Exploration systems approach to the Spokane Mountain area uranium deposits, Northeastern Washington

Within the gross context of economic exploration techniques developed through case studies of known mineralization, this report of research into the Spokane Mountain uranium deposit integrates the results of numerous field surveys and the application of proven scientific methods with the effects of all tasks weighed against those of similar activities and the costs of alternative methods. An exploration systems approach to the problem required a synthesis of information derived mainly from a small mining district in Stevens County, Washington. Data were obtained by utilizing sources of information available to the mineral industry and state-of-the-art uranim exploration techniques, including geological, geophysical, geochemical, and emanometric procedures. The Spokane Mountain mineralization exemplifies classical conditions of uranium deposits that form in the contact zone developed between metasediments and uraniferous intrusive rocks. Geological studies for this report include assessments of subsurface conditions; interpretations of detailed petrographic examinations that emphasize depositional environments, metamorphic effects, alteration, paragenesis, mineralogy, and origin; and overviews of regional stratigraphy, structure, metamorphism, plutonium, and metallogeny. Elements and minerals associated with uranium were detected along the contact zone, Midnite Trend, using geochemical techniques applied to both soils and stream surveys. The coincidence of molybdenum and uranium in the sediments and water of streams in the Spokane Mountain area indicates a nearby source of uranium. The abundance of multielements such as U, As, and F in the soils, checked at various densities and scales, are indicators of uranium mineralization; also, two targets with uranium potential apparently exist in areas peripheral to Spokane Mountain