Method for identifying ore-forming siliceous veins of a hydrothermal uranium deposit

Abstract

The application relates to a method for analyzing geological bodies by means of physical and chemical properties of the geological bodies, and particularly relates to a method for identifying ore-forming siliceous veins of a hydrothermal uranium deposit, which comprises the following steps: determining a siliceous vein development area; collecting a plurality of siliceous vein samples in the siliceous vein development area; determining the element content of each siliceous vein sample respectively; determining uranium-related elements in the siliceous vein samples based on the element content of the plurality of siliceous vein samples; and identifying ore-forming siliceous veins based on the element content and the uranium-related elements. The method for identifying ore-forming siliceous veins of a hydrothermal uranium deposit according to the embodiment of the application can effectively identify the ore-forming siliceous veins in the siliceous veins. The application also relates to a method for delineating a hydrothermal uranium deposit prospective area in an exploration area.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to a method for analyzing a geological body by means of physical and chemical properties of the geological body, and in particular to a method for identifying ore-forming siliceous veins of a hydrothermal uranium deposit and a method for delineating a hydrothermal uranium deposit prospecting area in a prospecting area. BACKGROUND

[0002] Delineation of an ore-forming prospecting area is an important step in the process of uranium exploration, and effective delineation of a prospecting area can improve the efficiency of uranium exploration. In related technologies, the distribution of ore-controlling factors such as faulted structure belts and radioactive anomaly belts is usually used to delineate a hydrothermal uranium deposit prospecting area, which is relatively low in efficiency. SUMMARY

[0003] In view of the above problems, the present application is proposed to provide a method for identifying ore-forming siliceous veins of a hydrothermal uranium deposit and a method for delineating a hydrothermal uranium deposit prospecting area in a prospecting area, which can overcome the above problems or at least partially solve the above problems.

[0004] According to a first aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a method for identifying ore-forming siliceous veins of a hydrothermal uranium deposit is provided, comprising: determining a siliceous vein development area; collecting a plurality of siliceous vein samples in the siliceous vein development area; determining the element content of each siliceous vein sample respectively; determining a uranium-related element in the siliceous vein samples based on the element content in the plurality of siliceous vein samples, the uranium-related element being an element whose correlation coefficient with uranium content is higher than a first preset value; and identifying an ore-forming siliceous vein, which comprises: identifying the ore-forming siliceous vein based on the element content and the uranium-related element, and if it is determined that the uranium content in the siliceous vein sample is higher than a second preset value and the uranium-related element includes at least one of tungsten, lead, bismuth, cadmium, antimony, molybdenum, copper, beryllium, vanadium, zinc, barium, cobalt, nickel, and chromium, then the siliceous vein at the location of the siliceous vein sample is identified as an ore-forming siliceous vein.

[0005] According to a second aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a method for delineating a hydrothermal uranium deposit prospecting area in a prospecting area is provided, comprising: determining a siliceous vein development area in the prospecting area; identifying an ore-forming siliceous vein in the siliceous vein development area; and delineating the area where the ore-forming siliceous vein is located as a hydrothermal uranium deposit prospecting area.

[0006] The method for identifying ore-forming siliceous veins of a hydrothermal uranium deposit according to an embodiment of the present application can effectively identify ore-forming siliceous veins in siliceous veins, thereby guiding the delineation of a hydrothermal uranium deposit prospecting area by means of the ore-forming siliceous veins and improving the efficiency of hydrothermal uranium exploration. The method for delineating a hydrothermal uranium deposit prospecting area in a prospecting area according to an embodiment of the present application can more efficiently and accurately delineate a hydrothermal uranium deposit prospecting area by means of the identification of ore-forming siliceous veins. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0007] Figure 1A flow chart of a method for identifying a mineralization siliceous vein of a hydrothermal uranium deposit according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0008] Figure 2 A flow chart of a method for delineating a hydrothermal uranium deposit prospect in a prospecting area according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0009] In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present application clearer, the technical solutions of the present application will be described clearly and completely below with reference to the drawings of the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only one embodiment but not all embodiments of the present application. Based on the described embodiments of the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort belong to the scope of protection of the present application.

