonates 

and silicates have been deposited adjacent to the 

chalcocite, but in some places they cement the sand 

grains where copper sulfides are not present. 

The most abundant copper minerals in the 

deposits are malachite, chalcocite, azurite, and 

chrysocolla. Malachite is the most prominent mineral, 

but its bright color and its presence, in some places, 

as a coating or halo around chalcocite grains and 

nodules may result in disproportional estimates of 

the two minerals. Azurite is present in much smaller 

quantities than malachite but, nevertheless, is 

widespread. Chrysocolla is most abundant in the 

Copper City and Pintada-Pastura districts in New Mexico. Covellite was identified in about one-third of the 

deposits. Chalcopyrite, cuprite, copper sulfates, 

and native copper are sparingly present in a few 

deposits. 

During a two-day reconnaissance of the San 

Rafael Swell in Utah, a few of the uraniferous asphaltite 

deposits were briefly examined. The deposits about 

which the writers have obtained information are not 

known to be extensive, but a similar deposit at Temple 

Mountain, on the southeastern corner of the San Rafael 

Swell, apparently contains comparatively large 

resources of uranium. The asphaltic material occurs 

as ·rounded grains, stringers, pods, and irregular 

masses in the Shinarump conglomerate. Small quantities of uranium-bearing carbonized w~od are also 

present. The hydrccarbons apparently range from an 

asphalt largely soluble in carbon disulfide to residual 

asphaltites (or pyrobitumens ?) that are only slightly 

soluble in carbon disulfide. The residual asphaltites 

contain rr.core uranium and other metals than do the 

soluble asphalts. 

Several metals are present in the asphaltites 

including Fe, Ti, Co, Cu, Mo, Ni, Pb, U, V, and Zn. 

Compounds of these metals are present in the asphaltitebearing rock and include pyrite, arsenopyrite(?), zincnickel-cobalt sulfate, chalcopyrite, bornite, chalcocite, 

covellite, malachite, azurite, paraschoepite( ?)1 and 

metatorbernite. 

Spectrographic analyses of a few asphaltite 

samples from this area show that the metal suite in 

the asphaltites is the same as is present in crude oils. 

This suggests that the metals in the asphaltites may 

have been concentrated from crude oil by a combination 

of volatilization, oxidQ.tion, and polymerization resulting in a concentration of the metal-bearing asphaltenes and other heavy hydrocarbons. More extensive 

investigations to determine the metal compounds and 

their relationship to the organic constitu~nts in a 

greater number of bituminous materials are needed, 

however, before the source of the metals can be 

definitely established. 

New Mexico 

Cuba, Abiquiu, and Gallina districts 

The deposits in the Cuba district, on the west 

flank of the Sierra Naciemiento uplift (deposits 1, 2, 

and 3), and in the Abiquiu and Gallina districts, on the 

east flank of this uplift (deposits 4 and 5), are in the 

Triassic Poleo sandstone lentil of the Chinle formation, 
I 

I 113° --------oz;---

EXPLANATION 

[;j 

Copper deposits tltat contain as much as 0.01 percent uranium 

... Copper deposits 

Uraniferous aspltaltite • deposits 

Area of uraniferous asptlaltile deposits 

Note: Numbers refer to deposits listed in table I 

25 0 100 Mileo 

0 

N E w 

Geology by Garland Gall and Ralph Erickson, 1951 

Figure 1. --Some c.opper and uranium deposits in parts of New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. 

3 
an equivalent of the Shinarump conglomerate. Deposits 

1, 2, and 3 have been productive mines; deposit 4 has 

been prospected by means of six short tunnels; and 

deposit 5 consists of insignificant amounts of copper 

minerals that were exposed during road construction. 

The dip of the Paleo sandstone lentil at these deposits 

ranges from horizontal to about 30 degrees. Carbonized wood, carbonaceous clay beds, and high 

permeability are features that are common to all these 

deposits. Copper minerals, chiefly malachite, chalcocite, azurite, and chrysocolla occur in fractures, 

disseminated through the sandstone, and surround 

and replace carbonized wood. Some of the carbonized 

wood is slightly radioactive but no uranium minerals 

are visible. The Poleo sandstone lentil consists of 

subangular to subrounded quartz grains and a minor 

amount of feldspar. Many of the quartz grains show 

secondary growth producing sharp crystal faces. 

Chalcocite grains occur chiefly in the interstices 

between quartz grains and are largely oxidized to 

malachite, which forms the cement of the sandstone. 

Chalcocite also fills fractures in, and replaces, quartz 

and feldspar. Feldspar, which comprises 5 to 10 percent of the rock, is preferentially replaced by malachite, 

whereas fractured quartz grains are preferentially 

veined with chrysocolla. 

Undistorted cell structure is prominent in 

polished sections of chalcocitized wood. A few 

residual grains of pyrite in chalcocite show 11 ice-cake 11 

texture (Tolman, 1916, p. 407) and suggest that the 

wood was originally replaced by pyrite and later by 

chalcocite. Small amounts of covellite replace chalcocite to form 11 rim 11 texture (Edwards, 1947, pp. 83-

96). 

Jemez Springs district 

The copper deposits at the Spanish Queen mines 

(deposits 6 and 7) in the Jemez Springs district, on 

the east flank of. the Sierra Naciemiento uplift, are 

in the Abo formation of Permian age(?). The Abo at 

this locality is a yellow to reddish-brown mediumgrained massive arkosic sandstone, of fluvial origin, 

that contains ~everal carbonaceous shale layers as 

much as 4 inches thick and a small quantity. of carbonized wood fragments. Chalcocite, malachite, and 

azurite are associated with the carbonaceous shale 

and carbonized wood. Selected pieces of the most 

radioactive carbonized plant remains from the easternmost mine contain as much as 0. 01 percent uranium. 

Radon has accumulated in the west mine. 

A radioactive travertine has been deposited 

around Jemez Springs, 5. 7 miles upstream from the 

Spanish Queen mines. No uranium was detected in 

the travertine by chemical analyses and, accordingly, 

it is believed that the radioactivity is caused by radium. 

Zuni Mountain and Scholle districts 

The copper minerals in the Zuni Mountain district. 

in Valencia County (deposits 13, 14, and 15) and the 

Scholle district in Torrance County (deposits 17 and 18) 

are also in the Abo formation. Copper minerals in 

these districts occur with carbonized wood fragments 

and are present along the contacts between gray shale 

and arkosic sandstone beds. The woody material is 

slightly radioactive. 

.4 

Pintada-Pastura district 

The deposits at the Guadalupe mine and the 

Pintada lode in the Pintada-Pastura district, Guadalupe 

County, are in the San Andres formation of Permian 

age and the Santa Rosa sandstone of Triassic age. 

The Guadalupe mine (deposit 9) is in a structural 

depression, which Read (personal communication, 

1951) attributes to subsidence resulting from solution 

of evaporites in the underlying San Andres formation. 

Copper sulfides partly replace carbonized wood and 

are disseminated in the Santa Rosa sandstone. Patches 

of massive sandstone beds are silicified and impregnated 

with black manganese oxides. Malachite forms 

botryoidal surfaces along cracks and joints and is 

disseminated in the sandstone. 

The Pintada lode (deposit 8), near San Ignacio 

in Guadalupe County, is in the San Andres formation. 

The copper minerals .. chalcocite and secondary carbonates and silicate~, are in a calcareous fine-grained 

light-gray sandstone. The chalcocite occurs as tiny 

intergranular grains; the secondary copper carbonates 

and silicates occur along bedding planes, as fracture 

fillings, disseminated in the sandstone, and in association with stringers of gypsurr.. No carbonaceous 

material was observed at this prospect. 

Tecolote district 

Only one small copper prospect, the Bonanza(?) 

(deposi't 10), was located in the Tecolote district near 

Las Vegas. Small patches of malachite are in the 

Permian arkosic sandstone at this locality. No abnormal radioactivity was detected. 

Guadalupita district 

A copper-uraniurr1-bearing black shale (deposit 

12) of Permian age, 2 to 3 miles south of Guadalupita 

on Coyote Creek, contains 2 percent copper and 0. 01 percent uranium. The abnorrr"al radioactivity of the shale 

was first discovered in 1951 by Charles B. Read and 

George 0. Bachrr"an, both of the Geological .Survey. 

