Black and red alterations associated with the Baimadong uranium deposit (Guizhou, China): Geological and geochemical characteristics and genetic relationship with uranium mineralization

摘要

The Baimadong uranium deposit is hosted in carbonate rocks that were subjected to extensive black and red alterations, silicification and argillization, and is assigned to the carbonaceous-siliceous-pelitic rock-type uranium deposits in the Chinese literature. However, the nature of the mineralization, especially the black and red alterations and their relationship with uranium mineralization, remains poorly understood. Petrographic and Raman spectroscopic studies indicate that the black material are organic matter mainly composed of graphite and bitumen, whereas the red-altered rocks are characterized by abundant iron oxides. Crosscutting relationships suggest that the black alteration occurred before the red alteration. Comparison of whole-rock geochemistry between the different types of rocks suggests that total organic carbon (TOC), U and total organic sulfur (TOS) were gained through the black alteration, and FeOT was gained through the red alteration, whereas total inorganic carbon (TIC), CaO and MgO were lost in both types of alterations. The delta C-13(org) (PDB) values and biomarker characteristics of the black-altered rocks suggest that the organic matter was derived from the black shale of the Niutitang Formation underneath the deposit. U enrichment is associated with both the black and red alterations, and shows positive correlations with Al2O3, K2O, TiO2, SiO2, TOC and TOS. It is proposed that the uranium mineralization at Baimadong resulted from superposition of two fluid events controlled by a common structural system. First, petroleum generated in the black shales of the Niutitang Formation and hydrothermal fluids migrated along cross-formational faults to the carbonate rocks of the Qingxudong and Shilengshui formations, causing the black alteration and preliminary uranium enrichment. Second, an oxidizing, U-bearing fluid flowed through the same structure and precipitated uraninite through reaction with the black-altered rocks, accompanied by precipitation of hematite and goethite as marked by the red alteration. The combination of black and red alterations with major faults may be used as a mineralization indicator in the exploration of this type of U deposits.