Uranium redistribution in weathered conglomerates of the early precambrian pongola supergroup, South Africa - inferences from a study by alpha spectrometry and fission track micromapping

Samples of potentially uranium-bearing conglomerates from deeply weathered outcrops of the 2900 to 3200 m.y. old Pongola Supergroup were investigated from three different localities in the southeastern Transvaal and northern Zululand. Uranium isotope and uranium fission track analyses were carried out to study and to unravel the complex uranium redistribution processes which took place and which are still in progress in the weathering zone of the conglomerates. It is proposed that the combination of the two radiochemical methods can provide valuable information assisting the exploration of uranium mineralization in early Precambrian quartz-pebble conglomerates.