The shale is about 5 feet thick and is vertic.al. It is 

nonmarine and is over lain and under lain by arkosic 

sandstones of Permian age. Chalcocite, pyrite, and 

malachite are the most abundant minerals. The shale 

is a potential source of commercial copper and uranium. If it could be mined for copper, the uranium 

might be recovered as a byproduct of the copper. 

San Acacia district 

A deposit near San Acacia (table 1, no. 16) in 

shear zone.s in volcanic rocks, contains small quantities of torbernite( ?) and carnotite(?), together with 

secondar;y copper minerals, calcite, and quartz. One 

sample selected from the dump material contained 

0. 026 percent uranium. 

Colorado 

The Cashin mine 

The Cashin mine (deposit 19) in Montrose County 

consists mainly of a 3, 000-foot tunnel along a mineralized brecciated zone of vertical or near-vertical 

fractures in cross-bedded massive Wingate sandstone 
of Jurassic(?) age. The original ore body, now mined 

out, was 1 to 20 feet wide and contained argentiferous 

copper sulfides. Chalcocite, azurite, malachite, blue 

copper sulfate, and black manganese oxides coat the 

walls of the tunnel. The copper minerals occur mostly 

along the fractures, but in places they are along bedding planes in the more porous unfractured sandstone. 

The presence of a heavy coating of copper salts on the 

walls and roof of the tunnel illustrates the effects of 

recent solution and redeposition. No abnormal radioactivity was detected in the tunnel. The deposit is 

probably of hydrothermal origin. 

Utah 

The copper and uranium deposits that were 

examined in Utah include the Big Indian mine 5 miles 

south of La Sal, two small copper prospects in the 

Capitol Reef area near Torrey, and five deposits of 

uraniferous asphaltites along the west side of the 

San Rafael Swell in Emery County. A brief description 

of these deposits follows: 

The Big Indian mine 

The Big Indian mine, 5. 2 miles south of La Sal 

(deposit 20), is developed by an open-cut about 200 feet 

long, 100 feet wide, and 20 to 30 feet deep. The 

abandoned shafts are not accessible. The deposit is 

in sandstone beds of the Dakota(?). The copper-bearing 

sandstone is about 20 feet thick. It is a porous coarseto medium-grained sandstone that is overlain and underlain by dark-gray carbonaceous shale. The deposit 

is not abnormally radioactive. 

The deposit is in a northwest-trending fault zone. 

The movement along this fault zone has resulted in a 

series of fractures in the sandstone, which are exposed 

in the open pit. Copper carbonates with small amounts 

of chalcocite and chrysocolla are concentrated in 

fractures and along bedding planes and are disseminated 

in the sandstone. Manganese oxide stains give the 

rock a black- and white-speckled appearance. Small 

amounts of carbonaceous material are scattered 

through the sandstone and in some places copper minerals have been deposited around lenses of this material. 

Although the genesis of the deposit is not clear 

because most of the ore has been mined out, the occurrence of the copper minerals along fractures and 

faults suggests that this deposit may be of hydrothermal 

origin. This conclusion was reached previously by 

Read (personal communication, 1951), who suggested 

a telethermal origin for this deposit. 

Torrey district 

Two copper prospects were examined in the 

Torrey district in Wayne County, Utah. No abnormal 

radioactivity was detected and very little copper was 

observed at either prospect. Deposit 21 is in siltstones and limestone of the Moenkopi formation of 

Triassic age. The workings of the deposit consist 

of an inclined adit and a tunnel, both of which are caved 

near the portals. Ten feet of flaggy, G:alcareous siltstone, overlain by 10 to 12 feet of well-bedded vuggy 

limestone. are exposed in the adit. A weathere~ zone 

about 6 inches thiCk separates the9e two units. 

5 

Malachite and azurite are concentrated mostly in one 

18-inch bed of vuggy limestone. 

Large boulders of vuggy recrystallized-and 

brecciated limestone on the dump suggest that this 

deposit was localized in fractures or along a fault 

zone and perhaps was formed by hydrothermal solutions. 

Deposit 22 contains small amounts of copper 

carbonate stain on a buff sandstone of the Moenkopi 

formation. The prospect has been developed by an 

open-cut, 30 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 7 feet deep; 

and by a 25-foot shaft in the bottom of the pit. No 

copper minerals were observed in the bottom of the 

shaft and no ab"'nt'mal radioactivity was detected at 

the prospect. 

The San Rafael Swell district 

The San Rafael Swell is a northeast-trending 

elongate dome that is about 70 miles long and 25 to 

30 miles wide. Sedimentary rocks of Permian age 

are exposed along the crest of tbis anticline and progressively younger rocks ranging from Triassic to 

Late Cretaceous in age are exposed along the flanks. 

Five uranium deposits along this anticline were 

examined by the writers. The deposits consi.st of uraniferous asphaltites locally disseminated through the 

Shinarump conglomerate. Although this investigation 

of the San Rafael Swell district is incomplete, the 

data that were obtained are included here because 

they might aid in current and future studies. 

Uranium-bearing hydrocarbons with physical 

characteristics similar to those along the west flank 

of the San Rafael Swell have been known by a variety 

of names including anthraxolite, carburan, huminite, 

and thucholite. Ellsworth (1928) gave the name 

thucholite to a uranium- and thorium-bearing hydrocarbon from a pegmatite in the Parry Sound district 

in Ontario. Since that time the term thucholite has 

been generally used to include all uranium-bearing 

hydrocarbons. By custom, however, the term thucholite 

seems to have a genetic connotation implying that the 

material is of hydrothermal origin. Inasmuch as the 

writers are not prepared to assign the uraniferous 

asphaltites of the San Rafael Swell to a specific genetic 

classification, the term will not be used in this report 

with reference to these particular deposits. 

In the San Rafael Swell area uranium and a small 

amount of copper are associated with hard lustrous 

asphaltite pellets, stringers, and small irregular 

masses, and to a lesser extent with carbonized plant 

material. This uranium-bearing carbonaceous material is disseminated in the Shinarump conglomerate, 

which in this area is predominantly composed of poorly 

sorted silty conglomeratic sandstone. 

The Lone Tree deposit (no. 27) is in the lower part 

of the Shinarump conglomerate. At this locality the 

Shinarump conglomerate is an argillaceous conglomeratic sandstone that contains shale fragments and uraniferous asphaltite pellets and stringers. The essential 

constituents of the rock are poorly sorted angular to 

subrounded quartz grains, pieces of porphyritic 

volcanic flow rock as much as 1/2 inch in diameter, 

and gray shale fragments that were probably incorporated from the underlying gray shale bed. These 
constituents are in a clay matrix that turns blue after 

application of benzidine. This suggests the presence 

of some montmorillonitic material. The larger quartz 

grains are subrounded and many of them are heavily 

fractured; others are mosaic patches of sutured grains. 

Patches of secondary calcite surround quartz grains 

and are partially replaced along cleavage planes by 

iron oxides. Uranium is associated with hard lustrous 

pellets of asphaltite as much as 1/2 inch in diameter 

and with discontinuous stringers of asphaltite as much 

as 1 inch thick. These pellets and stringers are contained in the more porous parts of a 3-foot bed of 

coarse-grained argillaceous sandstone and conglomerate. 

_ A small fault with about 3 feet of displacement appears 

to define one boundary of the deposit. The asphaltitebearing bed is overlain and underlain by compact gray 

shale. Individual asphaltite pellets contain as much as 

3. 28 percent uranium and spectrographically detectable 

amounts of Ag, As, Co, Ni, Cr, Cu, Mo, V (table 2, 

nos. 15 and 17); the overlying shale bed contains 

_ 0. 015 percent equivalent uranium, and the underlying 

shale bed contains 0. 008 percent equivalent uranium. 

Visible secondary uranium minerals are relatively 

rare. A yellow uranium mineral, tentatively identified 

as paraschoepite, occurs as patches along bedding planes, 

as discontinuous stringers in the clay matrix, and as 

a replacement of calcite. Inasmuch as the paraschoepite( ?) 

is obviously the last mineral to have formed, it seems 

evident that it was deposited from solutions that leached 

the uraniferous asphaltite. 

