Synopsis top ↑
The vigorously growing economy of Asian countries requires a speedup
in development of mineral resources, first of all, as concerns the
fuel and energy supply. Mongolia may be an exporter of natural uranium
as a fuel for nuclear power plants. The long-standing prospecting and
exploration of Mongolia resulted in discovery of economic uranium
deposits similar to those making up a basis of raw-material potential
of atomic energetics in Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan.
In the course of metallogenic and prospecting works in Mongolia, a
great deal of uranium prospects has been found, and the systematic
patterns of their spatial localization and temporal evolution
outlined. The location of Mongolia in a system of global tectonic
units determines the diversity of uranium ore provinces both in age
and type. The comparative metallogenic analysis of Mongolia and
adjacent regions of Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and China in
combination with long-standing field works served as a basis for
métallogénie subdivision of the Mongolian territory with respect to
uranium occurrences.
It has been established that the Late Mesozoic superimposed
volcanotectonic structures as well as the basins formed in the
Cenozoic epoch of arching and block-faulting are crucial for uranium
metallogeny. The occurrences, prospects and deposits related to these
ore-forming epochs are known from almost all districts of Mongolia.
The diversity of geologic settings of uranium mineralization formed
against the background of long and intricate tectonic evolution
attracts relentless interest of specialists to various aspects of
geology, geochemistry, and uranium potential of this complexly built
territory rich in ore deposits.
The main objective of this monograph is to describe the principal
features of uranium geology and metallogeny in Mongolia. The author
hopes that his contribution will promote further progress in
forecasting of new deposits and efficient exploration in the regions
of similar geologic setting.
The monograph is written in such a style that readers could get
acquaintance with the most important types of uranium mineralization
and with the most representative deposits pertaining to each type. The
main attention is paid to the characteristics that provide insights
into formation conditions of uranium deposits and their localization.