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Frequently Asked Questions Related to Uranium

compiled by Shari Kelley
with help from Virginia McLemore and Bob Eveleth

 
What is uranium?
Uranium is the heaviest naturally-occurring chemical element and it is radioactive, which means that this element, when concentrated, is capable of producing energy. Uranium is a hard, dense, silver-gray metal in concentrated form.
Where does uranium occur in the natural envrionment?
Most rocks contain trace amounts of uranium (bulk concentrations on the order of 2 to 4 parts per million), however, uranium is not distributed uniformly through rocks, but tends to be concentrated in certain minerals. Some common accessory minerals in igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks, such as apatite and zircon, contain 2 to 1000 ppm uranium. Ore minerals like pitchblende, a variety of uraninite, uraninite (85 per cent uranium), carnotite, autunite, uranophane, and tobernite have uranium concentrations that are high enough to be economically mined. In addition, uranium can also be recovered in commercial quantities from coal and monazite sands. Uranium also occurs naturally in surface and ground water and in the ocean.
Where does uranium mineralization occur in the state of New Mexico?
NM mining districts
(click to download a 619 Kb PDF of this map)
Uranium districts are shown in red on this map of the mining districts in the state of New Mexico. Most uranium deposits in New Mexico are found in sandstones of the Jurassic Morrison Formation and the Jurassic Todilto Formation.

Virginia McLemore discusses the basics of uranium exploration and production in New Mexico in the 2002 Decision Makers volume.
Where can I find additional information about uranium mineralization in New Mexico?
The following publications are available through the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources:
  • Resource Map 18. Uranium resources in New Mexico, by V. T. McLemore and W. L. Chenoweth, 1989, 36 p. text, 1 sheet, scale 1:1,000,000.
  • Open-File Report 353. Uranium mines and deposits in the Grants district, Cibola and McKinley Counties, New Mexico, by V. T. McLemore and W. L. Chenoweth, 1992, 22 p., 2 tables, 1 fig., 7 sheets, 1:24,000 scale maps
  • Open-File Report 461. Database of uranium mines, prospects, occurrences and mills in New Mexico, by V.T. McLemore, K. Donahue, C.B.. Krueger, A. Rowe, L. Ulbricht, M.L. Jackson, M.R. Breese, G. Jones, and M. Wilks, 2002, CD-ROM.
Where can I find geophysical logs for wells intersecting uranium prospects?
These logs are in our Petroleum Records library.