Polished sections of asphaltite pellets from the 

Lone Tree group of claims show two types of hydrocarbon: a gray isotropic part that is fractured, 

possibly as a result of contraction and oxidation, during 

the last stages of volatilization and a later, much less 

abundant, light-gray hydrocarbon that fills some of the 

fractures. Other fractures are filled with a nonopaque 

gangue mineral, probably gypsum. Pyrite, the most 

ablindant metallic mineral in the section, occurs as 

small irregular grains and patches in the older hydrocarbon. Examination of the sections with oil immersion 

lens (X 560) reveals tiny grains of chalcopyrite and a 

few grains of a white metallic mineral that may be 

arsenopyrite. Spectrographic analyses indicate that 

between 0. 1 to 10.0 percent arsenic (table 2, nos. 15 

and 17) is present in the asphaltite pellets. 

Reyner (1950) examined the Lone Tree deposit 

in 1950 and estimated that it contained no more than 

100 tons of 0. 20 percent uranium oxide. This estimate, 

however, was largely based on samples obtained from 

an adit 18leet long and 10 feet wide. 

The Dalton group of claims (deposit 26) is about 

1 mile south of the Lone Tree group. Gray shale is 

exposed in the roof of three short adits and this is 

underlain by lenticular alternating fine- to mediumgrained sandstone and pebble conglomerate. Uraniferous 

asphaltite in the form of grains, blebs, stringers, 

elongate pods, and fracture fillings occurs through 

a thickness of about 3 feet and is particularly abundant 

in the conglomeratic parts of the sandstone about 20 feet 

above the base of the Shinarump conglomerate. Radioactivity is apparently restricted to the asphaltite, which 

contains as much as 5. 0 percent equivalent uranium 

and 1. 34 percent uranium. Individual grains are as 

much as 1/2 inch in diameter, and pods and lenses 

are as much as 20 inches long and 4 inches thick. 

6 

Some of the pods and lenses have a center core of 

granular pyrite, and in other pods and lenses the 

pyrite is disseminated but appears to replace the 

asphaltite. 

Polished sections of the uraniferous asphaltite 

show that pyrite invades the hydrocarbon and replaces 

the quartz grains producing embayed irregular grains. 

Most of the pyrite masses have "exploding-bomb" 

texture (Graton and Murdock, 1913, p. 37) and are 

surrounded by gangue minerals, probably carbonates. 

Minute blebs of chalcopyrite, chalcocite, and covellite 

can be detected in the asphaltite with the oil immersion 

lens (X 560). Covellite occurs chiefly in tiny discontinuous fractures in the asphaltite. 

A similar association of uranium with hard 

lustrous asphaltite is found at the Ronnie, Jerry, and 

Frenchy mine (deposit 23) in SWt sec. 20, T. 23 S., R. 

10 E. Small vitreous uraniferous asphaltite grains, 

0. 5 to 1. 0 millimeters in diameter, are disseminated 

through a thickness of about 25 feet of gray sandstone 

in the lower part of the Shinarump conglomerate. 

The asphaltic sandstone is overlain by a nonradioactive 

conglomerate that contains numerous clay layers. The 

mine workings consist of a short tunnel about 7 feet 

high, which has been driven into the asphaltic sandstone. In addition to uraniferous asphaltite, numerous 

fossil logs with silicified centers and radioactive 

carbonized rims as much as 15 inches in diameter are 

imbedded in the lower part of the sandstone. The 

carbonized material in these logs contains from 0. 1 to 

1. 0 percent uranium. A 7-foot channel sample of the 

sandstone contained 0. 03 percent uranium, and a 

concentrate of the asphaltite grains contained 0. 30 percent equivalent uranium. Spectrographic analyses of 

the asphaltite concentrate are given in table 2, no. 19. 

Above the entrance to the tunnel, a recently 

formed deposit of pink zinc-nickel-cobalt sulfate coats 

the nearly vertical sandstone cliff. The metals 

probably were derived from the asphaltite and carbonized wood. 

Polished sections of the asphaltic sandstone show 

minute grains of metallic minerals, chiefly chalcopyrite 

and cobalt-nickel minerals, in quartz grains, along 

fractures, and along the contact of asphaltite and 

quartz. These minerals were not observed in the 

hydrocarbon. 

Pyrite with cell, ice-cake, and exploding-bomb 

textures is the chief metallic mineral observed in 

polished sections of the carbonized wood. Minute 

blebs of chalcopyrite are scattered at random in the 

wood. 

The host rock is an argillaceous m~dium-grained 

gray asphalt·ic sandstone. Quartz grains are strongly 

fractured. Malachite, azurite, metatorbernite, gypsum, 

and chalcedonic quartz are the secondary minerals. 

About 1/2 mile south of the Ronnie, Jerry, and 

Frenchy mine in the SWt sec. 20, T. 23 S., R. 10 E., 

1, 000 feet of uranium- and copper-bearing sandstone 

and shale of the Shinarump conglomerate has been 

exposed by bulldozer exploration (deposit 24). The 

exposed beds consist of red clay and shale at the base, 

overlain by the following rocks: 4 feet of radioactive 

asphaltic sandstone; 5 to 15 feet of gray, green, and 
red shales; 5 feet of brown pebble conglomerate; as 

much as 6 feet of lenticular cross-bedded soft white 

sandstone; and 5 to 15 feet of conglomeratic sandstone. 

The highest degree of radioactivity occurs in the 

asphaltic sandstone in a rather persistent 4-inch thick 

zone of sooty fossil plant fragments. A few isolated 

woody fragments are strongly radioactive. 

At the time the writers examined the deposit, 

no minable thickness of ore had been exposed. 

Ground waters have redistributed copper and 

uranium as copper carbonates and metatorbernite on 

joints and fractures in the sandstone and the underlying shale beds. Two small adits, one 5 feet long 

and the other 15 feet long, have been excavated in the 

shale. The radioactivity in these adits averages between 0. 10 and 0. 15 milleroentgens per hour. 

Bornite, chalcopyrite, covellite, and chalcocite 

were observed in a polished section of uraniferous 

black material that is either asphaltite or carbonized 

wood. Bornite and chalcopyrite show a texture that 

may be due either to exsolution or to replacement of 

bornite by chalcopyrite along preferred crystallographic 

directions. The latter interpretation is favored. 

Covellite preferentially replaces bornite; chalcocite 

replaces chalcopyrite and bornite and is partly 

replaced along the margins by covellite. 

Deposit 25, an operating mine in the NEt sec. 31, 

T. 23 S., R. 10 E., is one of the most prorr.ising 

deposits examined. The mine workings consist of 

a 50-foot tunnel, 6 to 15 feet wide, in the lower part 

of the Shinarump conglomerate. An 8-foot channel 

sample cut in the tunnel contained 0. 31 percent uranium. One selected sample of carbonaceous material 

that is either asphaltite or carbonized wood contained 

1. 2 percent equivalent uranium. Abnormally high 

radioactivity is associated with numerous layers of 

carbonized plant remains 1/16 to 1/8 inch thick and 

with disseminated asphaltite grains in light-gray 

medium-grained sandstone. No secondary uranium 

minerals were identified in the mine, but small 

amounts of yellow and blue-green stain and copper 

carbonates are present near and at the base of surface 

exposures of the Shinarump. 

The Shinarump conglomerate is about 150 feet 

thick at this locality and consists of alternating lenticular beds of sandstone and conglomerate. The lower 

1 to 15 feet of the exposed beds 'is abnormally radioactive for about 400 feet along the outcrop. The radioactivity of these rocks ranges from 0. 15 to 20. 0 milleroentgens per hour. 

Sour-ce of the uranium in the asphaltites 

It has been suggested that the rounded uraniferous 

asphaltite pellets in the San Rafael Swell are· detrital 

and were eroded from a previously existing but unknown uraniferous asphaltite deposit (Gilluly, and 

Reeside, 1928, pp. 93-.g4; Hess, 1933, p. 458; and 

Wyant, 1952). The conclusion was reasonable because any alternative to a detrital hypothesis would 

require a rather complicated mechanism by which the 

cavities could have formed prior to the introduction of 

hydrocarbons. Nevertheless, the writers consider 

that the following eVidence contradicts the view that 

the asphaltite grains are detrital: 

7 

(1) Although much of the uraniferous asphaltite 

is in the form of rounded grains, some of it is in the 

form of stringers, elongate pods, lenses, heavy stains, 

and irregular masses that conform to the shape of the 

sand grains. 

(2) Some of the rounded grains have a botryoidal 

surface. Such a surface is inconsistent with a detrital 

hypothesis. 

