Integrated Computational Fluid Flow Modeling in Association with the Formation of Unconformity-Related Uranium Deposits in Sedimentary Basins

热液流动是沉积盆地中几乎每一类经济矿床形成的基础。数值模拟已被证明是测试、比较和对比关于地下流体流动和由此产生的成矿过程的各种假设的有效工具。提出的研究方案旨在开发和应用地质和地球化学上现实的数值模型，以量化成矿，特别是沉积盆地中不整合型铀矿化。研究将包括两个部分：高度概念化的流体流动建模和地质上真实的流体流动建模，特别参考加拿大阿萨巴斯卡盆地东南部和中国钱子坪铀矿区。一个集成的计算建模方法与一个新的软件包，完全耦合热-水文-机械-化学过程将被用来提高我们对铀矿化的理解。拟议的研究将形成一个理论框架，以量化热液成矿流体流动及其在现实地质、构造和地球化学条件下的控制因素，并细化一系列有效的勘探标准，以在选定地区和世界其他地方的其他类似地区寻找新的主要铀矿床。两名博士生、三名硕士生和五名本科生将参与拟议研究的不同阶段。

Hydrothermal fluid flow is fundamental to the formation of almost every class of economic mineral deposit in sedimentary basins. Numerical modeling has proven to be an efficient tool for testing, comparing and contrasting various hypotheses regarding subsurface fluid flow and the resulting ore-forming processes. The proposed research program is aimed at developing and applying geologically and geochemically realistic numerical models for quantifying ore genesis, in particular in unconformity-type uranium mineralization in sedimentary basins. The research will include two components: highly conceptualized fluid flow modeling and geologically realistic fluid flow modeling, with particular reference to the southeastern Athabasca Basins of Canada and the Chanziping uranium district of China. An integrated computational modeling approach with a new software package that fully couples thermal-hydrological-mechanical-chemical processes will be employed to advance our understanding of uranium ore mineralization. The proposed research will result in a theoretical framework to quantify hydrothermal ore-forming fluid flow and its controlling factors under realistic geological, structural and geochemical conditions, and refine a range of effective exploration criteria to target new major uranium deposits in the selected regions and in other similar areas elsewhere in the world. Two Ph.D. students, three M.Sc. students and five undergraduate students will participate in different stages of the proposed research.