Spatial-temporal collocation and genetic relationship among uranium, coal, and hydrocarbons and its significance for uranium prospecting: A case from the Mesozoic-Cenozoic uraniferous basins, North China

The fact that uranium, coal, oil, and other ores occur in the same sedimentary basin has been extensively recognized. By comparing the spatial and temporal relationships among uranium, coal, and hydrocarbons, we found that the ore-bearing uranium and coal layers within the same basin are commonly interbedded or adjacent to each other. In general, however, uranium deposits are spatially distant from oilfields. We analyzed the genetic relationship among oil, coal, and uranium by compiling numerous geological surveys, test analyses, and previous studies of the Ili, Songliao, and other basins in North China. It is considered that the mild and humid paleoclimate should be an important factor affecting the formation of coal reservoir, mudstone as the upper and lower aquifuges, and the host rocks with rich organic matters. Thus, these coal-mining areas occurring at the edges of basins deserve to be studied in detail for uranium exploration. In addition, the metallogenic epochs are roughly similar to the epochs of hydrocarbon migration and tectonic events. These existing data of oil exploration can be used to unravel the regional and local tectonic evolutions of the basin related to uranium mineralization. Finally, a rough relationship between uranium mineralization and hydrocarbons was presented. Note that hydrocarbon is not just beneficial for the formation of uranium deposits but may also inhibit the transportation and mineralization of uranium-bearing materials. Regions with shallow hydrocarbon fields or large quantities of hydrocarbon dissipation are not the ideal exploration locations for uranium.