[0010] It should be noted that, unless otherwise defined, the technical terms or scientific terms used in the present application should be understood as the common meanings understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present application belongs. If the descriptions of “first”, “second” and the like are involved throughout the text, the “first”, “second” and the like are only used to distinguish similar objects, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance, sequence or implying the number of the indicated technical features, and it should be understood that the data of “first”, “second” and the like can be interchanged under appropriate circumstances. If “and / or” appears throughout the text, it means that three parallel schemes are included, for example, “A and / or B” includes A scheme, or B scheme, or A and B are satisfied at the same time.

[0011] The embodiments of the present application first provide a method for identifying a mineralization siliceous vein of a hydrothermal uranium deposit, referring to Figure 1 , comprising:

[0012] Step S102: determining a siliceous vein development area.

[0013] Step S104: collecting a plurality of siliceous vein samples in the siliceous vein development area.

[0014] Step S106: determining the element content of each siliceous vein sample respectively.

[0015] Step S108: determining a uranium-related element in the siliceous vein sample based on the element content of the plurality of siliceous vein samples, the uranium-related element being an element whose correlation coefficient between the element content and the uranium content is higher than a first preset value;

[0016] Step S110: identifying the ore-forming siliceous vein. Specifically, the ore-forming siliceous vein can be identified based on the element content determined in step S106 and the uranium-related element determined in step S108. If it is determined that the uranium content in the siliceous vein sample is higher than the second preset value, and the uranium-related element includes at least one of tungsten, lead, bismuth, cadmium, antimony, molybdenum, copper, beryllium, vanadium, zinc, barium, cobalt, nickel, and chromium, the siliceous vein at the location of the siliceous vein sample can be identified as the ore-forming siliceous vein.

[0017] The distribution of the hydrothermal uranium deposit is closely related to the siliceous vein. The spatial distribution range of the hydrothermal uranium deposit is small, but the distribution range of the siliceous vein related to the hydrothermal uranium deposit is often several or even dozens of times the size of the hydrothermal uranium deposit. Therefore, the present application proposes that the ore-forming siliceous vein beneficial to the formation of the hydrothermal uranium deposit can be identified to guide the delineation of the hydrothermal uranium deposit prospecting area, thereby improving the exploration efficiency of the hydrothermal uranium deposit. Further, the present application proposes the method for identifying the ore-forming siliceous vein of the hydrothermal uranium deposit to accurately identify the ore-forming siliceous vein.

[0018] In step S102, the siliceous vein development area is first determined. The siliceous vein development area can refer to any area in the exploration area where the siliceous vein develops. Those skilled in the art can determine the siliceous vein development area by means of field investigation or by means of relevant geological data in the exploration area.

[0019] Next, in steps S104-S108, a plurality of samples are collected in the siliceous vein development area, and the element content is determined to determine the uranium content and the uranium-related element of the siliceous vein sample.

[0020] The uranium-related element refers to an element in the siliceous vein that is related to the uranium content. The present application proposes that the ore-forming siliceous vein generally enriches trace elements such as tungsten, lead, bismuth, cadmium, antimony, molybdenum, copper, beryllium, vanadium, zinc, barium, cobalt, nickel, and chromium, and the content of these trace elements has a strong correlation with the content of uranium. Therefore, these trace elements can be used as the identification criterion for the ore-forming siliceous vein.

[0021] If it is determined that the uranium content of the siliceous vein sample is greater than the second preset value, and the uranium-related element includes one or more of the elements involved in the above identification criterion, the siliceous vein at the location of the siliceous vein sample can be determined as the ore-forming siliceous vein. The second preset value can be determined by those skilled in the art according to the actual situation. As an example, the second preset value can be 20x10 -6 .

[0022] After the element content is determined, the correlation coefficient between each element and the uranium element can be determined respectively by means of the correlation analysis commonly used in the art, and the element with a correlation coefficient greater than a first preset value is determined as a uranium-related element. The first preset value herein can be determined by a person skilled in the art according to the actual situation, as long as it can effectively identify the element with relatively good correlation between the siliceous vein and uranium.

