New Mexico Geological Society Annual Spring Meeting — Abstracts

Uranium mines and mills present a number of potential hazards to the local environment. Of particular relevance is the containment of contamination associated with these sites. If not properly maintained, tailings piles and ponds, and even the abandoned mines and mills themselves, may affect the surrounding communities and ecosystems.

This study aims to understand the migration of uranium from one such site, the Jackpile uranium mine and mill. By investigating the spatial, temporal, and chemical characteristics of this migration, and through the comparison of dust and soil samples, the proposed research will advance our understanding of risks related to legacy uranium mining and milling sites.

Fifteen Big Spring No. 8 (BSNE) stems (Custom Products and Consulting, Big Spring, TX) have been installed in the vicinity of the Jackpile uranium mine. Each stem has been outfitted with four BSNE sediment traps placed at heights of 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5m. The locations of the sediment trap arrangements vary so as to address a number of issues related to vegetation density, topography, and distance from the mine.

Collected samples will be sieved into their respective size fractions. The size fractions will consist of 2mm to 0.18mm (10 to 80 mesh), 0.18mm to 0.09mm (80 to 170 mesh), 0.09mm to 0.02mm (170 to 635 mesh), and <0.02mm (-635 mesh). Once sieved, the samples will be split, and a fraction of the sample will be digested using a method involving the use of a hydrofluoric acid mixture and a hot block. Once total digestion has been achieved, each sample will then be processed using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) to determine total uranium content.

Outlined here is the methodology and timeline for the remainder of this research, including the collection of dust samples and the analysis of both soil and dust samples. Also included is a discussion of previously used techniques as they apply to this study.