Preliminary report on geobotanical exploration in the Yellow Cat District, Grand County, Utah

Two geobotanical methods of prospecting have been applied to the
search for uranium deposits in the Yellow Cat district, Grand County,
Utah. The first method is based on the absorption and accumulation
of uranium by plants from underlying uranium deposits. To demonstrate
this method, several hundred samples of Juniperus monosperma, Atriplex
confert ifolia, and Cowania mexicana were collected in the district and
analyzed for their uranium content. Plants containing significant
amounts of uranium are considered to indicate mineralized ground.
The second method of prospecting is based on the relation of
selenium-indicator plants of the genera Astragalus and Stanleya to
mineralized ground. Chemical analyses show that selenium is associated
with the uranium and vanadium in the ore deposits. Distribution maps
of the selenium-indicator plants, Astragalus confertiflorus. A.
Pattersonii, A. Preussii var. arctus, and Stanleya pinnata, are included
in this report. Outlines of favorable ground in the Yellow Cat
district determined by these data are drawn on the maps.