Uranium Mineralisation in the Springbok Flats Basin, South Africa

Uranium is known to occur in the upper parts of the Coal Zone (CZ) and within the sandstones of the Late Permian Ecca Group in the Springbok Flats Basin (SFB) of South Africa. High concentrations of uranium occur in the vicinity of the Palaeoproterozoic granitic palaeoridges of the Bushveld Complex and beneath coarse-grained, granite-pebble-bearing sandstones of the Late Triassic Molteno Formation, where it unconformably overlies the CZ. Uranium in the CZ is thought to have been epigenetically emplaced from oxidised fluids that migrated from both the granitic palaeoridges and/or from the Molteno Formation. Uranium precipitated when entered reducing environments associated with carbonaceous sediments. The origin of uranium mineralisation in the SFB has not previously been investigated in detail. A new project has been initiated to better understand the distribution, content, form of occurrence, and sources of uranium in the SFB. Available results show that uranium is indeed concentrated in the upper portion of CZs, supporting the hypothesis of precipitation from descending ground water.