[0023] The method for identifying the ore-forming siliceous vein of the hydrothermal uranium deposit according to the embodiments of the present application can effectively identify the ore-forming siliceous vein by means of the uranium content and the uranium-related element, guide the delineation of the hydrothermal uranium deposit prospect area, and thus improve the efficiency of hydrothermal uranium exploration.

[0024] In some embodiments, when the element content of each siliceous vein sample is determined in step S106, the uranium content and the content of each trace element in each siliceous vein sample can be determined by respectively performing uranium content analysis and trace element content analysis on each siliceous vein sample.

[0025] As described above, the elements involved in the identification criteria used in the present application are all trace elements. Therefore, in the process of element content analysis, only the uranium content and the trace element content need to be analyzed, and the major elements do not need to be analyzed, thereby improving the efficiency of identification. The trace elements analyzed in the element content analysis can only include the trace elements involved in the above identification criteria, or can also include other trace elements, without limitation.

[0026] In some embodiments, as described above, the correlation coefficient between the content of each trace element and the uranium content can be determined respectively, and then the trace element with a correlation coefficient higher than a first preset value is determined as a uranium-related element.

[0027] In some embodiments, the content of the trace element in each siliceous vein sample can be further determined. The present application further proposes that, in addition to the enrichment of the above-mentioned uranium-related trace elements, the content of the trace element in the ore-forming siliceous vein is usually significantly higher than that in the general non-ore-forming siliceous vein. Therefore, the specific content of the trace element can also be used as an identification criterion for the ore-forming siliceous vein. The trace element herein can include the above-mentioned uranium-related element, or can include other trace elements.

[0028] Specifically, when the ore-forming siliceous vein is identified based on the element content and the uranium-related element, if it is determined that the uranium content in the siliceous vein sample is higher than a second preset value, the trace element content is higher than the second preset value, and the uranium-related element includes at least one of tungsten, lead, bismuth, cadmium, antimony, molybdenum, copper, beryllium, vanadium, zinc, barium, cobalt, nickel, and chromium, the siliceous vein in the siliceous vein development area can be identified as an ore-forming siliceous vein.

[0029] The second preset value here can be determined based on the background value of the trace element content in the siliceous vein, which can be determined by a person skilled in the art according to empirical values or relevant geological data, or a non-mineralization siliceous vein can be collected in the area, and the background value can be determined based on the trace element content in the non-mineralization siliceous vein.

[0030] In some embodiments, when a plurality of siliceous vein samples are collected in the siliceous vein development area, the color, type, occurrence, and period of the siliceous vein in the siliceous vein development area can be determined first, and then at least one siliceous vein sample can be collected at each color, each type, each occurrence, and each period of the siliceous vein to ensure the comprehensiveness of the collected siliceous vein samples, thereby improving the accuracy of identification.

[0031] Further, the present application also proposes that the quartz vein type in the mineralization siliceous vein is usually red microcrystalline quartz vein, reddish-brown microcrystalline quartz vein, white comb-shaped quartz vein, and gray quartz vein, which can also be used as an identification criterion for the mineralization siliceous vein.

[0032] Based on this, in some embodiments, the quartz vein type in each siliceous vein sample can be determined respectively, and if the quartz vein type in the siliceous vein sample includes at least one of red microcrystalline quartz vein, reddish-brown microcrystalline quartz vein, white comb-shaped quartz vein, and gray quartz vein, the siliceous vein at the location of the siliceous vein sample can be identified as a mineralization siliceous vein.

[0033] The microcrystalline quartz vein here is a quartz vein with a crystal size of 0.01-0.05 mm, and the reddish-brown microcrystalline quartz vein is also commonly described as a liver-colored microcrystalline quartz vein in the art, and the gray quartz vein is also commonly described as a soot-colored quartz vein in the art. A person skilled in the art can identify the type of quartz vein according to relevant identification standards, which will not be described here.

[0034] It should be noted that, in some embodiments, the quartz vein type can also be used as an identification criterion for the mineralization siliceous vein alone, without being used together with the uranium-related elements described above.

[0035] Embodiments of the present application also provide a method for delineating a hydrothermal uranium ore prospective area in an exploration area, referring to Figure 2 , comprising:

[0036] Step S202: determining a siliceous vein development area in the exploration area.

