China has discovered world's deepest sandstone industrial uranium mineralization at a depth of 1,820 meters underground in Tarim Basin in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the China Atomic Energy Authority (CAEA) announced on Friday.Industrial uranium mineralization is a direct and reliable clue for finding industrial uranium deposits.The industrial uranium mineralization discovered this time is the first thick and large industrial uranium mineralization found in the red variegated layer in the uninhabited area in the hinterland of the Tarim Basin desert in China, filling the gap in mineral exploration in the country's largest desert-covered area.The discovery also means that China has integrated and established a set of green and efficient detection technology systems for sandstone-type uranium mines suitable for desert-covered areas, which will greatly enhance the country's uranium resource exploration capabilities and lay a solid foundation for the whole industry's steady development, according to nuclear scientists."We have made predictions of the mineralization prospects of the Tarim Basin at different scales.
Based on the prediction results, we carried out remote sensing, geophysical, geochemical and other measurements or explorations in key prospective areas.
By implementing relatively deep drilling verification, we finally discovered thick industrial uranium mineralization in the desert heart of the Tarim Basin.
The discovery is of significance and has great value and prospects," said Qin Mingkuan, principal investigator of China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC).