Soberanía deposit, San Isidro District, Las Heras Department, Mendoza, Argentina

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Depósito de Uranio "Soberanía". Elevation: 2474 metres above sea level.

Site of veins form of the District of San Isidro:
20 Km to the West of the city of Mendoza, in the first foothills of the foothills are located some uraniferous deposits, of which the most important are those of "Soberanía", "Independencia" and "Papagayos" mines. The uranium mineralization is hosted on breccia fractures in Triassic sediments.
It's a uranium strip housed in areas corresponding to the Triassic higher, in the immediate vicinity with the of the tertiary Inferior (Eocene) and, with some intermittent stretching for several kilometers with general direction N-S.
In Sandy and clayey sediments there are lenticular veins and ramifications of quartz iorregulares; the first, with variable thicknesses up to 40 centimeters, in part show breccia structure.
Quartz occurs diaclased and covering its surface is observed Uranophane and Schröckingerite associated carbonates of calcium and gypsum, and also, sometimes, in certain places, oxidized copper minerals.
Cited uranium minerals, notably the second of them, permeate the rock box largely different, as well, on some occasions, the sandy mass adjacent to the veins.
In depth decreases the proportion of oxide minerals and appear instead impregnations within the quartz and black patina, at levels of fractures, Pitchblende sometimes associated with calcite, up in levels of 35 meters that have reached some work.
The origin of these deposits is hydrothermal low temperature, associated with hidden rocks of the tertiary cycle intrusions.
The most important of these deposits is "Soberanía" which, through work surface and above all underground, provided materials with tenors of 0.25 to 0.70% of U3O8, depending on the type of material is estimated that the potential of the district is small, on the order of 50 - 70 tonnes of U3O8.

Schröckingerite:
The mention of this rare mineral is due to the fact that the same has been presented in quantities of some account in some areas of the upper levels of the deposits "Papagayos", "Soberanía" and "Independencia".
It has a greenish yellow to yellow color, a Pearl luster, a specific weight of 2.51 and a hardness of 2.5 to 3. Exposed to ultraviolet light it gives a bright greenish yellow fluorescence.
The Schröckingerite is a complex salt of approximate formula:
Ca3Na.(UO2). (CO3). (SO4). (F) 10H2O, with a percentage in U3O8 35% in the pure variety.
In the above-mentioned fields, this mineral accompanies the Uranophane. He was seen in tabular crystals (010) home runs and hexagonal sections of 0.5 to 5 mm in diameter, isolated or grouped together in rosettes, as well as in Globular crusts, covering walls of cracks in quartz or clay and sandstone hollows of the material of the rock box.

Mineral List

Calcite Gypsum

Quartz Schröckingerite

Uraninite var: Pitchblende

Uranophane

7 entries listed. 6 valid minerals.

References