| Basis for focus area |
The Copper Mountain focus area includes known U occurrences in and near the Copper Mountain mining district in the Owl Creek Mountains, Wyoming (Gregory and others, 2010). Uranium has been mined from fractured Precambrian granite and primarily from adjacent Tertiary sedimentary rocks (Dahlkamp, 2010). Sodium metasomatism accompanies mineralization in the North Canning deposit (Shrier and Parry, 1982). |
| Identified resources |
Identified resources and historical production of uranium. |
| Production |
About 520,000 lbs U3O8 was produced from the Bonanza, De Pass, Little Mo-Arrowhead, Day-Berger, Last Hope and Hesitation mines/prospects between 1955 and 1970 (Dahlkamp, 2010). |
| Status |
Past exploration and mining. |
| Estimated resources |
The North Canning deposit contains about 6.5 million lbs U3O8 (Dahlkamp, 2010). |
| Geologic maps |
Gregory and others (2010), scale 1:500,000; Love, Christiansen and Earle (1978), scale 1:250,000; Love, Christiansen, Earle and Jones (1978), scale 1:250,000; Thaden (1980a, b, c, d, e), scale 1:24,000; Hausel and others (1985), scale 1:24,000). |
| Geophysical data |
Inadequate aeromagnetic and aeroradiometric coverage. |
| Favorable rocks and structures |
Precambrian/Archean granite and the Eocene Teepee Trail Formation. |
| Deposits |
North Canning area: Bonanza, De Pass, Little Mo-Arrowhead, Day-Berger, Last Hope and Hesitation mines/prospects; also Robeson and William-Luman mines. |
| Evidence from mineral occurrences |
MRDS; International Atomic Energy Agency (2020b); U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2006). |
| Geochemical evidence |
Uranium minerals reported from the area are autunite, meta-autunite, coffinite, uraninite-sooty pitchblende, and uranophane (Yellich and others, 1978). Uranophane, autunite, and meta-autunite occurs as coatings and fracture fills, coffinite and uraninite in some locations (Elevatorski, 1976). |
| Geophysical evidence |
No data. |
| Evidence from other sources |
No data. |
| Cover thickness and description |
At the surface to a couple of hundred feet below the surface. |
| Authors |
Susan Hall, Robert W. Gregory, Benjamin J. Drenth, Patricia M. Webber, Rachel N. Toner. |
| New data needs |
1:24,000 scale geologic mapping supported by high-quality geophysics and lidar; Airborne EM and radiometrics could be useful especially if host rocks are shallow. |
| Geologic mapping and modeling needs |
1:24,000 scale geologic mapping; for pegmatites, any additional mapping would need to be at larger scale than 1:24,000. |
| Geophysical survey and modeling needs |
High resolution Rank 1 aeroradiometric and aeroradiometric coverage. |
| Digital elevation data needs |
Lidar complete. |
