Tectono-Sedimentary Evolution of the Uranium Deposits of the DASA Graben, Northern Niger

Abstract

This study presents the structural evolution of the N70° trending Paleozoic-Mesozoic DASA graben, which is considered a sub-basin of the Tim Mersoï basin, and is located in northern Niger. The DASA graben is a uranium-rich trough discovered in recent exploration surveys. A tectono-sedimentary analysis of the DASA graben was implemented with a combined use of satellite imagery, field observations, borehole data analysis and available literature. This graben was affected from the Carboniferous to the Early Cretaceous by two major tectonic periods. The first period was an uplifting stage, which prevailed during the Carboniferous-Permian times and the second, ranging from the Triassic to the Early Cretaceous, corresponds to a rifting episode. The particularity of the DASA graben is that the sediments contain very high uranium grades. Lithological and tectonic factors controlled the emplacement of the uranium mineralization in the graben. The successive fracturing phases that affected the DASA graben were associated with a greater circulation of hydrothermal fluids and would have favoured higher grades of uranium mineralization.