Although preliminary attempts at identifying radiometric targets were made by the Geological Survey in the late 1950s, and even as recent as 1975, systematic exploration for uranium in Peninsular Malaysia however did not really get underway until the middle of 1977 when the Central Belt Project, a regional geochemical sampling programme, was launched. Since then this programme, which for the first time incorporates uranium analyses of geochemical samples has continued to assume an important role in assessing the mineral potential of the Project area covering some 31,000 km 2 in north-central Peninsular Malaysia. To complement this geochemical survey a helicopter-flown spectrometric and magnetic survey was conducted over the Project area in April 1980. The granitoids are generally more responsive radiometrically and show a higher geochemical uranium contrast in comparison to other rock types. The recent discovery of uraniferous lithologies containing uraninite and uranium-bearing florencite and rhabdophane in the Boundary Range Granite, together with the known torbemite occurrence in the Main Range Granite, implies that the search for granite-hosted uranium mineralization deserves priority. Contrary to earlier belief, the importance of the Mesozoic continental formations as possible uranium hosts appears to have been reduced, judging from their weak airborne radiometric and geochemical responses. On the other hand the Tertiary basins, not previously accorded attention, should •be assessed for their uranium potential.
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