The uranium minerals that today are at the centre of worldwide attention were unknown until 1780, when Wagsfort found a pitchblende sample in 10hanngeorgenstadt. This discovery passed unnoticed, however, since Wags fort thought that it contained a black species of a zinc mineral-hence the n':lme 'pitchblende' (= pitch-like blende). Seven years later, Klaproth, while examining the mineral, noted that it contained an oxide of an unknown metal, which he called 'uranium' in honour of the planet Uranus, recently discovered by Herschel. Klaproth also believed that he had separated the metal, but, in fact, the attempt failed, and uranium, given its strong affinity with oxygen, was not separated until several years later. In 1833 Arfwedson attempted the separation and, in so doing, reduced the pitchblende. His attempt was not successful and only U02 was obtained. It was Peligot, in 1840, who was finally successful. He managed the reduction of the metal working with metallic potassium. It should be remembered that twelve years earlier Berzelius had isolated thorium.

In 1983 the Nuclear Energy Agency of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD/NEA) and the IAEA jointly published a book on Uranium Extraction Technology. A primary objective of this report was to document the significant technological developments that took place during the 1970s. The purpose of this present publication is to update and expand the original book.

В инструкции описан комплекс работ по гамма-каротажу скважин при поисках и разведке урановых месторождений со сцинтилляционными приборами типа «ЗОНД», «ВИТОК-2», «АГАТ-69». В ней излагаются подготовка аппаратуры и оборудования, техника проведения гамма-каротажа и методика количественной интерпретации его результатов с использованием электронно-вычислительных машин и графическим способом.
Соблюдение всех положений инструкции гарантирует получение исходных данных к подсчету запасов урана с допустимой при подсчете запасов погрешностью.

Значительная часть химических элементов в земной коре встречается в состояниях нескольких валентностей. Изменение валентности элементов при смене геохимических условий существования пород сопровождается изменением химических свойств этих элементов и их соединений. Последнее определяет поведение элемента, его способность мигрировать или, наоборот, концентрироваться в данных геохимических условиях.

В настоящее время уран является одним из важнейших энергоносителей. Рост энергопроизводства, необходимый для экономического развития России, в ближайшие десятилетия будет обеспечиваться, главным образом, за счет атомной энергетики, что обусловлено чрезвычайной растянутостью транспортных коммуникаций страны и удаленностью источников энергии от центров энергопотребления [Атлас «Уран России» 2000].

The Republic of South Africa is a metal producer of the first rank. Gold is the most important of the metals and up to the end of 1971, U.S.$ 32 billion had been realized from its sale. This figure was equivalent to 80% of the total value of all metals sold. The gold province is located on the Kaapvaal craton which is composed of Precambrian sedimentary-volcanic and granite-greenstone assemblages ranging in age from 1,750 to 3,500 million years. This craton forms the southern part of the Southern African Shield. No significant gold mineralization has yet been found beyond the boundaries of this shield. On the Kaapvaal craton, five Proterozoic sedimentary-volcanic basins lie on an Archean basement.  <...>

In 1996, the IAEA published the Guidebook to Accompany IAEA Map: World distribution of Uranium Deposits (the ‘Guidebook’). This publication, which was the culmination of a process that began in 1990, introduced a descriptive deposit classification that expanded upon the classification used in the OECD/NEA-IAEA Red Book. Experts from six countries and from the IAEA collaborated on establishing the deposit classification. They also contributed information on a total of 582 deposits worldwide, and provided summary information on these deposits that became part of the Guidebook including their location, status (operating, dormant, depleted, etc.), resources (within a specific resource range — e.g. 1 500 to 5 000 t U), average grade (within a grade range — e.g. 0.03–0.10% U), geologic age, host rocks and tectonic setting. <...>

Anniversaries always cause us to reflect upon where we have been and where we are going. Exactly 100 years before the publication of this volume, the first paper which calculated the half-life for the newly discovered radioactive substance U-X (now called 234Th), was published. Now, in this volume, the editors Bernard Bourdon, Gideon Henderson, Craig Lundstrom and Simon Turner have integrated a group of contributors who update our knowledge of U-series geochemistry, offer an opportunity for nonspecialists to understand its basic principles, and give us a view of the future of this active field of research. It was prepared in advance of a two-day short course (April 3-4, 2003) on U-series geochemistry, jointly sponsored by GS and MSA and presented in Paris, France prior to the joint EGS/AGU/EUG meeting in Nice.  <...>

Research emphasis in traditional mineralogy has often focused on detailed studies of a few hundred common rock-forming minerals. However, scanning the contents of a current issue of American Mineralogist or Canadian Mineralogist, or the titles of recent Reviews in Mineralogy volumes reveals that the emphasis of mineralogical research has undergone considerable change recently. Less-common, low-temperature minerals are receiving ever increasing attention, often owing to their importance to the environment.

The search for a mineral commodity, uranium included, and its eventual production is basically an economic activity. A realistic assessment of the economic viability of a project, whether to fulfill domestic needs or to meet world demand, should therefore be carried out as early and as frequently as possible.