Radiogenic uranium in paragenetic mineral associations

Isotope composition of U in minerals of two mineral associations based on aeschynite and pyrochlore was studied. Although the ratio of U isotopes in the mineral associations as a whole is equilibrium (or close to equilibrium), the distribution of the radiogenic ²³⁴U isotope between separate parts of these associations is essentially nonuniform. Two models of the disturbance of the radioactive equilibrium are discussed: dependence of the ²³⁴U/²³⁸U ratio on the U concentration in the mineral (Adloff-Roessler model) and transfer of ²³⁴Th recoil atoms from one phase to another (Sheng-Kuroda model). It is impossible within the framework of any of the models to consistently account for the observed distribution of the radiogenic U between different mineral phases. For the quasi-closed mineral system based on aeschynite, a model of the redistribution of the radiogenic U under the action of natural solutions mainly within the mineral association is suggested; for the open system involving pyrochlore, the effects of natural leaching are explained taking into account the valence and chemical state of uranium in the minerals.