[0037] Step S204: identifying a mineralization siliceous vein in the siliceous vein development area.

[0038] Step S206: delineating the area where the mineralization siliceous vein is located as a hydrothermal uranium ore prospective area.

[0039] As described above, the hydrothermal uranium mineralization prospective area is further delineated by identifying the ore-forming siliceous vein in the embodiment. The step S204 of the embodiment can refer to the method for identifying the ore-forming siliceous vein involved in any one of the embodiments described above.

[0040] Specifically, in some embodiments, identifying the ore-forming siliceous vein in the siliceous vein development area can include: collecting a plurality of siliceous vein samples in the siliceous vein development area; determining the element content of each siliceous vein sample, respectively; determining the uranium-related element in the siliceous vein sample based on the element content in the plurality of siliceous vein samples, the uranium-related element being an element whose correlation coefficient with the uranium content is higher than a first preset value; if it is determined that the uranium content in the siliceous vein sample is higher than a second preset value, and the uranium-related element includes at least one of tungsten, lead, bismuth, cadmium, antimony, molybdenum, copper, beryllium, vanadium, zinc, barium, cobalt, nickel, and chromium, the siliceous vein at the location of the siliceous vein sample is identified as the ore-forming siliceous vein.

[0041] In some embodiments, identifying the ore-forming siliceous vein in the siliceous vein development area can further include: determining the trace element content in each siliceous vein sample, respectively; if it is determined that the uranium content in the siliceous vein sample is higher than a second preset value, the trace element content is higher than a third preset value, and the uranium-related element includes at least one of tungsten, lead, bismuth, cadmium, antimony, molybdenum, copper, beryllium, vanadium, zinc, barium, cobalt, nickel, and chromium, the siliceous vein at the location of the siliceous vein sample is identified as the ore-forming siliceous vein, and the third preset value is determined based on the background value of the trace element content in the siliceous vein.

[0042] In some embodiments, identifying the ore-forming siliceous vein in the siliceous vein development area can include: determining the quartz vein type in each siliceous vein sample, respectively; if it is determined that the quartz vein type in the siliceous vein sample includes at least one of red microcrystalline quartz vein, reddish-brown microcrystalline quartz vein, white comb-shaped quartz vein, and gray quartz vein, the siliceous vein at the location of the siliceous vein sample is identified as the ore-forming siliceous vein, wherein the microcrystalline quartz vein is a quartz vein with a crystal grain size of 0.01-0.05 mm.

[0043] The specific details of the above embodiments can refer to the relevant parts in the above, which will not be repeated here.

[0044] In some embodiments, determining the siliceous vein development area in the exploration area in step S202 can include: determining an altered area in the exploration area; determining the area where the siliceous vein develops in the altered area as the siliceous vein development area. In the embodiment, the altered area in the exploration area can be determined first according to the wall rock alteration in the exploration area, and then the siliceous vein development area is determined from the altered area, thereby improving the efficiency of delineating the hydrothermal uranium mineralization prospective area.

[0045] In some embodiments, the determining the siliceous vein development area in step S202 further comprises: determining the radioactivity content in the altered area; and determining the area in which the siliceous veins develop and the radioactivity value of at least part of the siliceous veins is higher than a fourth preset value as the siliceous vein development area.

[0046] It can be understood that the abnormal value of the radioactivity content can indicate the distribution of uranium to some extent. For this purpose, the radioactivity content of the siliceous veins is determined in the process of determining the siliceous vein development area in the present embodiment, and the area in which the radioactivity value of at least part of the siliceous veins is higher than a fourth preset value is determined as the siliceous vein development area, so that the siliceous vein development area identified is more likely to develop ore-forming siliceous veins, which can improve the efficiency of delineating the hydrothermal uranium deposit prospective area. The fourth preset value herein can be set with reference to the radioactivity anomaly standard in the related art, or can be set based on the radioactivity background value in the exploration area, which is not limited.

[0047] The one or more embodiments involved in the above will be described and supplemented in more detail below by taking the identification of the hydrothermal uranium deposit ore-forming siliceous veins and the delineation of the hydrothermal uranium deposit prospective area in the Youdong area of Zhuguangnan carried out by the applicant as an example.

