Geological and Geochemical Characteristics of the Zhiluo Formation in the Bayinqinggeli Uranium Deposit, Northern Ordos Basin: Significance for Uranium Mineralization

The Bayinqinggeli deposit in the northern Ordos Basin, northwestern of China, is a recently discovered sandstone-type uranium deposit. The uranium (U) orebodies are generally hosted in the lower member of the Jurassic Zhiluo Formation (Fm.), and are primarily tabular or irregular in shape. In the study area, 23 sandstone samples were collected from the Zhiluo Fm. and analyzed for major, trace, and rare earth elements (REEs). The geochemical characteristics of these sandstones are used to evaluate the factors controlling U mineralization. The source rocks of the Zhiluo Fm. sandstones are mainly volcanic and felsic magmatic rocks formed in continental arc and active continental-marginal arc environments, and they provided the material required for the mineralization. The index of compositional variability ranges from 1.02 to 3.29 (average1.38), indicating that the Zhiluo Fm. sandstones are immature and composed of first-cycle sediments. The corrected chemical index of alteration averages 56, suggesting that the source rocks underwent weak chemical weathering. The ore host rocks are loose, providing favorable conditions for epigenetic oxidation and U precipitation and enrichment. Ferrous iron in minerals such as chlorite, biotite, ilmenite, and pyrite might have played a role either in adsorbing or reducing the uranium.