If the hydrocarbons are epigenetic, as the writers 

believe, either of the following two general hypotheses 

can be postulated to account for the concentration of 

uranium in the asphaltite. (1) The uranium was present in the Shinarump conglomerate before the hydrocarbons migrated into it. When the hydrocarbons did 

come in contact with the uranium minerals, the uranium was transferred into the hydrocarbon fluids. 

The hydrocarbons most closely associated with the 

uranium was then polymerized by alpha particles to 

a high polymer. When the anticline was breeched by 

erosion, the unpolymerized liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons escaped, leaving the immobile solid uraniferous hydrocarbons behind. (2) The uranium and 

other metals were transported in solution by migrating 

petroleum from more distant uranium deposits including the petroleum source bed. 

• 

A discussion of these hypotheses follows: the 

hypothesis that thucholite results when alpha particles 

polymerize hydrocarbons that have been introduced 

into a uraniferous deposit has apparently received considerable support from Ellsworth (1928), Spence, 

(1930), and Davidson ~nd Bowie (1951, pp. 1-9). 

After a study of the thucholite-bearing pegmatites 

in the Parry Sound district of Ontario, Ellsworth 

(1928) concluded that both the uranium and the hydrocarbons were of hydrothermal origin. He believed 

that alpha radiation from uraninite crystals polymerized 

gaseous hydrocarbons and that the higher polymer 

replaced the uraninite crystals resulting in thucholite 

in the form of uraninite pseudomorphs. In a discussion 

of a similar deposit in the same district, Spence 

(1930) noted that the thucholite was in the form of cubic 

crystals, irregular masses, nodules, pellets, minute 

veinlets, and is associated with a "petroleumlike" oil. 

He differed somewhat from Ellsworth in concluding 

that the thucholite probably "is not a primary constituent 

of the pegmatite" but was formed later by the replacement of uranium by carbon and the effects of radiation 

on oil that had migrated into the pegmatite. 

After a study of the thucholite in the Rand conglomerate of the South African gold fields, Davidson 

and Bowie (1951, p. 1) concluded "that thucholite is 

not a true mineral but a complex of uraninite with 

hydrocarbon of hydrothermal origin, resulting from a 

polymerization or condensation of hydrocarbon fluids 

effected by radiations from uranium ore. " They 

believe that the Rand thucholite represents a replacement of mesothermal pitchblende by late hydrothermal 

hydrocar bans. 

Thus, the investigators of other uranium-bearing hydrocarbon deposits have concluded that the 

first step in the formation of thucholite is the presence 

of uranium minerals, and that the second step is the 

introduction of hydrocarbons (gaseous in the opinion 

of Ellsworth, and of Davidson and Bowie, and fluid 

in the opinion of Spence) around a uranium mineral. 
Although a hydrothermal origin for both the uranium 

and hydrocarbons has been postulated for most of the 

deposits studied by the authors referred to above, 

the effects would be the same if uranium and hydrocar_-pons of any origin were brought together. 

The asphaltite pellets in the Lone Tree deposit 

of the San Rafael Swell are as much as one-half inch 

in diameter. The presence of such large grains can 

be interpreted to mean that a uranium mineral formerly 

occupied the space now filled with the asphaltite pellet, 

and that the hydrocarbon replaced the uranium, possibly 

in much the same manner as suggested by Ellsworth, 

Spence,. Davidson, and Bowie. Autoradiographs, however, indicate that the radioactive elements are 

homogeneously distributed throughout the asphaltite 

and this seems to contradict the view that nonuraniferous hydrocarbon gases or fluids were polymerized 

around a radioactive nucleus. 

The San Rafael Swell was a structure ideally 

suited to the accumulation of petroleum compounds 

before it was breeched by erosion. Within this 

structure the uraniferous asphaltites are in the 

Shinarump conglomerate, a stratigraphic unit well 

known for the many uranium deposits that occur within 

its boundaries. If we accept the prerequisite that 

hydrocarbons must be brou<;rht into an area affected 

by alpha radiation before a thucholite-type deposit 

can be formed, it is not surprising that uraniferous 

hydrocarbons are present along the flanks of the San 

Rafael Swell. 

The hypothesis that the uranium and other metals 

were transported by fluid hydrocarbons is strongly 

supported by the presence of the same suite of metals 

in the asphaltites as are present in crude oils, gilsonite, 

and black shales. Spectrographic analyses tabulated 

in table 2 show that, so far as known, all these materials contain rather consistent quantities of vanadium, 

nickel, copper, cobalt, molybdenum, lead, zinc, and 

chromium. 

Numerous other analyses of crude oils and the 

ash of crude oils indicate that vanadium, nickel, and 

copper are concentrated in the asphaltic portion of 

the crudes. Analyses of 17 oils from the Second Baku 

and two oils from the Apsheron Peninsula show that 

vanadium, nickel, and copper oxides comprise 50 to 

90 percent of the ash (Gulyaeva, Itkina, and Romm, 

1941). It is noteworthy that these metals are equally 

high in the ash of filtered oils, suggesting that they 

are present as organic compounds and are not present 

as mechanical admixtures. Romm (1946) demonstrated 

that the vanadium content of sedimentary rocks of 'the 

Ural-Volga region was roughly proportional to the 

bitumen content of the rocks. Bituminous limestones 

and dolomites contained 18 to 119 ppm vanadium; 

nonbituminous limestones and dolomites contained 

only a trace or no vanadium. 

Dunstan (1924) reported that the ash of crude 

oil from Maidon-i-Naftun, Persia, contained 5. 03 percent vanadium pentoxide and 2. 70 percent nickel oxide, 

and that 15 grams of ash showed two-thirds as much 

radioactivity as 1 gram of uranium-nitrate. 

Unkovskaya (1940, p. 380) has found that waters 

related to petroleum are 5, 000 times higher, and 

petroleum itself is 50, 000 times higher in v.ranium than 

is sea water. 

8 

A crude oil extract from the Spergen limestone 

collected in St. Genevieve County, Mo., contains 

between 0.01 and 0.1 percent uranium (table 2, no. 12). 

A petroliferous limestone in the Uinta formation in 

northeastern Utah contains about 0. 02 percent uranium. 

The ash of gilsonite from Uintah County, Utah contains 

between 0. 01 and 0. 1 percent uranium (table 2, no. 14). 

The ash of petroleum coke from the refinery at Casper, 

Wyo., contains 0. 2 percent uranium (table·2, no. 13). 

Uranium-bearing asphalts and asphaltites associated 

with structures favorable for the accumulation of oil 

are known in several places within the United States, 

including the deposits along the San Rafael Swell, and 

in limestones and dolomites in the Texas Panhandle 

helium-bearing natural gas field. Many black marine 

shales, commonly considered to be the source beds 

for much of our petroleum, contain significant quantities of uranium. 

The known data, therefore, clearly indicate 

that appreciable quantities of the metallic constituents 

of the San Rafael Swell asphaltites, including uranium, 

are present in heavy fractions of petroleurr1, asphaH, 

and bituminous shales perhaps, as suggested byRankama 

and Sahama (1949), in the form of metal-organicporphyrin compounds. This suggests that the metals 

in the asphaltite of the San Rafael Swell area were 

c~mcentrated from petroleum. 

The high concentration of metals in the asphaltites 

may have been the result of natural fractionation caused 

by pressure, temperature, and porosity differences, 

perhaps resulting in the concentration of the heavier 

fractions in some parts of the reservoir. After the 

reservoir was exposed by erosion all the lighter 

fractions would have been flushed out and the immobilized 

heavier metal-bearing fractions would have been left 

behind. 

If future investigations show that the metals 

normally found in hydrocarbons have a genetic relationship with crude oil and its source beds, new methods 

and techniques might be developed that would assist 

in the discovery of uranium deposits. 

Idaho 

Two copper prospects were examined in southeastern Idaho: the Evening Star claim (deposit 28), 

and the Bonneville claim (deposit 29). The Evening 

Star claim is 7 miles east of Montpelier along U. S. 

Highway 89. Malachite and azurite, the principal 

copper minerals in this deposit, are associated with 

carbonaceous rrlaterial in a sandstone bed in the Ankareh 

shale of Triassic age. One adit, 20 feet long, 4 feet 

wide, and 4 feet deep, follows the bed, which dips 

25° and strikes S. 80° W. A trench extends for 20 feet 

in front of the portal. 

The mineralized bed is a 4-foot medium-grained 

arkosic well-indurated quartz sandstone. It weathers 

dull brown but fresh surfaces are light gray. Scattered 

fragments of carbonized plant material have been 

crushed into thin films parallel to the bedding planes. 

