Statistical analysis of soil geochemical data to identify pathfinders associated with mineral deposits: An example from the Coles Hill uranium deposit, Virginia, USA

•Comparison of soil data from a U deposit area with a regional database•Comparisons are made using multivariate compositional data analysis.•Enrichment factors relative to Al show increased U, LREEs, and Nb.•Anomalous U/Th ratios are apparent in soil overlying mineralisation.

Soil geochemical anomalies can be used to identify pathfinders in exploration for ore deposits. In this study, compositional data analysis is used with multivariate statistical methods to analyse soil geochemical data collected from the Coles Hill uranium deposit, Virginia, USA, to identify pathfinders associated with this deposit. Elemental compositions and relationships were compared between the collected Coles Hill soil and reference soil samples extracted from a regional subset of a national-scale geochemical survey. Results show that pathfinders for the Coles Hill deposit include light rare earth elements (La and Ce), which, when normalised by their Al content, are correlated with U/Al, and elevated Th/Al values, which are not correlated with U/Al, supporting decoupling of U from Th during soil generation. These results can be used in genetic and weathering models of the Coles Hill deposit, and can also be applied to future prospecting for similar U deposits in the eastern United States, and in regions with similar geological/climatic conditions.