Application of the dithizone heavy metals test to uranium from the Chinle Formation, Arizona

Abstract

Dithizone tests indicate that uranium-bearing altered sandy mudstone lenses in the Petrified Forest member of the Chinle formation near Cameron commonly have a high content of zinc, copper and lead. The greatest concentration of heavy metals is usually in the lower 25 feet of the deposits, and in some localities may reach several thousand ppm. in the lower parts, increasing toward the most depressed area of the saucer shaped deposits. The heavy metal content in unmineralized or unaltered Chinle is usually less than 150 ppm.