Pieces of carbonaceous material selected for their 

radioactivity contain 0. 003 percent uranium. Most 

of the copper minerals are loca:lized along the bedding 

planes by the residual plant material but srriall amounts 

of malachite are disseminated through the sandstone. 

The prospect probably contains less than 1 percent 

copper. 
The Bonneville(?) prospect west of Montpelier 

(deposit 29) also is a submarginal copper deposit and 

is not detectably radioactive. The underground workings are inaccessible. The mine dump, about 100 feet 

long and 20 to 30 feet wide, consists chiefly of lightgray well-cemented sandstone, possibly from the 

Ankareh shale, with small amounts of copper carbonate stain. Fragrr"ents of carbonized plant material 

are disseminated through the rock. The beds strike 

north and dip 57° E. 

Wyoming 

The Old Copper mine (deposit 30), 30 miles 

northeast of Cokeville, was the only copper prospect 

examined by the writers in Wyoming. The mine 

workings are inaccessible and the dump material 

was not detectably radioactive. The lessee, Mr. Dan 

S. Shickich of Kemmerer, Wyo., reported that a 

600-foot tunnel and 125-foot shaft constitute the mine 

workings. 

The dump material is composed of light-gray 

well-cemented sandstone. A few pieces of sandstone 

are stained with malachite, and one specimen contained chalcopyrite, covellite, and chalcocite. No 

carbonaceous material was observed. 

CONCLUSIONS 

Variation in the factors that controlled the 

deposition of copper and uranium minerals apparently 

has resulted in two general types of deposits: deposits 

in which deposition of the ore minerals was controlled 

by permeability and carbonaceous material, and deposits 

in which the deposition of the minerals was structurally 

controlled. 

The copper and uranium in many deposits have 

been concentrated by carbonaceous materials, including carbonized plants and hydrocarbons. Copper 

has been redistributed as carbonates along joints, 

fractures, and disseminated in sandstones adjacent 

to carbonaceous material. Most of the enclosing sandstones are light in color, porous, micaceous, often 

arkosic; and most of the areas of mineralization are 

near large folds or orogenic belts. In contrast, the 

structurallf controlled deposits are localized along 

faults, shear zones, and associated joints and 

fractures where carbonaceous material is not 

present. 

The source of the uranium in the uraniferous asphaltites is questionable, but it either 

had been concentrated at its present point of 

localization before the introduction of the hydrocarbons or it was transported by the hydrocarbons 

from an unknown source. 

9 

On the basis of the available information the latter 

hypothesis is preferred by the writers. 

LITERATURE CITED 

Davidson, C. F., and Bowie, S. H. U., 1951, On 

thucholite and related hydrocarbon- uraninite 

complexe~ Great Britian Geol. Survey Bull. 3. 

Dunstan, A. E., 1924, The crude oil of Maidon-iNaftun: Jour. Inst. Petroleum Technologists, 

vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 51-82. 

Edwards, A. B., 1947, Texture of the ore minerals 

and their significance, Melbourne, Australian 

In st. Min. Metallurgy. 

Ellsworth, H. V., 1928, Thucholite, a remarkable 

primary carbon mineral from the vicinity of Parry 

Sound, Ontario: Am. Mineralogist, vol. 13, no. 8, 

pp. 419-441. 

Gilluly, James, and Reeside, J. B., Jr., 1928, 

Sedimentary rocks of the San Rafael Swell and some 

adjacent areas in eastern Utah: U. S. Geol. Survey, 

Prof. Paper 150-D. 

Graton, L. C., and Murdock, J., 1913, The sulphide 

ores of copper. Some results of microscopic study: 

Am. Inst. Min. Met. Eng. Trans., vol. 45, pp. 26-82. 

Gulyaeva, L. A., Itkina, E. S., and Romm, I. I., 

1941, Vanadium, nickel, and copper in petroleum 

of the Urals and Volga region: A cad. Sci. U. R. S. S. 

Comptes rendus (Doklady), vol. 32, no. 6, pp. 406-

409. 

Hess, F. L. , 1933, Uranium, vanadium, radium, gold, 

silver, and molybdenum sedimentary deposits, in 

Ore deposits of the Western States (Lingren volume) 

pp. 450-481, New York, Am. Inst. Min. Met. Eng. 

Rankama, Kalervo, and Sahama, Th. G., 1949, Geochemistry, [Chicago, Ill. J, Univ. of Chicago Press. 

Reyner, M. L., 1950, Preliminary report on some 

uranium deposits along the west side of the San 

Rafael Swell, Emery County, Utah: U. S. Atomic 

Energy Comm., RMO 673. 

Romm, I. I., 1946, On the content of vanadium in 

solid bituminous rocks of the Urals and the near 

Volga area: Acad. Sci. U. R. S. S. Comptes rendus 

(Doklady), vol. 51, no. 1, pp. 47-50. 

Spence, H. S., 1930, A remarkable occurrence of 

thucholite and oil in a pegmatite dike, Parry Sound 

district, Ontario: Am. Mineralogist, vol. 15, 

no. 11, pp. 499-520. 

Tolman, C. F., 1916, Observations on certain types 

of chalcocite and their characteristic etch patt~rn: 

Am. Inst. Min. Met. Eng. Trans., vol. 54, pp. 402-435. 

Unkoyskaya, V., 1940, Determination de faibles 

quantites d' uranium par le procede de fluorescence: 

A cad. Sci. U. R. S. S. Corr1ptes rend us (Doklady), 

vol. 29, nos. 5-6, pp. 380-383. 

Wyant, D. G. , 1952, Uranium deposits at Shinarump 

Mesa and some adjacent areas, Temple Mountain 

district, Emery County, Utah: U. S. Geol. Survey 

Trace Elements Inv. Rept. 51 [in preparation,l. 
No. 

l 

2 

3 

4 

Table 1.--Radiometric'and chemical analyses of aamples from some uranium and copper deposits in sandstone 

District, 

mine name, 

State Location 

Cuba district,, c. NWt sec. 1, T. 

Copper City 20 N., R. 1 W. 

mines, N.Mex. 

Cuba district, 

Eureka mines, 

N.Mex. 

NEt sec. 32, T. 21 N. , R. 1 E. , 

t mile north- east of Eureka 

Lodge, which is on State Route 

126. 

Cuba district,,NEt sec. 24, T. 

San Miguel 19 N., R. 1 W. 

mine, N. Mex. 

Formation 

Poleo (Triassic). 

Type of 

sample 

----do---------·-------------

----do-'--------'-------------

Abiquiu district, Cobre 

Basin mines, 

N. Mex. 

About 7 miles 1----do---------·-------------

northeast of 

Abiquiu, center of w!, of T. 24 

N., R. 6 E. 

Radioactiviq 

Milleroent~ns I Equivalent 

per hour uranium 

(maximum) (percent) 1--~->+.~==-;r-:::-C-u- Serial 

no. Mineralogy Remarks 

0.07 

.04 

.03 

.04 

-------•Chalcocite, 

covellite, 

pyrite,malachite, azu- rite,chrysocolla, cu- prite(?), 

hematite. 

Copper minerals are concentrated in fractures, in sandstone marginal to fractures 

in porous light-gray sandstone along bedding planes, around and in carbonized 

wood fragments. Some of thB wood is 

slightly radioactive. In thin section, 

silicic feldspar is preferentially at- tacked by malachite whereas fractured 

quartz grains are preferentially veined 

with chrysocolla. Chalcocite occurs chiefly in tbe interstices between quartz 

grains, fills and replaces fractures across quartz and feldspar ·grains, and 

replaces wood preserving undeformed cell structure. Wood cell.§ originally filled 

and replaced by pyrite. 

-------·---do----------IThe mine development consists of about 

-------•Chalcocite, 

covellite, 

pyrite, 

~phaleri te ( ? ), 

malachite, 

azurite, 

chrysocolla. 

---- ~-------!Chalcocite, 

malachite, 

azurite. 

400 ft of undergroubd workings in nearly 

flat-lying light-gray sandstone. Repeated cycles of sedim~ntation are represent 

ed. The cycles be~n with coarse conglom erate in which cafbonaceous material is 

sparsely present •nd range through progressively finer~ained sandstones, some of which contain carbonaceous material. 

