Mineral resource assessment of undiscovered solution-collapse breccia pipe uranium deposits in the Coconino National Forest, Arizona

Abstract

The Coconino National Forest (CNF), as shown in figure 1, has areas permissible for solution-collapse breccia pipe uranium deposits. Quantitative assessment of uranium in undiscovered solution-collapse breccia pipe deposits was made using the deposit-size-frequency method (DSF, option C), a modification of a technique developed for NURE (National Uranium Resource Evaluation). The mean endowment of 77,300 metric tons (t) (85,200 short tons (st)) UsOs for undiscovered solution-collapse breccia pipe uranium deposits in the CNF is 6.4 percent of the total mean uranium endowment previously predicted for the Colorado Plateau. Mean uranium endowments and an estimated number of undiscovered deposits (calculated from contained UsOs using grade and tonnage data) are as follows: