Ore-bearing quartz-carbonate veins of the Coeur d'Alene mining district yield 87Sr/86Sr ratios of 0.74 to >1.60 for low-Rb/Sr, carbonate gangue minerals, similar to current ranges measured in Middle Proterozoic, high-Rb/Sr rocks of the Belt Supergroup. Stable-isotope and fluid-inclusion studies establish a genetic relationship between vein formation and metamorphic-hydrothermal systems of the region. These extraordinary 87Sr/86Sr ratios require accumulation of radiogenic 87Sr in a high Rb/Sr system over an extended period prior to incorporation of Sr into the veins by hydrothermal processes. Evaluation of the age and composition of potential sources of highly radiogenic Sr indicates that the ore-bearing veins of the Coeur d'Alene district formed within the last 200 Ma from components scavenged from sedimentary and metasedimentary rocks of the Belt Supergroup, the primary host-rocks of the district. These results are consistent with a Cretaceous or Early Tertiary age for these veins. Pb-Zn deposits that yield Pb isotope, K-Ar, and Ar-Ar results indicative of a Proterozoic age probably formed during deposition or diagenesis of the Belt Supergroup at 1350-1500 Ma, possibly as Sullivan-type syngenetic deposits. K-Ar and Rb-Sr apparent ages and 6l80 values of Belt Supergroup rocks decrease southward from the Coeur d'Alene district toward the Idaho batholith, normal to the trends of metamorphic isograds, fold axes, foliation, and the major reverse faults of the district. Isoclinal folding, thrust faulting, high-temperature metamorphism, granitic plutonism, and regional-scale metamorphic-hydrothermal activity is documented in the region between 140 Ma and 45 Ma, but no similar combination of events is recognized for Late Proterozoic time. Combined with Sr P results from the veins, the evidence strongly favors formation of the ore-bearing carbonate veins of the district by fluids related to a complex metamorphic-hydrothermal system during Cretaceous and/or early Tertiary time. Proterozoic Pb-Zn deposits were probably deformed, remobilized along younger structures, and incorporated into the younger hydrothermal deposits during this event.

In 2004, a borehole was drilled into the 1983 Chancellor underground nuclear test cavity to investigate the distribution of radionuclides within the cavity. Sidewall core samples were collected from a range of depths within the re-entry hole and two sidetrack holes. Upon completion of drilling, casing was installed and a submersible pump was used to collect groundwater samples. Test debris and groundwater samples were analyzed for a variety of radionuclides including the fission products 99 Tc, 125 Sb, 129 I, 137 Cs, and 155 Eu, the activation products 60 Co, 152 Eu, and 154 Eu, and the actinides U, Pu, and Am. In addition, the physical and bulk chemical properties of the test debris were characterized using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Electron Microprobe measurements. Analytical results were used to evaluate the partitioning of radionuclides between the melt glass, rubble, and groundwater phases in the Chancellor test cavity. Three comparative approaches were used to calculate partitioning values, though each method could not be applied to every nuclide. These approaches are based on: (1) the average Area 19 inventory from Bowen et al. (2001); (2) melt glass, rubble, and groundwater mass estimates from Zhao et al. (2008); and (3) fission product mass yield data from England and Rider (1994). The U and Pu analyses of the test debris are classified and partitioning estimates for these elements were calculated directly from the classified Miller et al. (2002) inventory for the Chancellor test. The partitioning results from this study were compared to partitioning data that were previously published by the IAEA (1998). Predictions of radionuclide distributions from the two studies are in agreement for a majority of the nuclides under consideration. Substantial differences were noted in the partitioning values for 99 Tc, 125 Sb, 129 I, and uranium. These differences are attributable to two factors: chemical volatility effects that occur during the initial plasma condensation, and groundwater remobilization that occurs over a much longer time frame.

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