Mineralization and other geologic factors related to the Morrison Formation in particular the northern two-thirds of the Colorado Plateau region; basic data and factor-analysis results

A vanadium-mercury mineralization factor and five other significant geologic factors were determined by multivariate factor analysis of data for Morrison Formation rock samples from the Colorado Plateau region. The data presented in the report were obtained from an agglomeration of 876 samples which yielded a correlation matrix of 44 variables. The variables consisted of geochemical, petrographic, and geographic location parameters.

Mineralization factor scores demonstrate the relative intensity of mineralization in rock samples collected in and around uranium-vanadium ore deposits.

The factors affecting composition and texture of the rocks identified from the analysis are: (1) metalliferous mudstones; (2) interstitial carbonate cements; (3) competing sources of different composition; (4) heavy mineral sources; (5) vanadium mineralization; and (6) regional and stratigraphic sampling bias.