Aerial spectrometric survey for localization of favorable structures for uranium occurrences in Al-Awabed area and its surrounding (Area-3), Northern Palmyrides -Syria

A scored lithological map including 11 radiometric units is established through applying a factor analysis approach to aerial spectrometric data of Area-3, Northern Palmyrides, Syria. Regional uranium migration trends have also been estimated by using the airborne spectrometric data of Area-3, where different regional maps explaining the migration trends have been established. It was found that the four lithological phosphatic units P1, P2, P3 and P4 are the main uranium sources in the study region, where the uranium migration is in an outward direction. The other seven lithological units C1, C2, C3, M1, M2, M3 and M4 are successively and differentially enriched by uranium during the geological evolution of the crust, where uranium migration is generaly in an inward direction. The combination of the obtained uranium migration results with the dominant geological and tectonic conditions allows the proposition of a plausible scenario of six steps, which explain the different geological processes taking place in the study area. Favorable transverse structures for uranium occurences have been localized and qualified as being the most important for prospecting. More detailed exploration activities are needed in the study area to evaluate the potential of such structures as a function of depth. The proposed model could be applicable to similar phosphatic environments.