[0048] Firstly, the system collects and collates the geological data of the exploration area (the Youdong area of Zhuguangnan and its periphery), including geological maps of different scales, achievement reports and published papers, etc., summarizes the metallogenic regularity of the exploration area, including the uranium mineralization characteristics, hydrothermal alteration mineral assemblage and ore-controlling factors, etc.

[0049] In the present example, the exploration area is located in the southeast of the Mianhuakeng deposit, mainly developing the Indosinian period coarse-grained porphyritic biotite monzonite granite and the Yanshanian period medium-fine-grained (porphyritic) biotite granite, and the wall rock alteration mainly includes silicification, chloritization, hematitization, illitization, carbonatization, pyritization, etc. The geological survey and radioactivity measurement of the siliceous veins are carried out in the wall rock alteration zone, including the size, occurrence and radioactivity of the siliceous veins. The geological survey shows that the Youdong area develops the microcrystalline quartz veins of pig liver color, red microcrystalline quartz veins, white quartz veins, white comb-shaped quartz veins and white wide quartz veins. The siliceous veins mainly develop in the north-west, near south-north and north-east fault zones or mylonite zones. The regions in which these siliceous veins develop are delineated as the siliceous vein development area.

[0050] Next, the siliceous vein sample collection is carried out in the siliceous vein development area, and the element content analysis of the siliceous veins is carried out. In the present example, the collected samples include siliceous veins of different colors, occurrences, stages, types and sizes. They include microcrystalline quartz veins, red microcrystalline quartz veins, white quartz veins, white comb-shaped quartz veins and white wide quartz veins in different structural zones.

[0051] The collected sample is ground to 200 mesh, and then the sample is gradually dissolved to obtain a test solution, and the element content is analyzed by ICP-MS method to obtain the siliceous vein uranium content and trace element content.

[0052] In this embodiment, the uranium-related elements in the collected sample include Cu, Cd, V, Sb, Ba, Zn, Be, W, Pb, Co, Ni and Mo, which are all trace elements involved in the above-mentioned identification criteria, and the trace element content is obviously higher than that of non-mineralization siliceous veins in the same region. Based on this, the siliceous veins at the positions of these samples are identified as mineralization siliceous veins, and further based on the position of the development of the mineralization siliceous veins, a hydrothermal uranium ore prospective area is delineated.

[0053] The application has been described in detail above in combination with the drawings and embodiments, but the application is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and various changes can be made within the knowledge possessed by those skilled in the art without departing from the purpose of the application. The contents not described in detail in the application can adopt the prior art.

