Geology, paragenesis and geochemistry of the Centennial uranium deposit, Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan

该项目的目标是描述与萨斯喀彻温省北部17亿年前的阿萨巴斯卡沉积盆地中新发现的铀(百年矿床)有关的岩石和矿物。加拿大的这一地区拥有世界上最丰富的铀矿，生产的铀约占世界铀产量的20%，用于生产核反应堆的燃料。全球都对使用产生二氧化碳的化石燃料对地球气候造成的破坏表示极大的担忧。目前核能发电约占全球发电量的15%，随着我们努力减少全球碳足迹，这一比例很可能会增加。重要的是要了解天然铀矿是如何形成的，这样才能在未来发现新的铀矿。此外，加拿大和萨斯喀彻温省的自然资源非常丰富，该国北部和该省的经济发展有赖于了解这些资源的地质和来源。联邦政府已经承诺为北部的地球科学测绘提供1亿美元的资金，而这个项目只是众多得到支持的项目之一。具体地说，该项目将成为萨斯喀彻温大学一篇理学硕士论文的重点，该论文得到了世界上最大的铀生产商之一Cameco的支持。将对在矿藏收集的样本进行分析，以确定矿藏内和周围存在的矿物，以及矿物的相对年代。所有的矿藏，包括这些铀矿，都是在很长一段时间(数千年到数百万年)内形成的，因此形成它们的热卤水的成分可能也会随着时间的推移而变化。因此，在矿床的历史上，不同的矿物将在不同的时期生长。此外，还将测量矿床周围岩石的化学成分，以确定这些岩石的成因，特别是阿萨巴斯卡盆地下方前寒武纪屏蔽岩中的岩石，以及不断变化的卤水成分对这些岩石的影响。这些信息将被用来构建百年矿床的成因模型，可以与该地区的其他铀矿床进行比较，以提高发现新矿床的能力。

The objective of this project is to describe the rocks and minerals associated with a new discovery of uranium (Centennial deposit) in the 1.7 billion year old Athabasca sedimentary basin of northern Saskatchewan. This part of Canada contains the richest uranium deposits in the world, and yields about 20% of the world's uranium which is used to produce fuel for nuclear reactors. There is enormous concern globally about the damage being caused to the Earth's climate by the use of fossil fuels that generate carbon dioxide. Nuclear energy is used to generate about 15% of the world's electricity at present, and it is likely that this proportion will increase as we try and reduce the global carbon footprint. It is important to understand how natural deposits of uranium form, so that new ones can be found in the future. In addition, Canada and Saskatchewan are very rich in natural resources, and economic development in the north of the country and the province is dependent on understanding the geology and origin of these resources. The federal government has committed $100 million to geosciences mapping in the north, and this project represents one of many that are being supported. In detail, the project will form the focus of a Master of Science thesis at the University of Saskatchewan, supported by Cameco, one of the largest uranium producers in the world. Samples collected at the deposit will be analyzed to determine the minerals present in and around the deposit, and the relative timing of the minerals. All mineral deposits, including these uranium deposits, form over a long period of time (thousands to millions of years) and so the composition of the hot brine from which they formed, likely changed over time as well. Thus, different minerals will grow at different times in the deposit's history. Also, the chemical composition of the rocks around the deposit will be measured to determine the origin of these rocks, particularly those in the Precambrian Shield rocks below the Athabasca basin, and the affect that the changing brine composition will have on these rocks. This information will be used to construct a model for the origin of the Centennial deposit, which can be compared to other uranium deposits in the region to improve the ability to find new deposits.