Regional Forecasting of Uranium Deposits in the Republic of Niger

Abstract

This work deals with the methodology and results of forecasting sandstone-type uranium deposits in the territory of the Republic of Niger, based on the use of a set of regional geological and geophysical materials and a new technology for spatial analysis of data by the method of group accounting of arguments. The necessary information on the genesis and localization of the sandstone-type uranium deposits in the study area is briefly presented. Examples of identified formal geological, tectonic, and geophysical features that characterize the location of known large objects of uranium mineralization are given. Using the example of reference ore and inherently ore-free objects, an identification analysis of the features focused on determining their total information content has been carried out. The results of the identification analysis made it possible to assess the weights of the features and to perform a comprehensive regional forecasting of sandstone-type uranium deposits in the territory of the Republic of Niger. Based on the results of the forecast, the three most promising sites where detailed work on the detection of industrial uranium mineralization is recommended have been defined.