Claims

1. A method for identifying ore-forming siliceous veins of a hydrothermal uranium deposit, comprising: determining a siliceous vein development area; collecting a plurality of siliceous vein samples in the siliceous vein development area; determining element content of each of the siliceous vein samples respectively; determining uranium-related elements in the siliceous vein samples based on element content of the plurality of siliceous vein samples, the uranium-related elements being elements with a correlation coefficient with uranium content higher than a first preset value; and identifying ore-forming siliceous veins, the identifying comprising: identifying the ore-forming siliceous veins based on the element content and the uranium-related elements, wherein if it is determined that uranium content in the siliceous vein samples is higher than a second preset value and the uranium-related elements include at least one of tungsten, lead, bismuth, cadmium, antimony, molybdenum, copper, beryllium, vanadium, zinc, barium, cobalt, nickel, and chromium, then a siliceous vein at a location of the siliceous vein samples is identified as the ore-forming siliceous vein; wherein the method further comprises: determining a quartz vein type in each of the siliceous vein samples respectively; and the identifying further comprises: identifying the ore-forming siliceous veins based on silicification characteristics of the siliceous vein samples, wherein if it is determined that the quartz vein type in the siliceous vein samples includes at least one of red microcrystalline quartz vein, reddish-brown microcrystalline quartz vein, white comb-shaped quartz vein, and gray quartz vein, then a siliceous vein at the location of the siliceous vein samples is identified as the ore-forming siliceous vein, wherein the microcrystalline quartz vein is a quartz vein with a crystal size between 0.01-0.05 mm. The determining element content of each of the siliceous vein samples respectively comprises: performing uranium content analysis and trace element content analysis on each of the siliceous vein samples respectively to determine uranium content and content of each trace element in each of the siliceous vein samples. The determining uranium-related elements in the siliceous vein samples based on element content of the plurality of siliceous vein samples comprises: determining a correlation coefficient between content of each of the trace elements and uranium content respectively; and determining trace elements with a correlation coefficient higher than the first preset value as the uranium-related elements. The determining element content of each of the siliceous vein samples respectively further comprises: determining trace element content in each of the siliceous vein samples respectively. When identifying the ore-forming siliceous veins based on the element content and the uranium-related elements, if it is determined that uranium content in the siliceous vein samples is higher than the second preset value, trace element content is higher than a third preset value, and the uranium-related elements include at least one of tungsten, lead, bismuth, cadmium, antimony, molybdenum, copper, beryllium, vanadium, zinc, barium, cobalt, nickel, and chromium, then a siliceous vein at the location of the siliceous vein samples is identified as the ore-forming siliceous vein, the third preset value being determined based on a background value of trace element content in a siliceous vein. The collecting a plurality of siliceous vein samples in the siliceous vein development area comprises: determining color, type, occurrence, and period of siliceous veins at the location of the siliceous vein samples; and collecting at least one siliceous vein sample at each color, each type, each occurrence, and each period of siliceous veins. 6.A method for delineating a hydrothermal uranium deposit prospective area in an exploration area, comprising: determining a siliceous vein development area in the exploration area. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 2. The method of claim 1, wherein, ​ ​ 3. The method of claim 2, wherein, ​ ​ ​ 4. The method of claim 2, wherein, ​ ​ ​ 5. The method of claim 2, wherein, ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ identifying a mineralization silica vein in the silica vein development area; delimiting a region where the mineralization silica vein is located as the hydrothermal uranium deposit prospective area; wherein the identifying the mineralization silica vein in the silica vein development area comprises: collecting a plurality of silica vein samples in the silica vein development area; determining element content of each of the silica vein samples respectively; determining a uranium related element in the silica vein samples based on element content in the plurality of silica vein samples, the uranium related element being an element whose correlation coefficient between element content and uranium content is higher than a first preset value; if it is determined that uranium content in the silica vein sample is higher than a second preset value and the uranium related element comprises at least one of tungsten, lead, bismuth, cadmium, antimony, molybdenum, copper, beryllium, vanadium, zinc, barium, cobalt, nickel, chromium, identifying a silica vein at a location where the silica vein sample is located as the mineralization silica vein; wherein the identifying the mineralization silica vein in the silica vein development area further comprises: determining quartz vein type in each of the silica vein samples respectively; if it is determined that the quartz vein type in the silica vein sample comprises at least one of red microcrystalline quartz vein, reddish-brown microcrystalline quartz vein, white comb-shaped quartz vein, gray quartz vein, identifying a silica vein at a location where the silica vein sample is located as the mineralization silica vein, wherein the microcrystalline quartz vein is a quartz vein with a crystal size between 0.01-0.05mm.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein, The identifying the mineralization silica vein in the silica vein development area further comprises: determining trace element content in each of the silica vein samples respectively; if it is determined that uranium content in the silica vein sample is higher than a second preset value, trace element content is higher than a third preset value, and the uranium related element comprises at least one of tungsten, lead, bismuth, cadmium, antimony, molybdenum, copper, beryllium, vanadium, zinc, barium, cobalt, nickel, chromium, identifying a silica vein in the silica vein development area as the mineralization silica vein, the third preset value being determined based on a background value of trace element content in the silica vein.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein, The determining the silica vein development area in the exploration area comprises: determining an alteration area in the exploration area; determining a region where a silica vein is developed in the alteration area as the silica vein development area.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein, The determining the silica vein development area in the exploration area further comprises: determining radioactivity content in the alteration area; determining a region where a silica vein is developed in the alteration area and radioactivity value of at least part of the silica vein is higher than a fourth preset value as the silica vein development area.

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