Two factors appear to have influenced 

deposition of the copper minerals: poros 

ity and the preeence of carbonaceous 

material. Coppe~ is more concentrated in 

the highly porous slightly carbonaceous 

conglomerate than it is in the·more 

carbonaceous tiut less porous sandstone. 

Extensive und~~ground workings are abandoned and inaccessible. Plant fragments 

have been replaced by chalcocite and 

later oxidized to malachite and azurite. 

The copper carbonates also fill frac- tures and in some places are disseminated 

in noncarbonaceous sandstone. Secondary 

copper minerals fill fractures and re- place quartz and feldspar grains. Ironrich sphalerite(?) has mutual boundary texture with chalcocite; both contain 

relict grains of pyrite. 

The light-g~y Poleo sandstone has been 

prospected by at least ~ix short tunnels on the east ~ide of Copper' Canyon. 

Copper mine~alization is found in carbo- naceous sand~ clay, in light-gray sandstone, and as halos surrounding clay 

galls. Most of the carbonaceous material 

is in the form of carbonized wood. 
1-' 

1-' 

5 I Gallina dis- Southern part of Paleo (Tri-

,-------------, trict, near T. 22 N., R. assic). 

Jaros sa, 3 E. 

N. Mex. 

6 !Jemez Springs 4 miles south of Abo (Permian)- Slightly 

district, Jemez Springs. radioactive 

Spanish Queen (Unsurveyed.) carbonized 

mine (east), wood. 

N.Mex. 

7 !Jemez Springs 1----do-----------~----do--------- •------------- district, 

Spanish Queen 

mine (west), 

N. Mex. 

8'-lPintada-Pastura district, 

Pintada lode, 

N.Mex. 

9 Pintada-Pastura district,1 

Guadalupe 

mine, N. Mex. 

NWt sec. 14, T. 

8 N. , R. 19 E. , about 3 miles 

east of the 

village of San 

Ignacio. 

Sec. 6, T. 7 N. , R.20 E. about 

15 miles southwest of Santa 

Rosa. 

Chupedera ( Pe 

mian). 

Santa Rosa 

(Triassic). 

Mineralized 

sandstone. 

0.02 

.3 

.2 

.04 

.03 

I -----------1 -----~----1 ----

0.01 0.01 0.03 5.45 

~--------~ Chalcocite, covellite, 

malachite. 

52320 Chalcocite, 

covellite, 

pyrite, 

malachite, 

azurite. 

Copper-stained sandstone has been exposed 

during road construction. The copper 

minerals are associated with carbonized 

wood, and the carbonates are also dis 

seminated in noncarbonaceous arkosic 

sandstone: The chalcocite and .malachite 

fill fractures in quartz grains. 

The principal workings consist of a tunnel 

about 100 ft long in nearly flat-lying 

medium-grained iron-stained arkosic sandstone. Carbonized wood is in part chalcocitized. Slightly radioactive beds as much as 1 inch thick contain abundant 

malachite and some azurite. The quartz 

grains are fractured and veined with 

malachite. Malachite and azurite also 

coat and impregnate layers of muscovite. 

-----------... ----- • -----• ---- •--------.. ---do---------~ An east-west tunnel and one crosscut are in massive buff argillaceous arkosic 

sandstone that contains gray carbonaceous 

shale beds up to 4 in. thick. Copper 

carbonates fill open fractures, coat the 

tunnel walls, and are associated with 

carbonized wood. The radioactivity of one small patch of carbonized plant 

fragments near the portal of the mine is 

0.2 milleroentgens per hour. The radioactivity caused by radon within the mine 

is 0.1 milleroentgens per hour. No 

uranium minerals were recogniz~. 

.000 .ooo .02 .22 52327 

Chalcocite, 

malachite, 

azurite, 

chrysocolla. 

Chalcocite, 

covellite, 

pyrite,malachite,azurite, 

chrysoc.olla, 

secondary 

phosphate. 

I 

' Copper has been mined from a roughly 

elliptical-shaped pit about 100 ft long, 

50 ft wide, and 10 to 15 ft deep. The 

copper minerals are disseminated througn 

the s&ndstone and are present in open. 

fractures. The sandstone is much finergrained than 1t is at any of the other 

localities examined. Chalcocite fills the 

interstices between quartz grains and 

partly replaces quartz. 

The mine workings consist of a series of 

open pits 15 t~ 20 ft deep in a deposit 

about 1, 500 ft long. The copper minerals are in a well-bedded to massive sandstone. Steeply dipping and broken beds 

have been attributed by C.B •. Read to 

alumping as a result of removal of underlying Permian evaporite~ The copper 

minerals occur as disseminations parallel to bedding planes, as botryoidal ~sses in open fractures, and in asso- ciation with carbonized plant frasments. 

The aandstone is silicified and the 

feldspars are sericitized. Chalcocite 

replaces pyritized wood, occurs in intergranular spaces in the aandstone,and is 

in veinlets cutting quartz grains. A 

secondary phosphate of the apatite group 

fills pore spaces between quartz ~ains. 
.... 

1:\:1 

No. 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

District, 

mine name, 

State 

Tecolote district, 

Bonanza(?) 

prospect, 

N.Mex. 

Coyote Creek 

district, 

N.Mex. 

---do---------

Zuni Mountain district, 

N.Mex. 

---do---------

Zuni Mountain 

d1str1ct, 

Mirabel mine, N.Mex. 

Table 1. --Radiometric and chemical analyses of samples from some uranilllll and copper deposits in sandstone--Continued 

Radioactivity 

Milleroentgens Equivalent Chemical analyses 

Type of per houra uranilllll (percen ) Serial 

Location Formation sample (ma:x:imlllll) (percent) u JV205 Cu No. Mineralogy Remarks 

2; miles s-sw of (Permian)----- ------------- .02 ------------ ----- ---- ·--- ------- -Malachite----- Malachite stains a Permian arkosic sand- Tecolote Moun- stone at one small prospect. tain; on northwest slope of 

tnesa known as 

Burro Hill; 8 

miles south- west of Las 

Vegas. 

2 to 3 miles Sangre de Mahganese- .os .005 .001 .04 2.85 52321 Chalcocite, Five to ten tons of copper ore are near south of Chris to (Per- stained malachite, the east side of the road that is paral Guadalupita on mian). copper- azurite. lel to Coyote Creek. The mine from whlc west side of bearing the ore was transported was not located Coyote Creek. sandstone. The copper minerals are in a porous (Unsurveyed.) medll.llll- to coarse-grained arkosic Perm! 

sandstone. The copper carbonates are dl seminated in the sandstone and apparent y 

are more concentrated in the most porou 

beds. In thin section, the sandstone ha 

a sutured-mosaic texture. Abundant 

silicic feldspar grains are strongly 

serlcitlzed. Chalcocite and malachite 

preferentially replace feldspar. Malachite coats and impregnates layers of muscovite • 

----do------------ ---do---------- Permian .1 .010 .009 .20 2.15 52326 Chalcocite, Chalcocite and malachite are disseminate, black pyrl te, mala- in a poorly exposed 5-ft thick non- shale. chite. bituminous black shale that is overlain 

and underlain by Permian arkosic sandstones. 

20 miles west of (Pre-Cambrian)- ------------ .03 __ ..,. _________ ----- ---- ---- ------- Malachite, Copper carbonates are in a nearly vertic Grants, N. Mex., azurite. shear zone that cuts a granite gneiss, west side of The underground workings apparently are T. 11 N., R. extensive, but they are inaccessible. 12 w. 

West side of T. At the contact ___ ..,. ..... _______ .2 ------------ ----- ---- ---- ------- Malachite, The contact between a red gneissic gran! 11 N. , R . 12 W. of Permian azurite, and the Permian arkose-conglomerate is and pre- chrysooolla, exposed in a shallow prospect pit. Copp Cambrian. fluorite, carbonates, fluorite, and calcite occur r 

calcite. as fillings in open fractures. The copp r 

minerals also are disseminated through 

the conglomerate and are along biotite rich layers in the granite gneiss. 

----do----------- Abo (Permian)-- Mineralized .15 .009 .009 .02 4.50 52322 Chalcocl te, Two strip pits each about 50 ft long, sandstone; malachite, 25 ft wide, and 10 to 15 ft deep contai Manganese- .o6 .004 .002 .02 .32 52323 azurite, secondary copper minerals. These minera stained chrysocolla, are most abundant in open fractures, in sandstone. hematite. porous arkosic sandstone beds that alte 

nate with impervious unm1neralized clay 

beds, and 1in thin bands immediately abo 

and below the impervious clay beds. 

