Angela Uranium Prospect (Pamela), Napwerte/Ewaninga Rock Carvings Conservation Reserve, MacDonnell Region, Northern Territory, Australiai

Regional Level Types
Angela Uranium Prospect (Pamela)	Prospect
Napwerte/Ewaninga Rock Carvings Conservation Reserve	- not defined -
MacDonnell Region	Region
Northern Territory	Territory
Australia	Country

The uranium prospects are located 23 kilometres south of Alice Springs, and about 5 kilometres north of the Napwerte/Ewaninga Conservation reserve. The prospects are outside of the reserve.

Discovered by Uranerz in 1972, the Pamela prospect is named after one of the company's geologists, and nearby Angela prospect after the wife of a colleague. The Pamela prospect is about one kilometre north north-east of Angela, both near the Old South Road. There are a further 3 neighbouring prospects named Angela 2 to 4.

In 2006, the prospects were taken over by a joint venture of Paladin Energy/Cameco, with Cameco withdrawing in 2013, then Paladin late 2016. The planned mine at the site, drew considerable local opposition, ranging from fears about damaging Alice Springs underground water supply, to possible radio-active dust sweeping across the town, to just anti anything nuclear. The Northern Territory government banned mining at the site in 2011. The handing out of glow sticks to show goers, at the annual Alice Springs Show by Paladin, at least proves the company has a sense of humour.

Angela is a sandstone hosted roll front uranium deposit, with an Inferred resource of 30 mlb U3O8. The mineralisation plunges shallowly west for at least 5.7 kilometres to a depth in excess of 800 metres. It is hosted by the late Devonian to early Carboniferous Brewer Conglomerate unit, specifically the Undandita Sandstone. Rock types include fine to coarse lithic arenite, medium to coarse lithic arkose, intermixed with sub-ordinate conglomerate, a pebbly sandstone horizon, and thin poorly developed limestone and mudstone.

Mineralisation at Angela is found in a series of 30-40 metre high, and 50 to 300 metre wide linear steps. Pamela is a series of poorly defined steps. The deposits show a broad Z shape geometry of redox steps, consisting of irregular oxidised lobes or tongues extending into reduced sandstone. Uranium mineralisation is associated with brick red to rusty red coloured hematite oxidisation at the margins of the redox front. (Redox- a chemical reaction involving reduction and oxidation).

High grade mineralisation is found as blebs of uraninite, or dark coloured disseminated coffinite and uraninite, within the hematite/limonite zone. Un-named seconday mineralisation as yellow small blebs or irregular patches , or as distinct rinds on quartzite clasts in the host sandstone.

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References