Topographic features of the sub-Athabasca Group unconformity surface in the southeastern Athabasca Basin and their relationship to uranium ore deposits
Topographic features of the sub-Athabasca unconformity surface, such as paleovalleys, topographic highs, and fault scarps, have been documented locally in the eastern Athabasca Basin, and available data indicate that they are spatially associated with mineralization. However, the mechanisms by which such topographic features were generated, their size and distribution at the regional scale, as well as their relationship to mineralization, are still not completely understood. A 100 by 60 square kilometre area of the southeastern Athabasca Basin, encompassing the McArthur River, Phoenix, and Key Lake deposits, was selected to study the relationship between these topographic features and U mineralization. In this region three dominant sets of sub-vertical faults were identified on the basis of aeromagnetic data: northeast-trending, north–northwest-trending, and northwest-trending. A detailed three-dimensional (3-D) model of this part of the basin was constructed using data from more than 1200 drill holes. Th...