Slightly radioactive material is presen 

in a few thin beds but for the most par 

the deposit is not radioactive. Quartz 

and serlcitized feldspar grains are vel ed and replaced by chalcocite and malachite. 
1-' 

t.:l 

16 ~n.Acacia dis-~ Sec. 10, T. 1 

trict, S., R. 2 w., 

N. Mex. 6 miles west of 

San Acacia. 

17 I Scholle district, 

N.Mex. 

Sec. 3 or 4, 

T. 2 N., R.5E. 

Andesitic 

lavas (Tertiary). 

Slightly 

radioactive 

dump 

material. 

Abo(Permian)--1 Grab sample 

from the 

pit that 

contains 

radioactive 

material. 

18 ~---do----------1 Sec. 3 or 4, ~---do---------1 ------------

19 !Cashin mine, 

Colorado. 

20 I Big Indian 

mine, Utah. 

T. 2 N., R. 5 E. 

Near Utah and 

Colorado 

boundary and 3~ miles south 

of Colorado 

State.Route 90. 

T. 29 S. , R. 24 

E., 5.2 miles 

south of La. Sal, 

Utah. 

Wingate (Triassic). 

Dakota ( Cretaceous). 

.15 

.03 

.03 

.02-.03 

0.031 0.02610.03 4.78 

.021 .014 .03 .25 

52324 

52325 

Native copper, 

chalcocite, 

chrysocolla, 

malachite, 

cuprite, 

torberni te (?) , 

carnotite (?) • 

Chalcocite, 

covellite, 

malachite, 

azurite. 

The mine workings consist of a shaft that 

is now filled with water to about the 

40-ft level. Carbonate- and copperbearing rock is on the dump. These minerals are in a brecciated shear zone in an amygdaloidal trachyandesite and are concentrated mostly along the andesitecarbonate contacts. The original flow 

rock is almost totally replaced by calcite that is cut by stringers of vein 

quartz. 

The mine is about one-quarter mile south 

of the railroad in the second canyon east of the Scholle post office. The 

stripping operations have been on a limited scale, but the local inhabitants 

report that the underground operations were extensive. The copper minerals are associated with radioactive and non- radioactive carbonized wood and are disseminated through the mat~ix of the 

sandstone. The sandstone in one shallow 

pit is radioactive. This material con- tains carbonized wood and small irregular 

pellets of lustrous asphaltite. The 

feldspars are partly altered to sericite 

and are preferentially replaced along 

cleavage planes by copper carbonates. 

Patches of white secondary phosphate 

locally cement the sandstone. 

-------~ Malachite--~---1 The deposit is about 1 mile east of SchOlle 

post office on east side of the highway. 

Copper carbonate stains joint planes in 

Chalcocite, 

malachite, 

azurite, 

copper sulfate. 

Chalcocite, 

malachite, 

azurite. 

a massive flat-lying brown sandstone that 

is exposed in.several shallow prospect 

pits. 

A tunnel about 3,000 ft long is in a nearly vertical breccia zone. The great- est concentration of ore minerals is in 

the most intensely brecciated part of 

this zone. The copper minerals were deposited in the open fractures and in the 

porous sandstone near the fractures. The 

effects of recent solution and redeposition are apparent throughout the 

mine. This deposit is probably of hydrothermal origin. 

An open-cut about 200 ft long, 100 ft 

wide, and 20 to 30 ft deep constitutes 

the accessible workings. The deposit is 

in Dakota sandstone and is on the north- east side of c. northwest-trending fault. 

Copper occurs along fractures and joints 

and also is disseminated in the sand- stone. The most conspicuous minerals are malachite and azurite, but some chalcocite is present. 
Table I.--Radiometric and chemical analyses of samples from some uranium and copper deposits in sandstone--Continued 

Radioacti vi tr_ 

District, Milleroen;rns Equivalent Chemical analyses 

mine name, Type of per hou uranium (:;Jercent) Serial 

No. State Location Formation sample (maximum) (percent) u V205 Cu no. Mineralogy Remarks 

21 Torrey dis- About ll miles Moenkopi (Tri- ------------ .02-.04 ------------ ----- ----- ---- ------- ----do-------'--- A tunnel and an inclined adit, both· cave trict, Utah. east of Teasdale assic). constitute the developnent. The copper sec. 31(?), minerals are in siltstones and limeston T. 29 S., R.6E. of the Moenkopi formation. Copper carbonates are concentrated mostly in an 

18-in. porous limestone bed. 

22 Torrey Sec. 8( ?) , T. 30 Moenkopi (Tri- ------------ .02-.03 ------------ ----- ----- ---- ------- Malachite, A copper-stained buff sandstone is ex- district, S., R. 6 E. assic). azurite. posed in an open-cut 30 ft long, 30 ft Utah. wide, and 4 to 7 ft deep. 

SWt sec. 20, T. Shinarump (Tri- b 23 San Rafael 7-ft channel .4 .033 .030 ----- ---- 53817 Uraniferous The mine workings consist of a tunnel in Swell dis- 23 S., R. lOE., assic). asphaltic asphal ti te and the lower part of the Shinarump con- trict, west side of San sandstone. carbonized glomerate. 'nle uranium is associated wi Ronnie, Jerry Rafael Swell. Uraniferous -------------- .30 ----- ----- ---- 53809 wood, chalco- two t1Jl8S of carbonaceous material: and Frenchy hydrocarbon pyrite, chal- lustrous interstitial grains of asphalmine, Utah. concentrate. cocite, pyrit~ tite disseminated through the sandstone malachite, and carbonized wood. The chalcopyrite __ 

~ 

azurite, and chalcocite occur as small blebs in metatorbernit~ fractures in hydrocarbon and along con- gypsum. tacts between quartz grains and hydrocarbon. Autoradiographs indicate that 

the radioactivity is uniformly distribu ed through the asphal ti te . 

24 San Rafael SWkSW't sec. 20, ---do--------- ------------ 15-20 ------------ ----- ----- ---- ------- Uraniferous About 1,000 ft of bulldozer trenches hav' Swell dis- T. 23 S., R. carbonized been BI8.Qe along the steep slope and nea trict, Utah. 10 E., west wood and the base of the Shinarump conglomerate. side of San asph<ite, The exposed beds consist of sandstone, Rafael Swell. bornite, conglomerate, and gray, green, and red chalcopyrite, shale. The radioactivity is abnormally 

chalcocite, high along the excavation. The highest covellite, radioactivity is associated with car- pyrite, bonized wood and asphaltic sandstone, 

malachite, but some of the shales are also radio- azurite, meta- active. As yet, no minable thickness of torbernite. ore has been revealed. Polished sectio· 

show that sulfides fill fractures in th 

asphaltites. Bornite and chalcopyrite 

show a texture that may be either exsolution or replacement of bornite by 

chalcopyrite along preferred crystallographic directions. Chalcocite replaces 

chalcopyrite and bornite·. Covellite replaces the edps of chalcocite. 

25 San Rafael NEt sec. 31, T. ---do---------- 8-f't channel b 1.0 .31 .31 ----- ---- 53818 Uraniferous The deY&lopment conaists of a tunnel 50 . Swell dis- 23 S., R. 10 E., asphaltic asph<ite, long and 6 to 15 ft wide in the lower trict, mine west side of San sandstone. carbonized part of the Shinarump conglomerate. The name unknown, Rafael Swell. Uraniferous -------------- 1.2 ----- ----- ---- 53810 wood, pyrite, Shinar~a~p ooncJ.omerate in the tunnel is Utah. hydrocarbon malachite, made u.p of white medium-grained sand- or carbon- copper sul- stone with carbonaceous material and re ized wood. fate(?), worked clay fragments. Both carbonized unidentified plant fragments and disseminated asphal 

yellow tite grains are present. Secondary copp secondary minerals stain the surface rocks near tl uranium min- base of the 5hinarump conglomerate. 

era.l, gypsum. 

