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Interplay between thermal convection and compressional fault reactivation in the formation of unconformity-related uranium deposits

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Abstract

A number of large and high-grade unconformity-related uranium deposits formed in intracratonic Proterozoic basins, including the Athabasca Basin in Canada and the McArthur Basin in Australia. These deposits occur close to the unconformities between the Paleo- to Mesoproterozoic basinal sequences and their Archean to Paleoproterozoic metasedimentary basement, and are spatially associated with reactivated basement faults showing reverse offsets due to contractional deformation. Previous studies have suggested that fluid flow responsible for uranium mineralization in such basins may be related to thermal convection and tectonic deformation; however, the relative roles of these two driving forces, as well as their interrelationships, have not been explored in detail. In this study, two-dimensional numerical modeling of fluid flow in relation to coupled tectonic compression and heat transport was carried out to evaluate the relationships between deformation-driven flow and fluid convection, and their relative importance for uranium mineralization. The results indicate that tectonic compression at a relatively high strain rate (6.66 × 10−11 s−1) may instantaneously destroy pre-existing thermal convection developed in the sedimentary rocks in the basin, due to the rapid development of overpressure in the system. Convection may then reappear over time as deformation progresses and the overpressure wanes. By contrast, tectonic compression at a relatively low strain rate (6.66 × 10−13 s−1) does not affect pre-existing thermal convection, and deformation-driven fluid flow in the basement coexists with thermal convection in the basin. It is proposed that during an overall tectonically active period associated with a far-field tectonic event, compressional reactivation of basement faults creates permeability and causes fluid to flow toward dilatant zones accompanying individual seismic events, whereas during seismically quiet times, fluid flow driven by thermal convection dominates. The formation of the unconformity-related uranium deposits likely involves alternating relatively short-lived, deformation-driven fluid flow and relatively prolonged fluid convection events.

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Acknowledgments

Guest Editor Julien Mercadier and Dr. Yannick Branquet are thanked for providing constructive comments, which greatly improve the paper.

Funding

This research was financially supported partly by the TGI-4 (Targeted Geoscience Initiative Phase 4) uranium ore systems project from Natural Resources Canada, and partly by Cameco Corp. and Orano Canada, through grants to Chi and Bethune.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Resources and Environment, East China University of Technology, Nanchang, 330013, China

    Zenghua Li

  2. Department of Geology, University of Regina, 3737 Wascana Parkway, Regina, Saskatchewan, S4S 0A2, Canada

    Zenghua Li, Guoxiang Chi, Kathryn M. Bethune & Khalifa Eldursi

  3. Orano Canada, 817 45th Street West, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7K 3X5, Canada

    David Quirt & Patrick Ledru

  4. 750 Trent Crescent, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7H 4S5, Canada

    David Thomas

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  1. Zenghua Li
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  2. Guoxiang Chi
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  3. Kathryn M. Bethune
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  4. Khalifa Eldursi
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  5. David Quirt
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Correspondence to Guoxiang Chi.

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Editorial handling: J. Mercadier

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Li, Z., Chi, G., Bethune, K.M. et al. Interplay between thermal convection and compressional fault reactivation in the formation of unconformity-related uranium deposits. Miner Deposita 56, 1389–1404 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00126-020-01011-6

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