26 San Rafael About 4 miles ---do---------- Asphaltite-- b 0.5 5.0 1.34 ----- ---- 53808 Uraniferous The ~velo],llllllnt consists of. three short ·Swell dis- south of bridge asphal t1 te, adits into tha Shinarump conglomerate; 

trict, Dalton on San Rafael pyrite, ch&l- the lcmeest ad.it is at least 20 ft abov• Group of River. West side copyrite, the baM of ,tlw sandstone. Uranif'eroua 

claims, Utah. of San Rafael chalcocite, asph<1te is }l'NMnt as crains up to 

Swell. (Unsur- covellite, t in. ao-...a folld aa lenaes and pods up t• 

veyed.) malachite. 20 in. lone. PJ'rite is abundant and in 

man,- places is associated with the 

uraniferous asph<ite. 
Z7 

28 

29 

30 

San Rafael About 3 miles Shinarump {Tri- One uran- ll 2.9 3.28 ----- Swell dis- south of bridge assic). iferous 

trict., Lone on San Rafael asphaltite 

Tree claims, River. 'West pellet. 

Utah. side of San Gray clay --------------- .015 ----- ----- Rafael Swell. above 

(Unsurveyed.) uraniferous 

asphaltite. 

Gray clay --------------- .ooB ----- ----- below 

uraniferous 

asphe.l t1 te. 

Montpelier Southern part of Ankareh (Tr1- Carbonized .04-.05 .005 .003 ----- district, T. 12 S., R. assic). plant 

Evening Star 45 E. remains. 

claim, · Idaho. 

Montpelier Sec. 9, T. 14 S., ----do--------- ----------- c20-30cftij ----------- ----- ----- district, R. 4 E. 

Bonneville 

prospect, 

Idaho. 

Cokeville N'W~ sec. 7, T. ( ?) ----------- .02-.03 ----------- ----- ---- district, 2 N., R. ll7 'W. 

"Old Copper" 

mine, 'Wyoming 

~ield determination made with a Geiger counter equipped with a 6-inch ~-beta probe. bAverage. 

cRadioactivity measurement made with an uncalibrated Geiger counter. 

---- 53656 Uraniferous The lone Tree GPOUp of claims have been 

asphal t1 te, prospected in one place by a 30-ft tun- pyrite, nel and a crosscut of about equal 

chalcopyrite, length. Uraniferous asphaltite is pre-

---- 53815 arsenopyr1 te' sent in bands as much as 1 in •. thick 

pyrite(?), and in disseminated pellets as much as 

paraschoe- i in. acrou. Secondary uranium minpite( ?) • erals are sparingly present. Auto-

---- 53814 

radiographs indicate a uniform distr1-

bution of radioactivity throughout the 

asphaltite pellets. 

---- 53819 Malachite, The workings consist of one adit about 

azurite. 20 ft long, 4 ft wide, and 4 ft deep. 

Copper carbonates are associated with 

carbonized plant fragments in the 

Ankareh(?) shale of Triassic age. The 

carbonized plant fragments are detectably radioactive. 

---- ------ Ma.lachite, The mine dump is about 100 ft long and 

chrysocolla, 20 to 30 ft wide. The dump material 

chalcocite. was derived from underground workings 

that are now inaccessible. The copper 

minerals are in a steeply dipping 11gb~ 

gray well-cemented sandstone, ·and they are associated with carbonized plant 

remains. 

---- ------ Chalcopyrite, The lessee, Mr. Dan S. Schickich1 of 

covellite, Kerrmerer, 'Wyo., has reported that a 

malachite, 600-ft tunnel and a 125-ft shaft conazurite. stitute the development at this mine. The dump material is composed of a light-gray well-cemented sandstone that 

contains slight quantities of copper 

minerals. No fossil wood was observed. 
....... 

()';) 

No. 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

ll 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

25 

Serial 

no. 

15616 

16249 

16253 

16266 

17912 

18331 

18345 

18353 

18356 

18357 

18363 

57023 

62937 

58336 

58097 

58100 

54656 

538o8 

53809 

54418 

55539 

54415 

54289 

58337 

54292 

Table 2. --Spectrographic analyses of some crude oils, asphalts, and carbonaceous shales 

[Note:, .OOOX, .OOX, ,OX, .X, X, and XX means 0.0001 to 0.001, 0.001 to 0.01, 0.01 to 0.1, 0.1 to 1.0, 1.0 to 10.0, and 10.0 to 100.0 percent, respectively.] 

Type Ash Location material (percent) Fe Ti As Co Cr Cu Mo Ni Pb 

NEtNEtsEt sec. 9, T. Crude oil 0.002 x. .ox -- .oox .ox .X .oox X. .ox 27 S., R. 4 E., 

Kansas. 

swtsw~NE-k sec. ll, ---do----- . 002 .X .X -- .X x. .x .oox X . .x T. 2 S., R. 4 E., 

Kansas. 

NW-k sec. ll, T. 28 N., ---do----- .005 x. .x -- .oox .x X. -- x. .X R. 4 E., Kansas. 

NEt sec. 35, T. 18 S., ---do----- .0025 .X .x -- .ox .X . ox .oox x . .x R. 16 W. , Kansas . 

swt sec. 23, T. 18 s., ---do----- .0075 X. .x -- .ox .ox .X -- x. .x R. 16 W. , Kansas . 

swtNWt sec. 25, T. 28 ---do----- .0005 .x .x -- .oox .X ~- .oox X. .x S., R. 5 E., Kansas. 

C. sec. 12, T. 34 s., ---do----- .002 .X .x -- .x .ox .x .oox X. .ox R. 6 E., Kansas. 

Talco Field, Texas --- ---do----- .001 .X .ox -- .ox .ox .ox .oox .x .oox 1-l miles east of ---do----- .003 X. .x -- .oox .ox ~- .oox .ox .X Breckenridge, Tex. 

3 miles east of ---do----- .003 X. .ox -- .oox .ox x. .oox .x .X Breckenridge, Tex. 28 miles east of ---do----- .02 X. .x -- .oox .ox .ox .oox x. .x Dumas, Tex. 

Oil extract from Crude oi~ Not ashed- .x .x -- .ooox .oox .ooox .oox .ox .oox Spergen limestone, 

Ste. Genevieve 

County, Mo. 

Refinery, Casper, Wyo. Petroleum .24 -- -- .x .ox X. .x .ox XX. .x coke. Bonanza vein, Uintah Gilsonite -3 X. x. -- x. .oox .ox .X X. .ox County, Utah. 

Lone Tree claim, San Asphal- 62.0 xx. .X X. .x .ox X. .x .X .x Rafael Swell, Emery tite County, Utah. pellets. 

Dalton claim, San .---do----- 17.0 X. .X x. .ox .oox X. .X .ox .X Rafael Swell, Emery 

County, Utah. 

Lone Tree claim, San ---do----- Not ashecJ.. .X .ox .x .oox .ooox .x .ox .oox .ox Rafael Swell, Emery 

County, Utah. 

Dalton claim, Emery ---do----- ---do----- .x .ooox -- -- -- .X .oox .ooox .oox County, Utah. 

Ronnie, Jerry, French ---do----- ---do----- .X .ox -- .oox .ooox .x -- .oox .oox mine, San Rafael 

Swell, Emery County, 

Utah. 

Dirty Devil mine, San ---do----- ---do----- .X .ox .X .oox .ooox x. .oox .oox .oox Rafael Swell, Emery 

County, Utah. 

Texas Panhandle------- ---do----- ---do----- .ox .oox x. .ox -- .oox .oox .x .oox Laramie County, Wyo. Graneros ---do----- X. x. -- .oox .ox .ox .ooox .oox .oox shale 

drill 

samples. 

Locality unknown; Woodford ~ot ashecJ.. x. x. -- .oox .oox .ox -- .oox .ooox Texas. shale of 

Ellison. North Vernon, Ind.---- New Al- ---do----- X. .X -- .oox .oox .ox .ox .oox .oox bany 

shale. 

Ste.Genevieve County, Black ---do----- .X .X -- .oox .ox .oox .oox .ox .ox Mo. shale in Spergen 

limestone. 

I 

u v Zn Remark a 

-- X. .ox 

-- x. .X 

-- X. .X 

-- X. .X 

-- X. .X 

-- X. .x Ash of crude 

oils from Kansas and 

Texas. 

-- X. .x 

-- x.o -- -- .X X. 

-- . x X • 

-- X. -- .ox .ox .ox Crude oil. 

.x .x .ox 

.X .x .ox Ash of gilsonite. XX. .ox -- Ash of asphaltite. 

X. .oox -- Do. 

X. .oox --

.x -- -- .X .ooox .ox 

X. .oox .ox Asphal tites 

.X -- -- ·- .ox --

-- .ox -- Carbonaceous 

shale. 

-- .ox --

X. .x --